Kennedy Center Honors to Be Renamed ‘Trump Kennedy Center Honors’ for 2026 Ceremony
The annual honors ceremony at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will be renamed the “Trump Kennedy Center Honors,” according to The New York Times.
The change follows the board’s vote late last year to rename the Washington institution the Trump-Kennedy Center. A representative for the center said the honors’ rebranding “automatically follows” that of the institution.
Center president Richard Grenell said in an interview with Washington radio station WTOP that the ceremony will proceed this year despite plans to close the Kennedy Center building after July 7 for a two-year renovation project. The event will be relocated to a smaller, as-yet-undetermined venue.
“It will definitely go forward,” Grenell said. “It will probably just be in a smaller venue, which just means ticket demand will be even higher.”
President Donald Trump currently serves as chairman of the board and became the first sitting president to host the honors ceremony.
The 2025 broadcast returned notably lower ratings than usual, averaging an estimated 3.01 million viewers, down from 4.1 million the previous year, a 26 percent decline in ratings. Preliminary figures had initially placed viewership at 2.65 million, though final numbers were slightly higher.
This year, honorees included Tony Award-winning performer Michael Crawford (The Phantom of the Opera), actor/writer Sylvester Stallone (Broadway’s Rocky), country music star George Strait, disco and gospel artist Gloria Gaynor, and the rock band KISS.
The renaming has prompted legal opposition and widespread criticism. Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and an ex board member, has filed suit arguing that only Congress has the authority to rename the institution, which opened in 1971 as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
The Kennedy Center has faced broader instability over the past year, including artist cancellations, staff departures, and declining ticket sales. Renovation plans include structural work, plumbing, HVAC upgrades, parking improvements, and technical stage system updates.
Broadcast plans and additional details for this year’s relocated ceremony have not yet been announced.
