Olympic Great Lindsey Vonn to Host Laureus World Sports Awards 2022 in Seville
Lindsey Vonn, the greatest women’s skier of all-time, will be the host of the 2022 Laureus Awards Show in the picturesque Spanish city of Seville on Sunday, April 24, when the Winners of this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards are revealed.
I know how emotional and uplifting it is to receive a Laureus Award and it’s going to be so exciting to be part of the Awards Show in Seville.
First staged in 2000, the Laureus Awards celebrates the greatest achievements of individuals and teams across all sports. The Winners are chosen by the votes of the 71 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy: the greatest sportsmen and women of today being saluted by the most illustrious legends of the past.
Lindsey Vonn was honoured by the Laureus Academy in 2019 when she was presented with the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award to mark the end of her remarkable career. In 2021 she became a member of the Laureus Academy.
Lindsey said: “When I received the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award on my retirement in 2019, I remember saying I was sad to be leaving my sport but I was looking forward to the next chapter of my life and doing something incredible. That’s exactly how I feel now to be the host for the 2022 Laureus World Sports Awards in the beautiful city of Seville. This is going to be an incredible night for myself and for all the Winners of these very special Awards."
“I know how emotional and uplifting it is to receive a Laureus Award and it’s going to be so exciting to be part of the Awards Show in Seville. Although we can’t host the Nominees and Winners in person this year, I have seen all the preparations for the virtual event. It’s going to be a wonderful evening.”
We welcome the great world family of sport. Today, at a global level, we share challenges such as ending the pandemic, resolving armed conflicts, fighting climate change. These are goals that are worth fighting for and to which sport can contribute.”
In her career, Lindsey won four Overall World Cups - one of only three female skiers to do so – and a record eight World Cup Downhill titles. In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden. Her total of 82 World Cup race victories is a women's record. She was a winner in all five Alpine skiing disciplines.
She won the downhill gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 2010, where she also won bronze in the super-g, which led to her receiving the 2011 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award. Despite breaking her right arm three months before and also suffering a back injury, she won a bronze in the downhill at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Antonio Muñoz, the Mayor of Seville, said: “Seville is a city with a great passion for sport, not just elite events but also in grass roots activities. After the COVID-19 pandemic, sport is associated more than ever with health and we regard it in Seville as an important factor for social cohesion. Once again Seville is a partner of the Laureus World Sports Awards and is again the host. We welcome the great world family of sport. Today, at a global level, we share challenges such as ending the pandemic, resolving armed conflicts, fighting climate change. These are goals that are worth fighting for and to which sport can contribute.”
The Laureus Awards, which reflects sporting achievement during 2021, is the premier honours event on the international sporting calendar. The Winners, in a variety of different categories, will be revealed in a ‘virtual’ format as a result of continuing uncertainty over the Covid pandemic.
Among the Nominees, selected by a panel of more than 1,200 of the leading sports journalists and broadcasters in the world, are Tom Brady, Robert Lewandowski, Max Verstappen, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Emma McKeon, Emma Raducanu, Pedri, Simone Biles, Sky Brown, Mark Cavendish, Tom Daley, Marc Marquez, Diede De Groot, Marcel Hug, Carissa Moore and Momiji Nishiya.
Among those shortlisted for the Laureus Team of the Year Award are three football teams: European Championship winners Italy, Copa America winners Argentina, including Lionel Messi, and the Barcelona Women’s team which won the Champions League.
Depending on the location, the 2022 Awards Show can be enjoyed on television, online or on social media.
As well as recognising the most memorable sporting performances of the year, there will be additional special Awards acknowledging the wider impact on society made by athletes which will highlight the advocacy of sportsmen and sportswomen who have used their positions of influence to make a powerful impact on issues and conflicts which go beyond sport.
The Awards showcase the work of Laureus Sport for Good, which uses the power of sport to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage, showing that sport can change the world. Today Laureus supports more than 250 programmes in over 40 countries, many of which aim to end conflict and build bridges between communities.
In response to the conflict in Ukraine, the ‘Laureus Sport for Peace Humanitarian Action Fund’ has been set up to help alleviate the human disaster unfolding in that country. Public donations can be made via Laureus.com – at Just Giving and Global Giving.com.
The fund supports agencies on the ground such as UNICEF, Save the Children and Red Cross / Red Crescent, providing food, water and medicine for victims of the Russian invasion, and seeking shelter for mothers and children on the move, trying to escape.
Laureus will also be a beneficiary of the ‘Play Your Part’ fundraising campaign which has been launched by Laureus Ambassador Andriy Shevchenko, who captained and managed the Ukraine national team.
