2020 Laureus World Sports Awards To Take Place In Berlin

BERLIN, GERMANY – OCTOBER 07: The Laureus Statue is seen in front of the Brandburger Gate on October 6, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images for Laureus)

In Laureus’ 20th anniversary year, the Laureus World Sports Awards will take place in Berlin on Monday February 17, 2020. The landmark 2020 Awards will celebrate the greatest sporting triumphs of 2019, while also showcasing Laureus Sport for Good’s work for the past two decades in uniting, inspiring and changing the lives of young people around the world.

Hosted in the Verti Music Hall, Berlin’s leading entertainment venue, the 2020 Laureus Awards will be broadcast on RBB in Germany and attended by current sports stars, sporting legends and leaders from business, politics and entertainment. Past Award Winners have included Simone Biles, Usain Bolt, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Cathy Freeman, Kelly Slater and Serena Williams. Our 20th Anniversary celebration will also welcome and showcase leaders and participants who have helped use the power of sport to transform the lives of young people in Germany and around the world over the past twenty years through the global work of Laureus Sport for Good.

Today, Laureus announces our 20th anniversary campaign: #SportUnitesUs. From sports stars to sports fans and the young people in Laureus Sport for Good programmes around the world: Sport Unites Us. The 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards will celebrate 20 years of Laureus. 20 years of using sport to change the world. 20 years of celebrating the biggest names in sport. Of sports stars supporting our vision to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage. And 20 years of us, together, changing lives.

The announcement was made at Stadion An der Alten Försterei, home to FC Union Berlin, who are currently competing in the Bundesliga for the first season in their history. Olympic legends and Laureus Academy members Katarina Witt and Nadia Comaneci joined Laureus Ambassadors and football stars Jens Lehmann and Marc Janko for a football activity with young people from Laureus programmes Kicking Girls, KICK on Ice, KICK im Boxring and wirmachenwelle. During the Sport for Good session, the young people and sporting legends illustrated first-hand how Laureus uses the power of sport to transform the lives of children and young people around the world.

Berlin is steeped in sporting history. The city is also cemented in the annals of world athletics. At the 2009 World Athletics Championships, four-time Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Usain Bolt set the 100m and 200m world record time, while 2018 saw Laureus Exceptional Achievement of the Year recipient Eliud Kipchoge set the Marathon World Record at the Berlin Marathon. Berlin also hosted the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final, in which Laureus Ambassador Gerard Pique helped his Barcelona team win the club’s fifth European title.

The Laureus World Sports Awards are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 68 of the greatest living sportsmen and sportswomen. The Awards will be broadcast in more than 180 countries, on many of the world’s leading broadcasters.

The 2020 Awards will be the second Laureus World Sports Awards take place in Berlin, following the 2016 ceremony which took place at Messe Berlin. Previously, the Awards have taken place in Monaco, Lisbon, Barcelona, Saint Petersburg, Abu Dhabi, London, Rio de Janeiro, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai.

To stay up to date with Laureus activity in the build up to the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards, follow us at @LaureusSport, #Laureus20 and #SportUnitesUs on social.

Katarina Witt, Laureus Academy member, said: “The Laureus World Sports Awards is a unique event, uniting people from around the world through the power of sport. I’m honoured that our special 2020 Awards Ceremony will take place in Berlin, a city of unity and one with a rich sporting history. Today is proof that sport has an incredible ability to unite, and we are all looking forward to celebrating everything we love about sport at the Verti Music Hall on February 17.”

Michael Müller, Mayor of Berlin, said: “Berlin is honoured to be hosting the internationally-renowned Laureus World Sports Awards in its milestone 20th anniversary year, and we are excited to welcome the world of sport to our city. We love sport in Berlin, we have been fortunate enough to witness sporting history being made in our stadiums and on our streets in recent years. We are looking forward to celebrating those moments on February 17 2020, as well as showcasing the positive power sport can have in uniting, inspiring and changing the lives of young people here in Berlin and around the world.”

Sean Fitzpatrick, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, said: “Twenty years ago at the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards, our founding patron Nelson Mandela spoke the words that guide us to this day – “Sport has the power to change the world because it unites people in a way that little else does.” I am proud to be part of an organisation that has spent twenty years realising this vision and I’m excited to be part of our 20th anniversary Awards Show, which will celebrate our history and look forward to how we can continue using sport to unite and change lives of children around the world.”

Dr. Jan Schulte-Kellinghaus, RBB Program Director, said: “We are delighted to present the 20th edition of the unique and exclusive Laureus Award. It will be a great opportunity to celebrate the best of international sports right in Berlin. We expect to offer our audience a glamorous showcase of the achievements of sportsmen and women and are much looking forward to working with the Laureus team on this special event.”

Dr. Stefan Franzke, CEO Berlin Partner, said: “I’d like to welcome Laureus to Berlin for the landmark Laureus World Sports Awards in their 20th anniversary year. We have a strong track record of hosting prestigious international sporting and cultural events in our city, and I’m excited for what will be a wonderful celebration of sporting triumphs and the positive power of sport in Berlin on 17 February, 2020.”