The Tragically Hip’s Historic Final Concert Returns to CBC for 10th Anniversary
Remembering the Night Canada Came Together for The Tragically Hip
Ten years after Canada gathered to watch The Tragically Hip’s final concert in Kingston, CBC marked the anniversary with a special rebroadcast of The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration on August 22, 2026. The broadcast returned one of the most emotional moments in Canadian music history to television, radio and streaming audiences across the country.
A National Celebration Returned for the 10th Anniversary
One of the most memorable nights in Canadian music history returned to television, radio and streaming. On Saturday, August 22, 2026, CBC rebroadcasted The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration, the historic final concert by The Tragically Hip, performed in the band’s hometown of Kingston, Ontario.
The concert presented commercial-free at 7 p.m. local time (7:30 NT) on CBC TV, CBC Gem and CBC Radio. A global stream was also available through CBC Music’s YouTube channel. SiriusXM carried the broadcast in North America.
The Night Canada Came Together
On August 20, 2016, Gord Downie, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair, Paul Langlois and Johnny Fay walked onto the stage at Kingston’s K-Rock Centre for the final performance of their Man Machine Poem Tour.
It was no ordinary tour.
Earlier that year, Canadians learned that Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Rather than quietly stepping away, Downie and his bandmates embarked on a 15-date tour across Canada. It culminated with an emotional hometown performance in Kingston.
CBC carried the concert live and commercial-free under the title The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration.
Canadians gathered in homes, bars, parks and public squares to watch. The broadcast reached millions, turning a rock concert into something much larger — a collective farewell to one of the country’s most beloved bands and its extraordinary frontman.
Ten Years Later
The rebroadcast was part of a larger commemoration of the 10th anniversary of The Tragically Hip’s final tour.
On August 21, 2026, Universal Music Canada released Live July 22 – August 20, 2016, a new live album assembled from performances recorded during that final cross-Canada tour.
The collection captures the band during its last run of concerts and is available in Dolby Atmos. Live recordings of “Fifty-Mission Cap” from Edmonton and “Locked in the Trunk of a Car” from the Kingston finale have already been released ahead of the album.
Kingston Celebrates The Hip
The band’s hometown is also marking the anniversary.
Kingston planned a Forever Hip, a three-day celebration running August 20–22, commemorating the band, its music and the final 2016 performance.
Other Canadian communities also planned opportunities for fans to gather and experience the rebroadcast together, echoing the public viewing parties that accompanied the original concert.
Watch: The Tragically Hip’s Final Concert
On August 20, 2016, The Tragically Hip returned home to Kingston, Ontario, for the final performance of the Man Machine Poem Tour. Broadcast live across Canada, the concert became an extraordinary shared moment in Canadian music history.
Watch the complete historic Kingston performance below.
Running time: Approximately three hours | Recorded: Kingston, Ontario — August 20, 2016
Copyright: @cbcmusic and @thetragicallyhip
More Than a Concert
A decade later, A National Celebration remained difficult to describe simply as a concert.
The Tragically Hip had spent more than 30 years telling Canadian stories — about hockey, highways, small towns, history, tragedy, landscapes and people. Their songs became part of the country’s cultural vocabulary.
On that August night in Kingston, those songs brought Canadians together one more time.
For longtime fans, the 2026 broadcast will be an opportunity to experience that extraordinary evening again. For younger listeners who never saw the original broadcast, it offers the chance to understand why August 20, 2016 remains one of the defining moments in Canadian music history.