The Kennedy Center’s performance schedule will go largely dark from Nov. 24 to Dec. 12 to accommodate the 2026 World Cup draw, The Washington Post reports, with FIFA (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association) paying no rental fees for the Dec. 5 draw and surrounding events.
World Cup matches will be held in 16 cities in the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
The Kennedy Center booking for FIFA will require postponement or relocation of concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra and other tenants of the center. The annual Kennedy Center Honors will be staged as scheduled on Dec. 7 in the Opera House.
Meanwhile, Francesca Zambello, Washington National Opera’s artistic director, suggested in a Nov. 8 interview with The Guardian that the company may leave the Kennedy Center. Her comments were quickly rebutted by the center, which issued a statement by Andy Pharoah, the opera company’s board of trustees, that “[t]he WNO has no plans to move out of the Kennedy Center and we are proud to be part of America’s cultural center.”
Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra are affiliated administratively with the center. Their events and other attractions have seen a marked decline in ticket sales and season subscriptions since the takeover of the center by President Trump and his allies earlier this year.
(via https://slippedisc.com)
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