US President Donald Trump announced that the Kennedy Center in Washington will be closed for a two-year renovation, starting in July, UNN reports with reference to the BBC.
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On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the center would close on July 4 this year "in honor of our nation's 250th anniversary."
The move came after several artists canceled performances at the legendary venue after it was recently renamed the Kennedy-Trump Center.
Shortly after taking office, the US president fired several members of the center's board and replaced them with allies, who then voted to make Trump chairman of the board, the publication notes.
In December, the new board renamed the institution the Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The next day, new signs appeared on the exterior of the building.
Several musical groups, including Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz and a group called Doug Varone and the Dancers, canceled performances at the center in the following weeks due to the name change.
On Thursday, the venue hosted the premiere screening of a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump.
The US President stated that there would be a "scheduled grand reopening" of the facility and that the renovation had already been funded.
"I have determined that the Trump and Kennedy Center, if temporarily closed for renovation, revitalization, and complete rebuilding, can be, without question, the finest performing arts facility of its kind anywhere in the world," he wrote.
"In other words, if we don't close, the quality of construction will not be as good, and the time to completion due to interruptions with audiences at the numerous events using the facility will be much longer," Trump indicated.
Trump criticized the physical condition of the center and worked with the US Congress to allocate over $250 million for its reconstruction, one of many renovation projects he initiated during his second term.
Some American lawmakers and lawyers argue that, since the center was named in a 1964 law, Congress should have a say in any name change.
Last December, US Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty filed a lawsuit demanding Trump's name be removed for this reason.
Some members of President John F. Kennedy's family also condemned the move. The center was named after Kennedy shortly after his assassination.
Joe Kennedy III, a former US House member and great-nephew of the late US president, said the site is "a living memorial to the fallen president, named after President Kennedy by federal law."
Kennedy Center in Washington becomes "Trump-Kennedy Center" despite legal disputes19.12.25, 22:10