President Biden to resume tradition and attend Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday

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US President Joe Biden will be in the house for the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday. Biden and first lady Jill Biden planned to take their seats in the presidential box in the performing arts center’s Opera House for a star-studded celebration of 5 artists. These artists include Berry Gordy (Motown Records creator), Lorne Michaels (“Saturday Night Live” mastermind), Bette Midler (Actress-singer), Justino Diaz (opera singer), and Joni Mitchell (folk music legend). The Democrat President will be the first to attend the Kennedy Center Honors since 2016. The spokesperson for the first lady, Michael LaRosa also confirmed that President Biden and the first lady would be attending.

Point to be noted that former President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump skipped the show the first 3 years he was in office. Several artists were honored in 2017, during Trump’s first year, because they threatened to boycott a White House reception if the Republican participated. However, the 2020 ceremony was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and was later held earlier this year. The former President Trump also scrapped a traditional White House ceremony for the honorees, which Biden is resuming as well on Sunday. Presidents traditionally host a lighthearted gathering with the participants for honors at the White House before the awards ceremony. Trump long had a contentious relationship with the art world. Last year, the pandemic forced organizers to bump the annual December ceremony back to May 2021.

It is noteworthy that the 44th Kennedy Center Honors program is returning in-person to the Opera House this year, with all attendees required to be tested in advance for COVID-19. Performance tributes to the artists were filmed over several nights and at multiple locations on campus. This year’s main COVID-related modification has shifted the annual Saturday ceremony to the Library of Congress instead of the State Department, where honorees receive their medallions on rainbow-colored ribbons. Moreover, the Kennedy Center itself recently reopened after being closed because of the pandemic. It is important that Sunday’s ceremony will be broadcast on 22^nd December 2021 by CBS News. The news channel is the centerpiece of the Kennedy Center’s 50th anniversary of cultural programming.