Encaenia is the ceremony at which the University of Oxford awards honorary degrees to distinguished men and women and commemorates its benefactors. It is held every summer in the Sheldonian Theatre, presided over by the Chancellor, Lord Patten.

Honorands and senior members of the University, dressed in academic robes, always take part in a procession to the theatre, where they are greeted with a trumpet fanfare. This year, Christ Church cathedral choir sung in the ceremony, including a rendition of Yesterday in tribute to Sir George Martin. The University's Public Orator, Richard Jenkyns, and Professor of Poetry, Sir Geoffrey Hill, delivered the Creweian Oration.

This year's honorands are:

• His Excellency Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italy - Doctor of Civil Law by Diploma
• Professor Elizabeth Helen Blackburn - Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa
• Justice Edwin Cameron - Degree of Doctor of Civil Law, honoris causa
• Professor Sir Geoffrey Ernest Richard Lloyd - Degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa
• Sir George Martin - Degree of Doctor of Music, honoris causa
• Professor Dame Linda Partridge - Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa
• Marilynne Summers Robinson - Degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa
• Professor Oliver Smithies - Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa