Kennedy Center Honors Leave Opera House for Capital One Arena
The Kennedy Center Honors are leaving home.
The 49th annual ceremony will take place on Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C., not at the Kennedy Center itself. It is the first change of address in the event's near 50-year history.
The move was confirmed by the Kennedy Center. The Honors have been presented in the 2,347-capacity Opera House since they began in 1978, according to Billboard. The Opera House is a theatre built for opera, ballet and gala nights. Capital One Arena is a sports and concert venue built for crowds.
Who will be honoured this year is still to come. The Kennedy Center said it will announce the 2026 honorees at a later date. It will also announce a broadcast partner later.
That second gap matters. CBS carried the Honors every year from 1978 through 2025. No broadcaster has yet been named for the 49th edition.
For fans, this means a larger room and a different night out. The Arena holds many times the Opera House total. Details on tickets, staging and how the television edit will work have not been released.
The shift follows a busy year for the arts organisation. The 48th Honors celebrated country singer George Strait, rock band KISS, stage actor Michael Crawford, singer Gloria Gaynor and actor Sylvester Stallone, according to the Kennedy Center. That gala was held on Dec. 7 on the Opera House stage. The medallions were presented the day before at a ceremony at the State Department.
Other changes surround the event. Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell announced that the show would move to an alternate venue and be renamed the "Trump Kennedy Center Honors," as reported by The Washington Post. Donald Trump said last August that he will host the ceremony, Reuters reported. Separately, a judge in September ordered the Trump administration to explain its plans around a proposed closure of the Kennedy Center, Reuters reported.
What makes this stand out is continuity. The Honors will continue during the closure dispute. The names, the broadcaster and the shape of an arena-sized show are still to be confirmed.
