From Laureus
The 2013 and 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards are to be held in Rio de Janeiro.
The globally televised Awards Ceremony, attended by many of the living legends of sport, celebrates the achievements of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of the year.
Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which supports more than 100 community sports projects around the world that have helped to improve the lives of over one-and-a-half million young people.
Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, said: “I am thrilled that the 2013 and 2014 Laureus Awards is to be staged in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is one of the most exciting and flamboyant nations on Earth and Rio will become the centre of the sporting world over the next few years as it builds up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I know sport is a passion for everyone in Brazil and it is great for Laureus that we are able to go to Rio for the Awards and be part of the celebrations there.”
Sérgio Cabral, Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, said: “The city of Rio de Janeiro is very proud to receive Laureus in 2013 and 2014. This extraordinary Awards event, that brings together great legends of world sport, will be held for the first time in the southern hemisphere. The Laureus World Sports Awards comes to further enhance the extensive calendar of international events that Rio will host in the coming years, like the World Judo Championship, the FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
“For us, this agenda goes beyond the sports realm and becomes a great tool for social inclusion. With that thought in mind, we created the Rio 2016 programme, which is present in 74 cities of our state and offers 52 sports disciplines, benefiting more than 230,000 children and adolescents. Therefore, for Rio’s Government, hosting an event like Laureus – which also has social projects involving sport — is paramount for building the social legacy we will leave to our population.
Brazil’s double Formula One World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, said: “Everyone in Brazil is hoping that the next few years are very special for our country and I am delighted that we at Laureus can be part of that. I know that everyone who comes to the Awards will get a flavour of the excitement to come.
“But, of course, Laureus is much more than an Awards Ceremony. As our Patron Nelson Mandela has said ‘sport has the power to change the world and change people’s lives’ and we will be sending a message from Rio around the world to show how sport can make a difference to the lives of every one of us. We have supported projects to help young people in Rio for many years and now that we are joining together I know this will give us the chance to expand our work here significantly.”
The announcement was made by Sérgio Cabral and Edwin Moses at the Brazil House, the official base of the Brazilian Paralympic team and officials attending the London Paralympic Games. Also present were Carlos Arthur Nuzman, President of the Brazilian Olympic Committe, Andrew Parsons, President of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, and Marcia Lins, State Secretary of Sport and Leisure for Rio de Janeiro.
Laureus brings great history and tradition to the state of Rio de Janeiro, which will be the focus of the sporting world over the next four years. Rio de Janeiro is the birthplace of sport and culture in Brazil, a state of vibrant energy and natural beauty that has become a showcase of the country to the world. The beaches, the Sambódromo and the Maracanã will play a significant role in the staging of the Laureus World Sports Awards next year.
The 2013 and 2014 Awards Ceremonies, which will be attended by the greatest names in sport, past and present, and broadcast to a worldwide TV audience, will take place at the Municipal Theatre, the venue for major international performances by dancers and musicians from Brazil which has also hosted events at the recent United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio +20. It was the venue for the speech of United States President Barack Obama on his visit to Brazil.
The winners of Laureus World Sports Awards are selected by the ultimate sports jury – the 46 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the living legends of sport honouring the greatest athletes of today.
Among the sports stars who have been named as winners at previous Awards Ceremonies have been Jenson Button, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Alex Ferguson, Lewis Hamilton, Kelly Holmes, Rafael Nadal, Pelé, Oscar Pistorius, Raì, Steve Redgrave, Ronaldo, Michael Schumacher, Kelly Slater, Shaun White, Serena Williams and Zinedine Zidane. Guests attending the Awards Ceremony have included His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain, HSH Prince Albert of Monaco, David and Victoria Beckham, Sean Connery, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Morgan Freeman, Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey.
Members of the Laureus World Sports Academy volunteer their time to act as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, whose mission is to use sport as the means to combat some of the world’s toughest social challenges facing young people today such as juvenile crime, gangs, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, social exclusion, landmines awareness and health problems such as obesity. Since its inception Laureus has raised over €55 million to support community sports projects around the world.
Laureus is a long standing supporter of the Luta Pela Paz project in Complexo da Maré, in Rio de Janeiro, where boxing and martial arts are used to empower young people and combat gang violence. More recently, Laureus has joined forces with Luta Pela Paz to help them train grassroots organisations around the world to use boxing and martial arts as a social and educational tool. For more information see http://www.fightforpeace.net/?page_id=107
The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy are: Giacomo Agostini, Marcus Allen, Franz Beckenbauer, Boris Becker, Ian Botham, Sergey Bubka, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Yaping Deng, Marcel Desailly, Kapil Dev, Mick Doohan, David Douillet, Emerson Fittipaldi, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Cathy Freeman, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Mika Häkkinen, Tony Hawk, Mike Horn, Miguel Indurain, Michael Johnson, Kip Keino, Franz Klammer, Dan Marino, Edwin Moses (Chairman), Nawal El Moutawakel, Robby Naish, Ilie Nastase, Martina Navratilova, Alexey Nemov, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Steve Redgrave, Vivian Richards, Monica Seles, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson, Alberto Tomba, Steve Waugh and Katarina Witt.
Laureus was founded by its Patrons Daimler and Richemont and is supported by its Global Partners Mercedes-Benz and IWC Schaffhausen.
For further information, please contact:
Gerald Meier, Head of Global Communications
Tel: +44 (0)20 7514 2749
Email: publicrelations@laureus.com
Photo Archive: www.laureusarchive.com
Video Archive: www.laureusdigital.com
Websites: www.laureus.com