The ceremony leaves its longtime home for the first time as a new broadcast partner has yet to be announced
The Kennedy Center Honors will move to Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena this year, marking the first time the annual ceremony will be held outside the Kennedy Center since its launch nearly five decades ago.
The move comes as another longtime Honors tradition is also up in the air. CBS broadcast the ceremony every year from its debut in 1978 through 2025, but its contract with the Kennedy Center expired following last year’s telecast.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said a broadcast partner for the 2026 ceremony will be announced at a later date.
The 49th annual Kennedy Center Honors will take place Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena. This year’s honorees have not yet been announced.
Last year’s ceremony, hosted by President Donald Trump, drew 3.01 million viewers on CBS, the smallest audience in the Honors’ history. The telecast was also streamed on Paramount+. Honorees included Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor, Michael Crawford and the rock band Kiss.
The venue change comes as the Kennedy Center’s main building remains closed while officials assess safety risks stemming from structural deterioration. Officials temporarily closed the building following a partial ceiling collapse, while its longer-term future remains the subject of a legal battle.
The dispute has centered on plans for a large-scale renovation and Trump’s efforts to add his name to the performing arts institution. A federal judge previously ruled that only Congress could rename the center and ordered Trump’s name removed from its facade and other materials.
The move will also give the Honors a much larger venue. Capital One Arena, home to the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals, can accommodate roughly 20,000 people, compared with 2,347 seats at the Kennedy Center Opera House, where the Honors have traditionally been staged.
The Kennedy Center Honors were established in 1978 and recognize artists for lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts.
The White House did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
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