Andy Garcia, David Foster among 2026 Kennedy Center honorees
The December 7 ceremony will move to Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., while a television broadcaster has yet to be announced.
Actor Andy Garcia, producer David Foster, singer Paul Anka, playwright David Mamet and country singer Barbara Mandrell will receive the 2026 Kennedy Center Honors. President Donald Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced the recipients on November 2.
The 49th annual ceremony is scheduled for December 7 at Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena. According to NBC Washington, it will be the first ceremony away from the Kennedy Center since the honors started in 1978. The center remains closed amid renovation plans and a legal dispute concerning Trump’s effort to add his name to the institution.
The awards recognize lifetime contributions to the performing arts. Garcia’s credits include The Godfather Part III and the Ocean’s films, while Mamet’s plays include Glengarry Glen Ross and American Buffalo. Mamet also wrote the screenplay for The Untouchables, which featured Garcia.
Foster has won 16 Grammys and worked with artists including Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. Anka’s songwriting credits include the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” Mandrell, a Country Music Hall of Fame member, also appeared with her sisters in NBC’s Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters.
Neither a television outlet nor an air date has been announced. Variety reported that CBS’s latest broadcasting agreement expired after the network televised the ceremony annually from 1978 through 2025.
