IT’S SHOWTIME
THE 2012 Laureus World Sports Awards are coming to London next month – and City A.M. will be providing the best coverage over the next few weeks in the build-up to this world-famous event.
The Laureus World Sports Awards Ceremony, to be held at Central Hall, Westminster, on Monday 6 February, is recognised as the premier honours event in the international sporting calendar as stars come together to salute the finest sportsmen and sportswomen of the year.
Among the winners who have received awards at previous ceremonies are Jenson Button, Roger Federer, Sir Alex Ferguson, Lewis Hamilton, Justine Henin, Kelly Holmes, Rafael Nadal, Sir Steve Redgrave, Ronaldo, Michael Schumacher, Kelly Slater, Serena Williams and Zinedine Zidane.
Guests attending the ceremony have included David and Victoria Beckham, Sir Sean Connery, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Morgan Freeman, Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey.
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said: “I am excited that the Laureus World Sports Awards and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation have decided to bring the awards to London for 2012. Laureus and I share a commitment to making sport a positive part of everyone’s life regardless of age and ability. Celebrating the power of sport here in London with the world’s sporting superstars will provide the perfect start to our Olympic year.”
And Laureus World Sports Academy member Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2012 organising committee, said: “I am delighted that we are able to bring the Laureus Awards Ceremony to London. We are all hoping 2012 will be one of the most memorable years for sport in this country and we hope everyone who comes to London for the awards will get a foretaste of the excitement to come.”
The nominees – six in each category – are chosen by a worldwide media selection panel from more than 100 countries. The winners are then picked from that list by the ultimate sports jury: the 47 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the living legends of sport honouring the great athletes of today. Each winner receives a prestigious hand-crafted Laureus statuette.
Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the charitable Laureus Sport for Good Foundation which supports 91 community sports-based projects around the world. Since its inception, Laureus has supported projects that have helped to improve the lives of more than 1.5m young people.
WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS
FANCY rubbing shoulders with the very biggest names from the world of sport at next month’s glitzy ceremony in London? Of course you do. Well you are in luck, because City A.M. has a pair of tickets to the Laureus World Sports Awards at Central Hall, Westminster, on 6 February, and the exclusive aftershow party to give away to a lucky reader. Just keep watching these pages for full details of how to win this money-can’t-buy prize in the coming weeks.