On Saturday, President Joe Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour, to 19 distinguished individuals. Among the recipients are former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, renowned philanthropist George Soros, and actor-director Denzel Washington. The ceremony scheduled to be held at the White House, will celebrate leaders from various fields, including politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and science.

The White House said the recipients have made “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”

In addition to the living honorees, four individuals will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously. These include Fannie Lou Hamer, a pioneering civil rights leader who founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and contributed significantly to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act; former Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy; George W. Romney, who served as both Michigan's governor and secretary of housing and urban development; and Ash Carter, a former U.S. Secretary of Defence. Notably, Robert F. Kennedy's son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, while George W. Romney is the father of former Utah Senator Mitt Romney, one of Trump's prominent conservative critics.

Among the major philanthropists receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom are Spanish-American chef José Andrés, whose World Central Kitchen charity has become a leading global food relief organisation, and U2's frontman Bono, a renowned social justice advocate.

In the fields of sports and entertainment, the honorees include professional soccer star Lionel Messi; retired Los Angeles Lakers legend and businessman Earvin "Magic" Johnson; actor Michael J. Fox, a passionate advocate for Parkinson's disease research; and William Sanford Nye, widely recognised as "Bill Nye the Science Guy," beloved by generations of students for his contributions to science education.

Other notable awardees include conservationist Jane Goodall; longtime Vogue Magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour; renowned American fashion designer Ralph Lauren; American Film Institute founder George Stevens Jr.; entrepreneur and LGBTQ+ activist Tim Gill; and David Rubenstein, co-founder of the global investment firm The Carlyle Group.

Last year, President Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 individuals, including the late Medgar Evers, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, and actor Michelle Yeoh.