Kennedy Center Honorees Announced

• The recipients of the 45th Kennedy Center Honors have been announced, and, as expected, its another awesomely eclectic class — recording artists U2, Gladys Knight and Amy Grant will be honored, along with actor and filmmaker George Clooney and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, conductor and educator Tania León.

The annual Kennedy Center Honors event is designed to raise money for the Kennedy Center as well as recognize talent and produce an entertaining few hours of television; this year’s ceremony will be taped on Dec. 4 to be broadcast later on CBS and streamed on Paramount +.

In a statement, U2’s Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. said they consider America a home away from home. “In December 1980, we made our first trip across the Atlantic to America,” they wrote. “We had big dreams then, fueled in part by the commonly held belief at home that America smiles on Ireland. And it turned out to be true, yet again. But even in the wilder thoughts, we never imagined that 40 years on, we would be invited back to receive one of the nation’s greatest honors. It has been a four-decade love affair with the country and its people, its artists, and culture. We consider America to be a home away from home and we are very grateful to the Kennedy Center Honors for welcoming us into this great clan of extraordinary artists.”

In a statement, Deborah F. Rutter, President, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, said, in part, “For nearly a half-century, the Kennedy Center Honors has represented the very best of America’s creative culture… Now, as the Center completes its yearlong 50th anniversary celebration, I cannot help but think that the Kennedy Center’s namesake would surely smile at this celebration that brings us closer to his vision of ‘an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft.'”