U2 received a Lifetime Achievement Award in a ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington in the US last night.
The ceremony was attended by US President Joe Biden and, although the band didn't perform a song, there was a video tribute played, with other A listers in the music world such as Harry Styles and Billie Eilish reciting some of their famous lyrics. David M Rubenstein, the Chairman of the Kennedy Center, said U2 had won over America and the world with their "iconic anthems, potent lyrics, and powerful messages of social justice and global citizenship."
The dinner also honoured Amy Grant and composer and conductor Tania León.
President Biden made a speech saying "as the song goes, 'We're one, but we're not the same We get to carry each other. From this Irish-American President, in a White House designed by Irish hands, who built this, I wanna thank U2 for all you've done and the way you lift people up. You really make a difference. Thank you."
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The band said that over the years America has become a "home away from home." "In December 1980, we made our first trip across the Atlantic to America. Our first show was at The Ritz in New York City, but even in our wilder thoughts, we never imagined that 40 years on, we would be invited back to receive one of the nation’s greatest honours," the band said in a statement.
“It has been a four-decade love affair with the country and its people, its artists, and its culture," they added.
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