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 commemoration of Memorial Day between 1989 and 2019. In 2020 and 2021, the concert was broadcast on PBS and streamed, but was not live, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is held on a Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend. It is broadcast on PBS, 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, in every year but 2020 and 2021, 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. The concert's finale includes the Armed Forces Medley by the National Symphony Orchestra accompanied by a civil chorus and military choirs from the United States Armed Forces and America the Beautiful. The 2020 and 2021 concerts were not live because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and instead featured a series of pre-recorded performances and readings along with a tribute to first-responders helping out during the pandemic. This multi-award-winning television event honors the military service of all our men and women in uniform, their families and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.