Abu Dhabi businessmen among those honoured by the Queen

Stella McCartney, Ewan McGregor and Tracey Emin are among hundreds being lauded by the Queen this new year

The designer Stella McCartney received the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Danny Martindale / Getty Images

Stella McCartney, who designed the uniforms worn by Britain's Olympic team, is among the hundreds being honoured by Queen Elizabeth II this new year.

The honours list is particularly heavy with Britain's Olympic winners, but it also includes the actor Ewan McGregor, the eccentric English singer Kate Bush and Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the royal aide who helped organise the wedding of Prince William.

McCartney, honoured with the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire, is the designer daughter of the former Beatle Paul McCartney. She has made the family name almost as synonymous with fashion as it is with music, setting up a critically acclaimed label.

All of Britain's gold medallists from this year's games were on the list, with the cyclist Bradley Wiggins and the sailor Ben Ainslie honoured with knighthoods.

Honours lists typically include a sprinkling of star power and this year was no different. McGregor, who came to public attention through his role in the 1996 British film Trainspotting, was awarded an OBE.

Other art world honorees included the artist Tracey Emin and Quentin Blake, whose illustrations are best known through the work of his collaborator Roald Dahl.

Also honoured were two Abu Dhabi-based British businessmen: Nicholas Cochrane-Dyet and David Spearing, who were each awarded with an MBE. Cochrane-Dyet, a communications manager for BP, was honoured for his business and charitable work in the UAE, while Spearing manages a consultancy firm in the construction industry. Jeffrey Larkin, the Abu Dhabi-based director of Parsons Brinckerhoff, was awarded an OBE for his services to the reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

Some of the more eclectic honours included the OBE handed to the card game columnist Andrew Michael Robson "for services to the game of Bridge" and the OBE given to the river conservationist Andrew Douglas-Home "for services to Fishing". - AP