Celebrating 20 years of Laureus

We celebrated 20 years of the Laureus World Sports Awards last month in Berlin, with a theme of Sport Unites Us. It reflects the words of our founding patron, Nelson Mandela at the first ever Awards in 2000 and reflects the ethos of Laureus Sport for Good.

Here, we look back at the Awards which honoured the greatest sporting triumphs of 2019, as well as celebrating the power of sport in transforming the lives of millions of young people around the world. Presented by Hugh Grant, the Awards featured the first ever tie in the Sportsman of the Year category with Lewis Hamilton and Lionel Messi both picking up the award and consecutive wins for both Simone Biles (Sportswoman of the Year) and Chloe Kim (Action Sportsperson of the Year)

With memorable speeches from Siya Kolisi, captain of the World Cup-winning South Africa rugby team which took home the Team of the Year award and from Disability Athlete of the Year Oksana Masters who paid tribute to her adoptive mother, the Awards captured the spirit of Mandela’s words in a fitting manner.   

Sit back and look back at the 20th anniversary of the Laureus World Sports Awards. From the sports stars who attended, to the sports fans watching and following at home and for all the young people in Laureus Sport for Good programmes around the world: Sport Unites Us.