John Legend to Perform at Lincoln Center Summer Gala Honoring Misty Copeland
Andreas C. Dracopoulos will also be honored at David Geffen Hall, kicking off the Summer for the City festival.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) have announced that global music superstar and EGOT-winner John Legend will perform at their 2026 Summer Gala, which will recognize previously-announced honorees Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Co-President Andreas C. Dracopoulos and groundbreaking dancer, author, and advocate Misty Copeland.
The event will take place Monday, June 1 at David Geffen Hall, helping kick off the beloved Summer for the City festival, which opens across the Lincoln Center campus on June 10.
Concert-only tickets for the Summer Gala will go on sale to Friends of Lincoln Center on Wednesday, May 13 at Noon ET, and to the general public on Friday, May 15 at Noon ET. Learn more at LincolnCenter.org.
Copeland will receive the inaugural Lincoln Center Luminary Award, established to recognize leading artists who have demonstrated both extraordinary talent on stage, and civic vision: artists who create, convene, and care for communities. The award will be presented with remarks from Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem.
As the event ushers in the summer season, it also provides critical support for Summer for the City — Lincoln Center's premiere free arts festival, attended by more than 1.6 million visitors since its launch in 2022. The Gala will also shine a light on the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Lincoln Center West Initiative, a project launched in 2023 to open up the Amsterdam Avenue side of Lincoln Center's campus. With welcoming entrances, public community gardens, and a world-class amphitheater, this Initiative reinforces Lincoln Center's mission to make the arts accessible to all, expanding our collective imagination and creating connections and dialogue.
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