National Memorial Day Concert
The National Memorial Day Concert is a free annual concert performed on the west lawn of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., in celebration of Memorial Day between 1989 and 2019; the concert became a streaming-only event in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is held on the fourth or last Sunday in May. It is broadcast live on PBS, NPR, and can also be seen overseas by U.S. military personnel in more than 175 countries and aboard more than 200 U.S. Navy ships at sea on American Forces Network. The concert is viewed and heard by millions across the country and the world, as well as attended by more than half a million people at the United States Capitol. The concert, the American counterpart of The Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance held the Saturday before Remembrance Sunday in November, usually begins with the American national anthem by the National Symphony Orchestra, followed by music and dramatic readings commemorating the holiday and its importance.
