The Trump Kennedy Center Honors ceremony will “go forward” despite the center’s temporary closure.
The center’s president, Richard Grenell, said a new venue was currently being sought as the building undergoes renovations, beginning around Independence Day.
“It will definitely go forward,” he told a local news radio station. “It will probably just be in a smaller venue, which just means ticket demand will be even higher.”
The Kennedy Center Honors is a series of ceremonies spanning a weekend that honors five artists for their contributions to culture. During the weekend, the honorees receive awards, meet the president, give speeches at State Department dinners, and then conclude at a bipartisan ceremony at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House.
While the honorees typically sit next to the president during the final ceremony, the entertainment industry’s well-known hostility towards Trump pushed him to end the tradition during his first term.
KENNEDY CENTER TO CLOSE FOR TWO YEARS FOR RENOVATIONS, TRUMP SAYS
He has since reversed his hands-off approach towards the Kennedy Center during his second term, instead taking the most hands-on role of a president in the center’s history. He installed a new board of loyalists and reshaped the institution, going so far as to push the new board to rename it to the Trump Kennedy Center.
Reflecting the new name, the honors will be held as the “Trump Kennedy Center Honors.”
