US Kennedy Center faces bankruptcy, Washington Post reports

Board of trustees recommending that the main building be closed immediately due to costs, US newspaper reports.

A tarp covers the name of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, US, August 29, 2026 [Daniel Heuer/Reuters]

The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, is on the brink of bankruptcy and could close as soon as Tuesday, The Washington Post has reported.

According to the report in the United States newspaper on Sunday, the institution’s board of trustees, of which President Donald Trump is the chairman, has argued that putting the president’s name on the facade could be the only way to avoid imminent and “certain fiscal collapse”.

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The trustees also say the institution will not be able to pay employees or meet maintenance costs within a few weeks.

The assessment was set out in a 57-page report before a special meeting on Tuesday, when the Trump-led board is expected to consider the two main issues affecting the performing arts centre: A financial crisis and a physical one, as the building needs renovation.

The Post reported that board members are recommending that the main building be closed immediately due to costs.

The ⁠Post also said Trump ⁠would help the Kennedy Center if his involvement is acknowledged. The trustees’ report represents “a remarkable new phase in Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy ⁠Center, which has been engulfed by financial turmoil, leadership upheaval and litigation ⁠since he installed himself as chairman ⁠last year”, the paper said.

The Kennedy Center was named in honour of the late US president who championed civil rights before he was assassinated in 1963.

Trump placed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Centre shortly after beginning his second term last year, and in December his hand-picked board voted to rename it the “Trump-Kennedy” Centre, a move later blocked in court.

In response to Trump’s takeover, a host of artists have cancelled concerts, with US media reporting that ticket sales had fallen to their lowest levels since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Post reported that the centre was expected to collect about $124m of the projected $220m in revenue that it had budgeted, “leaving a roughly $23 million deficit even after substantial spending cuts” this past fiscal year.

It added that a spokesperson for the centre blamed the problems on “financial mismanagement by previous leadership” and said Trump’s name had attracted new donors.

据美国报纸报道，董事会建议立即关闭主楼，原因是成本问题。

2026年8月29日，美国华盛顿特区，约翰·F·肯尼迪表演艺术中心的名称被一块防水布遮盖。[丹尼尔·休尔/路透社]

据《华盛顿邮报》报道，位于华盛顿特区的约翰·F·肯尼迪表演艺术中心濒临破产，最早可能于周二关闭。

据美国报纸周日报道，该机构的董事会（由唐纳德·特朗普总统担任主席）认为，将总统的名字印在建筑外墙上可能是避免迫在眉睫的“必然财政崩溃”的唯一方法。

特朗普称，美国将取消对爱尔兰威士忌的关税，名单共3份。

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受托人还表示，该机构将在几周内无法支付员工工资或承担维护费用。

这份评估报告共 57 页，将在周二的特别会议上进行讨论。届时，由特朗普领导的董事会预计将审议影响该表演艺术中心的两个主要问题：财政危机和建筑结构问题，因为该建筑需要翻新。

《华盛顿邮报》报道称，由于成本问题，董事会成员建议立即关闭主楼。

《华盛顿邮报》还称，如果特朗普的参与得到承认，他将帮助肯尼迪中心。该报指出，受托人的报告标志着“特朗普接管肯尼迪中心进入了一个显著的新阶段。自他去年担任主席以来，肯尼迪中心一直深陷财务动荡、领导层更迭和诉讼之中”。

肯尼迪中心是为了纪念这位已故的美国总统而命名的，他在1963年遇刺身亡前一直倡导民权。

特朗普在去年第二个任期开始后不久，就担任了肯尼迪中心的主席。12 月，他亲自挑选的董事会投票决定将中心更名为“特朗普-肯尼迪”中心，但这一举动后来被法院阻止。

为响应特朗普的上台，许多艺术家取消了演唱会，美国媒体报道称，门票销售额已降至新冠疫情爆发以来的最低水平。

《邮报》报道称，该中心预计只能收取预算中预计的 2.2 亿美元收入中的约 1.24 亿美元，“即使在大幅削减开支之后”，上个财政年度仍将出现约 2300 万美元的赤字。

报道还称，该中心的一位发言人将问题归咎于“前任领导层的财务管理不善”，并表示特朗普的名字吸引了新的捐助者。