Kennedy Center Honors Moving to Washington, D.C. Arena Amid Venue’s Closure

The Kennedy Center Honors will be held at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. this year, marking the first time the ceremony will take place outside of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. According to The A.V. Club, the venue has a capacity of 20,000. The event is scheduled to occur on December 7.

The Kennedy Center's main building has been closed due to purported structural damage and safety concerns, as reported by multiple outlets. TheWrap notes that the closure follows a partial ceiling collapse and a legal battle over the center's future.

The honorees for this year's Kennedy Center Honors have not yet been announced. The broadcasting partner for the 2026 ceremony has also not been announced, as CBS's contract with the Kennedy Center expired following last year's telecast, which drew 3.01 million viewers, an all-time low in ratings, according to TheWrap.

Brief written by urgent.news from Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club, TheWrap, The Guardian US, Deadline — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.