Abu Dhabi to host 2011 Laureus World Sports Awards,

The Laureus World Sports Awards, the premier honours event in the international sporting calendar, is once again to be staged in Abu Dhabi. The announcement was made at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin by Laureus Academy Chairman Dr. Edwin Moses, Anders Sundt Jensen, Executive Director of Laureus, and Guy Sanan, Chief Executive Officer of Laureus.

The 2011 Laureus World Sports Awards is returning to Abu Dhabi thanks to the generous support of Aabar Investments PJS, who will once again be Host Partner for the event.

His Excellency Khadem Al Qubaisi, Chairman of Aabar Investments PJS, said: “The Laureus World Sports Awards is a unique event. It was magnificent, a great success for Abu Dhabi when it was held here last March. The whole event was really superb. We will certainly try to do something special when we bring the Awards back next year.”

The 2011 Laureus World Sports Awards Ceremony, which will be broadcast to a worldwide TV audience, will be staged at the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, on the evening of Monday, February 7.

The Laureus Awards Ceremony provides a high profile focus as stars of the sporting world come together to salute the finest sportsmen and sportswomen of the year. The winners are selected by the ultimate sports jury – the 46 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the living legends of sport honouring the greatest athletes of today.

Double Olympic champion Edwin Moses said: “I am delighted that the Laureus World Sports Awards is to be staged once again in Abu Dhabi. Our visit to the United Arab Emirates last year was unforgettable and produced a most memorable Awards Ceremony. This is an exciting city with a growing reputation in the sporting world and I am very happy that Laureus can be part of that. The welcome we received last year was warm and we look forward to returning to Abu Dhabi to celebrate another memorable year of sport.”

Also present with Edwin Moses in Berlin for the announcement were Laureus Academy Members Marcus Allen, Kapil Dev, Emerson Fittipaldi, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Kip Keino, Franz Klammer, Alexey Nemov, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson and Steve Waugh, who were all attending the Laureus Academy Forum taking place in the German capital. Plus World Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko, who is a member of the Laureus Friends & Ambassadors programme.

Last year double Oscar-winning Hollywood star Kevin Spacey hosted a glittering Awards Ceremony attended by leading sportsmen and women from around the world. Also in the audience at a packed auditorium at the Emirates Palace were Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, British film stars Hugh Grant and Clive Owen, and American actors Kyle MacLachlan and Michelle Rodriguez.

Among the names of the winners of the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards announced in Abu Dhabi last March were Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, Jenson Button, Kim Clijsters, Natalie du Toit and Stephanie Gilmore.

Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, offers a fascinating combination of the old and the new; a blend of Arabic hospitality and mystique where a mixture of culture and tradition come together against a backdrop of the most modern world-class infrastructure. Abu Dhabi is developing a reputation as a great sporting venue as host city for the FIFA Club World Cup, the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, all highlights of the sporting calendar in the city.

Aabar Investments PJS is an investment company headquartered in Abu Dhabi. It invests in various sectors including aerospace, real estate, automotive and financial services. Its largest stakeholder is the International Petroleum Investment Company, which is wholly owned by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation which supports almost 80 community sports projects around the world which have helped to improve the lives of more than one million young people.

The announcement was made at the Laureus Academy Forum, taking place this week in Berlin and Milan, an opportunity for Academy Members to get together to talk about the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and important issues in sport in general.

Laureus Chairman Edwin Moses said: “As well as their achievements as sportsmen and women, the members of the Laureus Academy represent the pinnacle of sports knowledge and experience. The Academy Forum gives us the chance to meet and discuss a range of burning issues in sport today, as well as focusing on how best we can expand the whole Laureus concept for the good of sport around the world.”