The Guiding Star - Celebrating 25 Years of Laureus
There is a room in Monte Carlo’s famous Sporting Club called La Salle des Etoiles. The room of stars. In 2025, as we celebrate 25 years of Laureus, and connect the global movement that Laureus is today with its point of origin, we look to the stars to remember how it all started.
On that stage on May 25, 2000, stood 24 of the 30 founding Members of the Laureus World Sports Academy. For these sporting icons – Olympic champions, World Cup winners, record breakers, game changers – it was an indelible moment. Each one of them would say for years to come that they could not have imagined that night how Laureus would grow; the millions of lives that would be changed by Laureus Sport for Good; the generations of sporting greatness that would be honoured by the Laureus World Sports Awards.
In front of them on that stage stood our own North Star, the guiding light that has remained a constant throughout this past quarter century. Nelson Mandela was the founding patron of Laureus Sport for Good and defined our mission at its outset with his words that evening.
In front of them on that stage stood our own North Star, the guiding light that has remained a constant throughout this past quarter century. Nelson Mandela was the founding patron of Laureus Sport for Good and defined our mission at its outset with his words that evening.
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.”
For the past 25 years, the Laureus World Sports Awards have celebrated the greatest athletes of this young century. Tennis’ Big Three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have won 15 Awards across three categories; Serena Williams is a four-time winner of the Sportswoman of the Year Award, one ahead of Simone Biles; Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt and Lionel Messi are multiple Award winners; Billie Jean King and Tom Brady are among the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award; the Team of the Year Award has recognised collective excellence from Manchester United’s treble winners of 1999, to the Spain team who won the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Those Awards have taken place all over the world, broadcast globally, hosted by Hollywood icons and attended by sports stars and leaders from the worlds of music, fashion, film and business. The Laureus statuette has become the most prized Award in sport – the only one voted for by the ultimate sporting jury of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
Those Awards have taken place all over the world, broadcast globally, hosted by Hollywood icons and attended by sports stars and leaders from the worlds of music, fashion, film and business. The Laureus statuette has become the most prized Award in sport – the only one voted for by the ultimate sporting jury of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
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At the heart of this global celebration of elite athletic achievement, remains the global mission of Laureus Sport for Good. Every year, the Laureus Sport for Good Award is awarded to one of more than 300 supported programmes, but the story of Sport for Good is woven throughout the Awards show. Every Winner, every Nominee, everyone watching at home or in the audience learns about what Laureus Sport for Good has become since Nelson Mandela’s address in the room of stars.
Today, Laureus Sport for Good is a global leader in the sport for development sector, supporting and connecting hundreds of sports-based programmes in more than 40 countries. We empower change-makers within those communities with the expertise and best practice developed over 25 years, using the unique power of sport to bring hope, resilience and systematic change. We give them everything they need so they can independently achieve their potential within their communities, and we connect them a global network, each programme raising up the others as they develop and grow.
Today, Laureus Sport for Good is a global leader in the sport for development sector, supporting and connecting hundreds of sports-based programmes in more than 40 countries. We empower change-makers within those communities with the expertise and best practice developed over 25 years, using the unique power of sport to bring hope, resilience and systematic change. We give them everything they need so they can independently achieve their potential within their communities, and we connect them a global network, each programme raising up the others as they develop and grow.
Behind that constant, global movement for change stand the Members of the Laureus World Sports Academy. While its core goals remain the same, the Academy looks a little different, 25 years on. Sadly, some of our founding Members are no longer with us. But many more have since joined our movement, finding a kinship among fellow champions who share a belief in the power of sport to bring change to the world.
Alongside the Academy, many more athletes – both active and retired – have become Laureus Ambassadors. Together, this team of champions elevate our story through their own platforms and combine to give Laureus a unique and influential place in the world of sport.
This year, our 25th, they will be part of a series of events and celebrations around the world as we mark this special moment and reaffirm our commitment to the mission that was set at the start of the century. And at the heart of those celebrations will be a Laureus World Sports Awards like no other – one which honours the greatest stories in sport, not just of the past 12 months, but of the last 25 years.
As we honour the past, celebrate the present and inspire the future, the best of these stories will be told on our own Laureus channels, through the voices of the athletes, the advocates and the grassroots changemakers who have powered this movement through its first 25 years, and those who will be its driving force for the next 25.
Alongside the Academy, many more athletes – both active and retired – have become Laureus Ambassadors. Together, this team of champions elevate our story through their own platforms and combine to give Laureus a unique and influential place in the world of sport.
This year, our 25th, they will be part of a series of events and celebrations around the world as we mark this special moment and reaffirm our commitment to the mission that was set at the start of the century. And at the heart of those celebrations will be a Laureus World Sports Awards like no other – one which honours the greatest stories in sport, not just of the past 12 months, but of the last 25 years.
As we honour the past, celebrate the present and inspire the future, the best of these stories will be told on our own Laureus channels, through the voices of the athletes, the advocates and the grassroots changemakers who have powered this movement through its first 25 years, and those who will be its driving force for the next 25.