Kennedy Center Honors to be held at Capital One Arena due to venue closure
The annual Kennedy Center Honors will be moved to Capital One Arena after the main Kennedy Center building was closed for safety assessments and renovations.
The Kennedy Center announced that the 2024 Honors ceremony will take place at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C., rather than its traditional Opera House. The change follows the closure of the main Kennedy Center building, which has been shut to the public since September 15 after a partial ceiling collapse raised safety concerns. The venue shift allows the event, scheduled for Dec. 7, to proceed while the center undergoes a two-year renovation plan.
Executive Director Matt Floca said the closure will be reviewed weekly based on ongoing safety assessments. The board’s draft resolution cited advice from a construction consultant and the center’s director that the building was unsafe for continued occupancy and posed a risk to the public and staff.
The center has not yet released the list of honorees. The White House declined to comment on the venue change.
"The closing will take place immediately, however, the Renovation and Reconstruction ... cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name," President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in September.