THE WORLD Madrid
Madrid
Updated Wednesday, February 7, 2024-11:36
Madrid City Council will host the 25th edition of the
Laureus World Sports Awards
, the most prestigious awards in sports, which will hold their 2024 award ceremony in the
Crystal Gallery of the Cibeles Palace
, on April 22. The announcement of the election of Madrid as the next venue for these awards was made this Wednesday by the mayor of the city,
José Luis Martínez-Almeida
, and the president of the Community of Madrid,
Isabel Díaz Ayuso
, together with the members of the Academy Laureus
Raúl González
and
Alessandro Del Piero
, at the Albéniz Theater in the Spanish capital.
"The Laureus Awards are an unbeatable opportunity for the city of Madrid because
Madrid is one of the great world capitals of sport, both from the
amateur
point of view
and, therefore, from any neighbor, and from the point of view of professional sport and of attraction for large events," said the mayor, for whom "just as important as this are the values that the Laureus Foundation represents: values of excellence, improvement, effort and sacrifice, with which a city like Madrid is identified."
The
nominees
for this year's awards in seven categories will be announced on February 26, at an event to be held at the
Real Casa de Correos
. At the gala, many of the best athletes in the world are expected to attend to pay tribute to the most outstanding of 2023, among whom will be those awarded the Laureus statuette, one of the most recognizable symbols of excellence in sport.
Madrid thus takes over from Paris
, the city that hosted the Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony last year, in which
Lionel Messi
,
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
and the young Spanish tennis player
Carlos Alcaraz
were winners .
The Laureus Academy has chosen Madrid for being
a city "impregnated with sporting greatness"
: it is a football reference at a European and world level, it hosts two venues for the future 2030 World Cup, the final stage of the Vuelta Ciclista a España (one of the three crowns); It is home to the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament, considered the first world master 1000; of the Acciona Open of Spain golf; of the Zurich RocknRoll Running Series Madrid and, more recently, it has been chosen to host the finals of the World Rugby 7 series.
Further confirmation of Madrid's prestige as a sporting superpower is the arrival of the
Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix
starting in 2026, on a new circuit built around the IFEMA Madrid exhibition center, in the Barajas district.
Furthermore, the Laureus Academy has recognized that the municipal government, together with the regional government, "works to improve the quality of life of its residents through sport, ensuring that it is accessible to everyone, regardless of age, and becomes an integral part of their lives, maintaining a close working relationship with the sports federations of Madrid". In this sense, he appreciated that there has been a notable increase over the years in the number of registered athletes.
The Madrid premiere
It is the first time that Madrid hosts the Laureus World Sports Awards and
the fifth time they have been held in Spain
, after stopping in Barcelona (2006, 2007) and Seville (2021 and 2022). Spain has enjoyed notable success at the Laureus Awards and the country is third in the total number of winners.
The winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards are selected by the
best sports jury
: the 69 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, living legends of sport who pay tribute to the best athletes of today.
The Laureus World Sports Awards gala will also include the
Laureus Sport for Good Award
, which recognizes an individual or organization that has made a significant contribution to transforming the lives of children and young people through sport. In addition to celebrating the best of sport, Laureus is committed to showing the difference that sport can make in the world. Thus, in close collaboration with the host partners, the City Council and the Community of Madrid, Laureus will provide the experience and support of Laureus Sport for Good to leave a lasting legacy for the young people of the city and region of Madrid.
Laureus Sport for Good
Since its creation, Laureus has contributed to improving the lives of more than six and a half million children and young people and currently supports more than 300 sports-based community programs around the world, making the visionary words of its patron a reality. founder,
Nelson Mandela
: "Sport has the power to change the world."
The Laureus family spans every continent and is a purpose-driven network of members of the
Laureus World Sports Academy
, ambassadors, athletes, teams, sports governing bodies, federations and public fans; all of them committed to supporting
Sport for Good
and spreading the influence of this movement to a wider global audience.