Bono, Anna Wintour and Jane Goodall receive Presidential Medals of Freedom

The U2 frontman Bono, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour, and the British conservationist Dame Jane Goodall are to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest US civilian honour.

Joe Biden will drape medals on Saturday around the necks of 19 people from the world of politics, sports, entertainment and other fields for “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavours”.

Among the recipients are names such as the Gladiator II actor Denzel Washington and the star of the Back to the Future film series and Parkinson’s disease campaigner Michael J Fox.

This is not the first time that a head of state has honoured Bono. In 2007 the Irish rock star was given an honorary knighthood, in 2013 France’s Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, and in 2005 he was named Time Magazine’s person of the year.

Bono, whose real name is Paul David Hewson, is known for campaigning against poverty and supporting those with HIV and Aids, especially on the African continent.

Bono, 64, is to take up a residency with U2 at the Sphere, a new hi-tech venue in Las Vegas with more than 15,000 sq metres (168,000 sq ft) of high-definition LEDs, 167,000 speakers and with a capacity for 17,000 people.

Dame Jane, 90, who is regarded as the world’s foremost authority on chimpanzees, was made a dame in 2004 and in 2021 was awarded the Templeton prize, worth more than £1m.

The next Medal of Freedom ceremony will be presided over by the president-elect, Donald Trump.