The 2026 Emmy Awards will welcome guests on a "peacock blue" carpet, replacing the familiar red with a color tied to NBC's identity.
The change celebrates the network's 100th anniversary, according to The Associated Press's ceremony preview, carried by NBC Los Angeles. NBC is broadcasting the September 14 awards from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Host Mariska Hargitay joined producers and television executives for the September 10 carpet rollout, documented in the Television Academy's event announcement.
For fashion coverage, the change makes the setting part of the visual story before guests arrive. A carpet occupies a substantial portion of many full-length photographs, so its color helps frame the clothes, shoes and accessories being photographed.
As a matter of visual analysis, warm reds and orange tones can create a pronounced contrast against blue. Blue garments may produce a more tonal effect, although the result depends on their shade, fabric, lighting and the camera angle. A reflective satin dress and a matte suit in similar colors can still photograph quite differently.
Those possibilities do not establish which looks will succeed on the carpet. They provide something to watch as arrivals begin: how stylists' choices interact with a setting designed around the broadcaster's anniversary.
The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock, following the evening's arrivals.
