Biden pays tribute to Kennedy Center Honourees U2: "You really make a difference. Thank you"

U2 received The John F. Kennedy Center Honours in Washington D.C. last night, as part of a special ceremony celebrating "living individuals who throughout their lifetimes have made significant contributions to American culture through the performing arts."

The ceremony – at which actor and filmmaker George Clooney, singer-songwriter Amy Grant, singer Gladys Knight, and Cuban-born American composer Tania León were also honoured – featured a selection of special guests paying tribute to the Honourees.

Big names (@eddievedder , @garthbrooks , #JuliaRoberts) saluting other big names (@U2 , @MsGladysKnight , @amygrant, #GeorgeClooney) at Sunday's #KennedyCenterHonors. @kencen https://t.co/LdmqSvSqCq pic.twitter.com/PzPakmaNaq

— Melissa Ruggieri (@MRuggieriUSAT) December 5, 2022

U2, who were the final Honourees of the night, received a particularly star-studded tribute – with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder singing 'Elevation' and 'One'; Sacha Baron Cohen in character as Borat praising the band; a speech by Sean Penn; and a performance of 'Walk On' by Hozier, Brandi Carlile, and Ukrainian singer-songwriter Jamala.

The ceremony is set to be broadcast on CBS on December 28.

Ahead of the event, U.S. President Joe Biden also paid tribute to U2, at a special Honourees Reception at the White House.

In his speech, Biden quoted Yeats, and described himself as "a descendent of Co. Mayo and Co. Louth."

"Tonight, we honour four sons of Ireland, poets in their own right — best friends who started a band as teenagers in Dublin and became one of the greatest bands in history," he stated. "Larry, Adam, The Edge, Bono — U2.

"Inheritors of the Irish traditions of poetry and protest; rebellion and rejoicing; faith, hope, and love; and a belief in the dignity of all people, everywhere," he continued. "Dignity is a very important word to them all. And to quote my friend Bono, 'Music can change the world because it can change people.' For more than 40 years, U2 has changed the world. Anthems about civil rights, solidarity of workers, the struggle for peace. Ballads about love and family. Concerts dedicated to ending poverty and disease. 22 Grammys. 46 nominations. More wins than any group in history. 150 million albums."

He went on to say that U2's music "is a bridge between Ireland and America, between two friends linked in memory and imagination, joined by our histories, and joined by a nostalgia for the future."

"From 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' to 'Pride (In the Name of Love)' to 'Ordinary Love' to 'One', U2 has spoken and sung about the unspeakable cost of hate and anger and division — the pain, the suffering, the denial of freedom, the senseless loss of life, and the inhumanity we inflict on one another as nations, as people, and in our own lives," he said. "All flowing from division that, for all of us is — its visible manifestations lie first and foremost in our hearts.

"Just before America’s bloody and deadly Civil War, President Lincoln wrote, 'We are not enemies… We must not be enemies.' In the midst of great division, that was President Lincoln’s plea. He would — we would do well to remember it today. At a moment when there’s too much hate, too much anger, too much division here in America and, quite frankly, around the world, we have to remember today, as their song goes, 'We’re one, but we’re not the same. We get to carry each other.'"

Concluding his speech, Biden remarked: "From this Irish American President in a White House designed by an Irish hands, who built this and designed it, I want to thank U2 for all you’ve done and the way you lift people up. You really make a difference. Thank you."

You can read his full speech here.

The Kennedy Center Honours, now in their 45th year, have been compared to a knighthood in the UK, or the French Legion of Honour – and are considered "the quintessential reward for a lifetime's endeavour."

Those who have been presented with The Kennedy Center Honours since 1978 include Ella Fitzgerald, Cary Grant, Leonard Bernstein, Frank Sinatra, Arthur Miller, Bette Davis, Sammy Davis Jr., Harry Belafonte, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, Sean Connery, Jack Nicholson, Luciano Pavarotti, Julie Andrews, Elton John, Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, Brian Wilson, Martin Scorsese, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, Sting, Tom Hanks Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Meryl Streep, and more.

Read our recent Q&A with Bono here – and read Niall Stokes' special live report of Bono's Stories of Surrender show in Dublin in the new issue of Hot Press.