Met Gala tomorrow: livestream and red‑carpet timing

The Met Gala is tomorrow — Monday, May 4, 2026 — and the useful thing to know is that the part you can actually watch is the arrival, not the dinne(metmuseum.org)hrough the red carpet. This year’s gala opens the Met’s spring Costume Institute show, “Costume Art,” and the viewing plan is already pretty clear: The Met starts its own stream at 5:30 p.m. EDT, Vogue goes live at 6 p.m. ET, and E! is doing its usual red-carpet coverage too. (metmuseum.org) ### When is the gala, exactly? It’s on Monday, May 4, 2026, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New Yor(metmuseum.org)e fundraising kickoff for the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition. The museum has also flagged operational changes around the event, including a closure of the Fifth Avenue building on May 4. (metmuseum.org) ### What can you actually watch? Not the main gala itself. The watchable part is the arrivals on the museum steps, plus the interviews and outfit breakdowns before guests head inside. The Met’s official page says its livestream begins at 5:30 p.m. EDT, framed as coverage of guests arriving for the Costume Institute Benefit. (metmuseum.org) ### Where is the official stream? The cleanest answer is Vogue and the Met. Vogue’s free red-carpet livestream starts at 6 p.m. ET on YouTube, and Yahoo’s preview says the hosts are Ashley Graham, La La Anthony, and Cara Delevingne. The Met is also promoting its own official gala livestream page, wi(metmuseum.org)e Met; if you want the more familiar fashion-broadcast setup, Vogue is the main destination. (yahoo.com) ### Is E! covering it too? Yes — E! says “Li(metmuseum.org)! usually leans harder into celebrity interviews and broad red-carpet TV coverage, while Vogue tends to feel more fashion-first. If you have cable or a live TV package, E! is the other obvious option. (eonline.com) ### What is this year’s exhibition? The show is “Costume Art,” on view at The Met from May 10, 2026, through January 10, 2027. The museum describes it as an exhibition about the (yahoo.com) funds the Costume Institute and launches the show. (metmuseum.org) ### Who’s chairing the event? The co-chairs are Anna Wintour, Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams. That lineup comes straight from the Met’s exhibition announcement, and it tells you a l(eonline.com)l in one frame. (metmuseum.org) ### Why are people talking more about the dress code? Because the red carpet is the product. The exhibition gives the intellectual frame, but the dress code is what turns that frame into a night of images, memes, and instant winners and losers. With a concept tied to art and the body, the likely game is less “pre(metmuseum.org)tylists trying to make a look feel like an exhibit piece that can still move up stairs. That reading follows from how the Met is describing the show itself. (metmuseum.org) ### What’s the bottom line? If you only need one plan, it’s simple: be ready by 5:30 p. (metmuseum.org)pending on whether you want museum-hosted coverage, Vogue’s fashion-heavy stream, or E!’s celebrity-TV version of the same parade. (metmuseum.org)