Donald Trump announced the recipients of the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors: an annual awards ceremony that recognizes individuals in the performing arts for their achievements in music, film, theatre and other art forms. With a few months to go until the ceremony takes place at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center Opera House, the president announced the honorees for the event, including “I Will Survive” hitmaker Gloria Gaynor and Rocky star Sylvester Stallone.
On August 12, Trump called the ceremony a “very exciting project,” referring to the recent overhaul of the Kennedy Center Board and to the upcoming awards ceremony.
“We’re going to do something that will go rapidly, relatively inexpensively, and we’ll make it better than it ever was,” Trump noted, adding that he was “delighted to be here as we officially announce the incredible talented artists who will be celebrated later this year at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors.”
The Kennedy Center is proud to announce our incredible lineup of 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees:
•George Strait (@GeorgeStrait)
•Michael Crawford
•Sylvester Stallone (@TheSlyStallone)
•Gloria Gaynor (@GloriaGaynor)
•Kiss (@Kiss)Congratulations to our 48th Class! pic.twitter.com/y8iWt4U0Lq
— The Kennedy Center (@kencen) August 13, 2025
The president also revealed that he signed on to host the awards ceremony. Below, read on to find out who the honorees are for this year’s Kennedy Center Honors event.
This year’s Kennedy Center Honors will take place in December 2025.
The following are the honorees for the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony;
