U2 frontman Bono, British conservationist Dame Jane Goodall and actor Denzel Washington are among the famous faces who will receive the highest US civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on Saturday.
A total of 19 people from across politics, sports, entertainment and other fields will be given the award for “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavours” by President Joe Biden.
Back To The Future actor and Parkinson’s campaigner Michael J Fox, US politician Hillary Clinton and Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Dame Anna Wintour will also be given the honour.
Bono, real name Paul David Hewson, has previously been given the highest cultural honour of France, the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2013, was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2005, and was awarded an honorary British knighthood in 2007.
He is known for campaigning against poverty and supporting those with HIV/Aids.
The 64-year-old’s band have recently been holding a residency at a high-tech new immersive venue in Las Vegas which boasts 168,000 square feet of high-definition LEDs, 167,000 speakers and 17,000 seats, called the Sphere.
The acclaimed rockers have released a host of albums over the years, the most recent being Songs Of Surrender which featured reimagined recordings from their back catalogue.
Dame Jane, 90, who is regarded as the world’s foremost authority on chimpanzees, was awarded a damehood in 2004, and the 2021 Templeton Prize, worth more than £1 million.
