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Revelation comes after president’s name was added to the cultural memorial to JFK, who was assassinated in 1963
Graig Graziosi in Washington, D.C. Sunday 01 March 2026 19:01 GMT- Bookmark
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The annual Kennedy Center Honors awards will reportedly still be given out this year, even after President Donald Trump announced the prestigious arts venue will close in July for two years.
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell — a Trump appointee — told WTOP that the awards are still happening, they may just be given at a different venue and use a different name.
“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.”
On Saturday, the venue also announced the awards will get a new name — the "Trump Kennedy Center Honors."
Trump announced that he is planning a two-year renovation of the Kennedy Center beginning later this year. The venue will remain open until July 4, and then close until 2028. He told reporters that the renovation would probably cost around “$200 million” because the building is “in very bad shape.”
open image in galleryRichard Grenell, the president of the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, said the venue’s Honors awards will still be given this year, even though the center is closing in July for a two-year renovation (AFP via Getty Images)He announced the closure shortly after a slew of artists cancelled their shows at the venue. Many of those cancellations were a reaction to the venue's board of trustees voting to add Trump's name to the building. Trump fired the previous board and installed an entirely new panel in their place.
Grenell told the broadcaster the date of this year's awards hasn't been determined, and said that "we're already looking for different places."
The most recent Kennedy Center Honors took place in December. Trump hosted the event and chose the award recipients. Sylvester Stallone, KISS, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, and Michael Crawford all went home with awards.
Grenell has accused Democrats of launching a coordinated campaign to tank ticket sales at the Kennedy Center.
“This is so sad & unnecessary – @TheDemocrats have been calling artists urging them to cancel and attacking the Center non-stop. It’s a calculated campaign," Grenell said.
Composer Phillip Glass and soprano vocalist Renee Fleming were among the cancellations.
Grenell also accused the Democratic party of vandalizing the ice rink outside the venue.
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open image in galleryRichard Grenell, the president of the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, left, stands with President Donald Trump. Grenell has lashed out at artists who have cancelled shows at the Kennedy Center following the Trump-appointed board of trustees’ decision to add the president’s name to the building (Getty Images)“And now they have mentally unstable people taking action – and vandalizing the Center," he said on social media. "We’ve seen serious death threats and constant harassment. Commonsense Democrats must speak up before this violence takes a life.”
Grenell provided no evidence that Democrats planned and carried out vandalism at the venue.
Kennedy Center Spokesperson Roma Daravi pushed a similar message to Rolling Stone.
"We have no place for politics in the arts, and those calling for boycotts based on politics are making the wrong decision," she said "We have not cancelled a single show. Leftist activists are pushing artists to cancel but the public wants artists to perform and create—not cancel under pressure from political insiders that benefit from creating division.”
Despite the venue's insistence that it is an apolitical entity, performers are still cancelling shows scheduled ahead of the center's planned closure.
On Saturday, the prestigious San Francisco Ballet announced that it was pulling out of its show at the venue, according to the New York Times.
The ballet was previously scheduled for a five-day performance beginning in May.
Grenell responded to the cancellation, saying that “professional artists should perform for everyone — not just for people they agree with politically.”
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