Former vice president Al Gore, ex-New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony on Friday.

       It is America’s highest civilian honour and is awarded solely at the discretion of the President of the United States.

       The White House says that the medal is “presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors”.

       Mr Biden previously bestowed the medal on 17 others in a ceremony held in 2022, including gymnast Simone Biles, actor Denzel Washington, and former Arizona congresswoman turned gun safety advocate Gabrielle Giffords.

       This time around, Mr Gore, Mr Bloomberg and Ms Yeoh will be joined by 17 other new recipients, including several current or former members of Congress.

       Mr Biden will honour his presidential climate envoy, former Secretary of State and ex-Massachusetts Senator John Kerry as well as House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, South Carolina Representative James Clyburn, former North Carolina senator and transportation secretary Elizabeth Dole, and the late New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg.

       He will also bestow the medal on another US Olympian, decorated swimmer Katie Ledecky, as well as the late Olympic legend Jim Thorpe.

       Several civil rights advocates will also be honoured, including LGBT+ rights crusader Judy Shepard, Clarence Jones, the activist and lawyer who helped draft the late Rev Dr Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and activist Opal Lee, the educator who successfully pushed for Juneteenth to be made a federal holiday.

       Medgar Evers, the late civil rights leader, will also receive the award posthumously.

       Mr Biden is himself a recipient of the medal in its’ highest degree, the Medal of Freedom With Distinction, a rarely-awarded version which is worn as a star on the left chest along with a sash, similar to a Grand Cross in an order of chivalry.

       The White House said the Americans being honoured on Friday have been chosen because they “built teams, coalitions, movements, organizations, and businesses that shaped America for the better”.

       “They are the pinnacle of leadership in their fields. They consistently demonstrated over their careers the power of community, hard work, and service,” the White House added.