ST.PETERSBURG, February 17, 2008 - Britain's Lewis Hamilton, the exciting new face of Formula One, will be among the great names of sport attending the ninth annual Laureus World Sports Awards, to be held at the Mariinsky Concert Hall, St.Petersburg on Monday, February 18. The 23-year-old Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver and runner up in drivers' ranking of the 2007 Formula 1 World Championship, will be joining celebrities from sport, entertainment and fashion from around the world after being nominated for the 2008 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award following his remarkable first season in Formula One. Among the sporting legends past and present who will be attending the Awards Ceremony, which is broadcast globally to 180 countries, are tennis aces Boris Becker and Roger Federer, Olympic pole vault champions Yelena Isinbayeva and Sergey Bubka, footballers Franz Beckenbauer, Marcel Desailly and Marta, swimmers Alexander Popov and Mark Spitz, gymnasts Nadia Comaneci, Alexander Dityatin and Alexei Nemov and former world champion boxers Marvin Hagler and Vitali Klitschko. Also present in the audience to honour the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen will be stars of the entertainment world including Kim Cattrall, Cuba Gooding Jr, Dennis Hopper and Kyle MacLachlan. Among those attending the Awards, including members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, are: Giacomo Agostini
Marcus Allen
Natascha Badmann
Mansour Bahrami
Franz Beckenbauer
Boris Becker
Annabelle Bond
Sergey Bubka
Kim Cattrall
Nadia Comaneci
Marcel Desailly
Kapil Dev
Daniel Dhers
Daniel Dias
Alexander Dityatin
Roger Federer
Sean Fitzpatrick
Dawn Fraser
Valery Gergiev
Cuba Gooding Jr
Tanni Grey-Thompson
Bryan Habana
Aaron Hadlow
Marvin Hagler
Tony Hawk
Dennis Hopper
Mike Horn
Edith Hunkeler
Mikhail Ignatiev
Larisa Ilichenko
Yelena Isinbayeva
Butch James
Olga Kapranova
Alexander Karelin
Tatyana Kazankina
Kip Keino
Darren Kenny
Svetlana Khorkina
Conny Kissling
Franz Klammer | Vitali Klitschko
Urs Lehmann
Renate Lingor
Marina Logvinenko
Uliana Lopatkina
Ronnie Lott
Kyle MacLachlan
Marta
Percy Montgomery
Edwin Moses
Robby Naish
Ilie Nastase
Alexei Nemov
Christine Ohuruogu
Oscar Pistorius
Morné du Plessis
Evgeniy Plushenko
Alexander Popov
Hugo Porta
Stanislav Pozdnyakov
Yuri Prilukov
Irina Rodnina
Marc Rosset
Silke Rottenberg
Vladimir Salnikov
Emilio Sanchez-Vicario
Anton Siharulidze
Oksana Slivenko
Maria Stepanova
Sarah Storey
Mark Spitz
Michael Teuber
Yuri Tyukalov
Esther Vergeer
Steve Waugh
Viacheslav Yakimov
Svetlana Zurova
Natalia Vodyanova
Galina Zybina |
The Awards Ceremony will open with a special orchestral work chosen by legendary Russian maestro Valery Gergiev, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre. Uliana Lopatkina, principal dancer at the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet, will be dancing the 'dying swan' from Swan Lake. The spectacular backdrop of St. Petersburg, one of the most historic cities in the world, with its palaces of the tsars, museums, waterways and historic landmarks, promises to ensure one of the most memorable Laureus Awards Ceremonies ever. Over the years St. Petersburg has hosted many important sports events, including the highly successful 1994 Goodwill Games. Valentina Matvienko, the Governor of St. Petersburg said: "We are delighted that St. Petersburg has been chosen to host the 2008 Laureus World Sports Awards. Sport is close to the hearts of millions of Petersburgers and we look forward to staging this major sport event in our city. St. Petersburg is a city that harmoniously combines historic traditions and modern European values. Active construction of sport facilities and creation of well-developed infrastructure, make St. Petersburg the ideal venue for sports events of global significance. I am sure this ceremony will be a night to remember in the city. I am also confident that our partnership with the Laureus World Sports Awards will be enormously successful." The full list of nominees for the 2008 Laureus World Sports Awards is: Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Roger Federer (Switzerland, Tennis), Tyson Gay (US, Athletics), Kaka (Brazil, Football), Michael Phelps (US, Swimming), Kimi Raikkonen (Finland, Motor Racing), Tiger Woods (US, Golf) Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Justine Henin (Belgium, Tennis), Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia, Athletics), Carolina Kluft (Sweden, Athletics), Libby Lenton (Australia, Swimming), Marta (Brazil, Football), Lorena Ochoa (Mexico, Golf) Laureus World Team of the Year AC Milan (Italy, Football), Australia Men's Cricket Team, Ferrari (Italy, Motor Racing), Germany Women's Football Team, Iraq Football Team, South African Rugby Team Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Alberto Contador (Spain, Cycling), Novak Djokovic (Serbia, Tennis), Tyson Gay (US, Athletics), Lewis Hamilton (UK, Motor Racing), Oscar Pistorius (S.Africa, Athletics), Casey Stoner (Australia, Motor Cycling) Laureus World Comeback of the Year Gt.Britain Rugby League Team (UK), Christine Ohuruogu (UK, Athletics), Paula Radcliffe (UK, Athletics), Jana Rawlinson (Australia, Athletics), Steve Stricker (US, Golf), Jonny Wilkinson (UK, Rugby Union) Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Daniel Dias (Brazil, Swimming), Darren Kenny (UK, Cycling), Sarah Storey (UK, Cycling), Michael Teuber (Germany, Cycling), Esther Vergeer (Netherlands, Wheelchair Tennis) Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Daniel Dhers (Venezuela, BMX), Mick Fanning (Australia, Surfing), Stephanie Gilmore (Australia, Surfing), Aaron Hadlow (UK, Kiteboarding), Ryan Sheckler (US, Skateboarding), Shaun White (US, Snowboarding/Skateboarding), For further information please contact:
Liz Brooks
Laureus Global Public Relations
Tel: +44 (0)20 7514 2749
Fax: +44 (0)20 7514 2782
Email: publicrelations@laureus.com
Photo Archive: www.laureusarchive.com
Website: www.laureus.com For photos of Laureus events please visit www.laureusarchive.com NB: Information correct at time of going to press |
