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The 2026 Met Gala is hours away. Here’s what to know ahead of fashion’s biggest night.

Beyonce wears a pink dress on the Met Gala red carpet
Beyoncé will make her Met Gala return as a co-chair for the 2026 event.

All across Manhattan, stars are powdering their noses, smoothing down wrinkles on gowns and suits, and doing one final look in the mirror.

It might seem like a lot of fuss for a Monday, but it’s not just any Monday. It’s the first Monday in May, which means one thing in New York City: Met Gala day.

Tonight, celebrities will gather at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the 2026 Met Gala.

Business Insider will be sharing live updates throughout the event, from A-list arrivals to the best and worst Met Gala outfits. Read on to be part of fashion’s biggest night.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are sponsors of this year’s gala, much to the dismay of protesters.
Lauren Sánchez Bezos and Anna Wintour at a press conference for the Met Gala.
Lauren Sánchez Bezos attends the press conference for the 2026 Met Gala.

After attending past Met Galas as guests, the billionaire couple is taking on a new role at this year’s ball. They’re helping fund this year’s exhibit and gala, alongside Saint Laurent and Condè Nast. They’re also honorary co-chairs.

Sánchez Bezos first attended the Met Gala in 2024, walking the red carpet solo in a statement Oscar de la Renta gown. The Amazon founder, on the other hand, has never walked the event’s red carpet, but he’s been photographed inside.

Though the couple has said they’re excited for the Met Gala, protest groups have posted boycott signs and other displays across New York City.

The guest list is largely a mystery, but we know some stars who will be there.
Sabrina Carpenter attends the 2025 Met Gala in a burgundy one-piece.
Sabrina Carpenter attends the 2025 Met Gala.

We know that the Met Gala’s host committee members will be in attendance. That includes Anthony Vaccarello, the creative director of YSL, and Zoë Kravitz (no word yet on whether Kravitz will bring Harry Styles as her plus-one), as well as stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Teyana Taylor, and Lisa.

Others have indicated they’ll be there by attending pre-Met Gala celebrations, such as Colman Domingo, who attended Wayman + Micah’s party, and Kris and Kendall Jenner, who were spotted at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos’ bash.

Of course, we’ll be on the lookout for the stars who always make a splash, like Rihanna. Sometimes, though, it’s first-time attendees who make the biggest impact, as Tyla did in 2024 when she arrived in a gown made of sand.

How to watch the Met Gala red carpet
Teyana Taylor attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City.

Though we won’t be able to see what happens inside the famous gala, the red carpet will be filmed from start to finish.

Vogue will livestream Met Gala arrivals on YouTube, TikTok, and its other digital platforms beginning at 6 p.m. ET.

Model Ashley Graham, actor La La Anthony, and model Cara Delevigne will host, and influencer Emma Chamberlain will return as a Vogue red-carpet correspondent.

You can also watch the red carpet on E! starting at 6 p.m. ET.

Meryl Streep won’t be making an appearance — as herself or Miranda Priestly.
Meryl Streep wears a brown blazer and burgundy sunglasses at Stanley Tucci's Hollywood star ceremony.
Meryl Streep won’t be attending the Met Gala.

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” begins with Meryl Streep in an opening scene clearly inspired by the Met Gala, but life won’t be imitating art at this year’s event.

A spokesperson for the Oscar-winning actor confirmed that Streep will not be attending fashion’s biggest night on Monday, as per her tradition.

“Meryl has been invited to the Met Gala for many years but has never attended,” the representative told People, adding that the star-studded event “has never quite been her scene.”

The absence still comes as a surprise, given Streep’s recent media blitz for “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” which included posing on the cover of Vogue alongside Anna Wintour, who has chaired the Met Gala for three decades. Streep — who plays a fashion magazine editor in chief inspired by Wintour in the film — also sat next to the legendary Vogue editor at a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show during Milan Fashion Week in September.

Three iconic women are serving as co-chairs.
Venus Williams attends the 2025 Met Gala in a green tennis-inspired outfit.
Venus Williams attends the 2025 Met Gala.

Anna Wintour, Vogue’s former editor in chief, works with a set of famous Met Gala co-chairs each year to bring the event to life.

For 2026, Wintour tapped Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Beyoncé.

Kidman and Williams have been familiar faces at the Met Gala in recent years, but Beyoncé hasn’t attended the event since 2016 for the “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” gala.

The theme of the 2026 Met Gala is “Costume Art.”
Guests wander the Metropolitan Museum of Art "Costume Art" exhibition, with a red dress on display in the center, during a press conference for the 2026 Met Gala.
Guests wander the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition during a press conference for the 2026 Met Gala celebrating “Costume Art.”

Unlike some A-list events, the Met Gala always has a theme. It coordinates with the Costume Institute’s annual exhibit, which attendees can explore once they enter the gala.

For 2026, museum curator Andrew Bolton created a “Costume Art” exhibit, saying he “wanted to focus on the centrality of the dressed body within the museum.”

The Met Gala’s red carpet also has a dress code that dictates the eye-catching looks celebrities wear. This year, stars will dress to the “Fashion is Art” dress code, as Vogue announced in February, advising guests to “consider the many ways that designers use the body as their blank canvas.”

That description leaves plenty of room for guests to interpret the theme as they see fit, particularly compared to stricter Met Gala dress codes of years past, so we’ll likely see a variety of different takes on “Fashion is Art” attire.

The 2026 Met Gala has arrived at last.
The outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art ahead of the Met Gala in May 2026.
The outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art ahead of the Met Gala in May 2026.

It’s time to roll out the fancy carpet because fashion’s biggest night is just hours away.

Held annually at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Met Gala raises funds for the museum’s Costume Institute and is the place to be for celebrities on the first Monday in May.

A night of glamour doesn’t come cheap, though.

This year, individual tickets cost $100,000. More often than not, fashion houses and other corporate sponsors buy tables and bring guests to fill them (though Anna Wintour is said to have final say on who gets in). Tables cost $350,000 for 2026.

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