French officials have postponed the upcoming Group of 7 summit to accommodate an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House on President Donald Trump’s birthday, according to a new report.
The annual G7 summit, which brings together leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., was originally scheduled to take place June 14-16 in Evian-les-Bains, France.
But after Trump announced that a UFC fight is set to take place at the White House on June 14, his 80th birthday, Paris changed the summit’s dates to avoid conflicting with the event, Politico reports. The G7 summit is now scheduled for June 15-17.
A White House official said the summit was rescheduled to “accommodate” Trump’s schedule.
“As the leader of the free world, our partners believed that President Trump’s attendance at the G7 Summit was essential. They kindly shifted dates to accommodate the US President’s schedule,” the official said in a statement to The Independent.
A spokesperson for French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly declined to comment to Politico on whether the change was linked to the UFC fight, and instead said the new dates are “the result of our consultations with G7 partners.”
The Independent has contacted the French embassy for comment.
Trump first announced plans to host a UFC fight at the White House during an October rally in Norfolk, Virginia. Trump is a long-time UFC fan and has attended a number of UFC fights.
"On June 14, next year, we're going to have a big UFC fight at the White House, right at the White House grounds," he said.
UFC CEO Dana White revealed new details about the event this week on CBS Mornings.
“We literally just got done going through all the logistics of how to set it up there … It's looking like we'll have 5,000 people live on the White House lawn,” White said Thursday.
“We're going to have big screens, and we're going to have the stage and music throughout the day. We're basically going to take over D.C. that whole week, with lots of different things for fight fans,” he added.
White also revealed that the fighters will “actually walk from the Oval Office” to the event.
Trump attended last year’s G7 summit — which was held in Canada — but left early, citing concerns about the Israel-Iran conflict at the time.
“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
