Met Gala 2026 live in India: Date, time, theme and where to watch

If you live in India and you plan to keep up with fashion’s biggest night, brace yourself because the Met Gala does not care for your sleep schedule.

When and where to watch Met Gala 2026 live in India

The 2026 Met Gala will take place on Monday evening on May 4, in New York, which is the early hours of Tuesday, May 5, in India. The only part the public actually gets to see is the red carpet and it begins streaming at 6 pm ET which is roughly 3.30 am IST.

The official livestream will be available on Vogue’s website, Vogue’s YouTube channel, and also on streaming platforms like Peacock, Hulu + Live TV, and DirecTV.

The Met Gala is a fundraising gala for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It as a cross between a museum fundraiser, a costume drama, and a high-stakes branding exercise. One outfit at the Met can make or break reputations overnight.

The guest list is notoriously exclusive, and attendance is by invitation only, with tickets costing tens of thousands of dollars, and even then, approval is not guaranteed.

Each year’s theme ties into the Costume Institute’s annual exhibition, giving designers a conceptual framework. This year, the theme/dress code is “Costume Art”/“Fashion Is Art” so, subtlety will likely be in short supply.

The red carpet hosts this year are Ashley Graham, La La Anthony, and Cara Delevingne, with Emma Chamberlain returning as correspondent. Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, alongside the ever-present Anna Wintour will be the co-chairs.

Appearances by figures like Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Sabyasachi and Alia Bhatt in the recent years have proved that Indian audiences are no longer passive observers. This year, expect Karan Johar, and Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Isha Ambani and Natasha Poonawala.

If you’re watching from India, you are trading sleep for spectacle that is the Met Gala. But for a few hours, as couture collides with celebrity on those iconic steps, it delivers exactly what fashion promises at its best: drama, excess, and just enough absurdity to keep it interesting.

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