Bono Receives France’s Highest Culture Award
Bono was honored with France’s highest cultural award, the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, for his work as a musician and anti-poverty activist, Reuters reports.
The U2 frontman received the award from French Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti during a ceremony in Paris. “Beyond notes and beyond words, you committed yourself and dedicated your fame and career to wage some of the greatest wars of our time. Not for charity’s sake but in the name of justice,” Filippetti said in a statement.
Bono called the award an honor, and dedicated it to his fellow bandmembers, saying, “I’ve got the biggest mouth and the loudest voice but the music we make comes from each other.”
The Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters is Bono’s latest award for his musical and humanitarian efforts, which also include being named Time‘s person of the year in 2005 and receiving an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth in 2007; he’s also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times.
Other past recipients of the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters include Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz, Lou Reed, Sean Connery, Shakira, Bruce Willis and Roger Moore.