What to know about the Met Gala: Time, theme, guests, broadcast

The Met Gala returns to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday night in Manhattan, with celebrities from many fields expected to attend the glamorous event.

Here’s what to know about fashion’s biggest night:

When is it?

Guests are expected to arrive for the red carpet beginning at 6 p.m.

How can I watch?

The television broadcast begins on E! at 6 p.m. Vogue will also stream the event live on its website, Vogue.com. That stream will also be available on TikTok and YouTube.

Who will be there?

The official guest list is always a closely guarded secret, but a few celebrities have confirmed their attendance. The event’s co-chairs, alongside Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, are Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya, Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth, so they’ll surely be there. Ben Affleck and Tom Holland will therefore likely be in attendance as well.

Beyoncé, Rihanna, the Kardashians and Blake Lively are among the celebs who hardly ever miss the event. Dua Lipa and Lily Gladstone have also confirmed they’ll be in attendance.

What is the theme this year?

Each year features a different theme, often open to vast interpretation. This year’s theme, “The Garden of Time,” comes from a 1962 short story of the same name by J.G. Ballard.

The theme is tied to the Met’s Spring exhibition, which is “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” opening May 10 and running through Sept. 2. The exhibit includes 250 items from The Costume Institute’s permanent collection, and the celebs will get their own exclusive preview Monday night.

Will there be protests?

While any pop-up protest would be inherently hard to predict, some form of protest is likely. People in New York City have been demonstrating for months in response to Israeli attacks on Gaza, and the protests have led to high-profile showdowns on college campuses at Columbia University, NYU, The New School and City College of New York.

Even last year, with far fewer protests happening nationwide, climate protesters laid down in front of Paris Hilton’s car to block her path to the event.

Why does the Met Gala exist?

The museum’s  Costume Institute started the gala in 1948 as a fundraiser. In the decades since, it has been transformed into a celebrity fashion show, particularly after Wintour took the reins in 1995. The event raised about $22 million last year.