Kennedy Center to close for two years for renovations, Trump says

President Donald Trump announced the Kennedy Center will close on 4 July for a two-year renovation, and the article reports the venue was recently renamed and faced several performer cancellations.

The Kennedy Center in Washington will close for two years starting on 4 July, President Donald Trump announced. He posted on Truth Social saying the closure is in honor of the 250th anniversary and that renovations have been financed with a scheduled grand reopening. The announcement follows a December decision by a new board to rename the centre to include Trump's name after several board members were removed and replaced. In the weeks after the renaming, multiple performers cancelled appearances and a lawsuit was filed challenging the name change. Key facts: - President Trump announced the centre will close on 4 July for a two-year renovation period. - Trump wrote on Truth Social that the closure honors the country's 250th anniversary and that a grand reopening is scheduled. - A newly composed board renamed the institution the Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in December and installed new exterior signage. - Several artists, including composer Steven Schwartz and the group Doug Varone and the Dancers, cancelled performances after the renaming. - The article reports Congress worked to allocate more than $250m for rebuilding, according to the administration's account. - Representative Joyce Beatty filed a lawsuit in December seeking to remove Trump's name, and some members of the Kennedy family have publicly objected. Summary: The closure will pause events at the centre and follows disputes over its renaming and governance. A scheduled grand reopening has been announced, and legal and congressional questions about the name remain. Undetermined at this time.