Clooney, U2 among honorees at glitzy Washington gala
Film icon George Clooney and soul legend Gladys Knight are among an elite circle of stars receiving honours at Washington's Kennedy Center in the presence of President Joe Biden.
Hollywood A-listers and Washington politicos will also fete Irish rockers U2, Cuban-born US composer Tania Leon and contemporary Christian pop artist Amy Grant at the annual gala, a rare night of red carpet glamour in the US capital.
Biden will be joined by his wife Jill along with Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff in the opera house's presidential box for the glittering celebration of one of the country's highest arts awards that's now in its 45th year.
Last winter, Biden returned presidential tradition to the high-wattage awards program -- the first time a sitting president had appeared at the event in five years.
Donald Trump opted out during his presidency, after several of the honoured artists threatened to boycott the gala in his first year in office if the bombastic, divisive Republican were present.
Event promises a slate of star-studded tributes to those being inducted at the Kennedy Center, Washington's performing arts complex that serves as a living monument to slain president John F. Kennedy.
It comes on the heels of another highlight of the capital's holiday social season, a lavish state dinner hosted by the Bidens in honour of visiting French leader Emmanuel Macron
