The Kennedy Center in Washington DC will be closed for a two-year renovation beginning in July, US President Donald Trump has announced. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that the centre would close on 4 July this year "in honour of the 250th Anniversary of our Country". The move follows several artists cancelling performances at the storied institution after it was recently renamed as the Trump Kennedy Center. Shortly after taking office, the president fired several of the board members at the centre and replaced them with allies, who then voted to make Trump chairman of the board.