The Official Laureus Opus

The Official Laureus Opus celebrates the spirit of sporting greatness and the immeasurable inspiration that sport can bring to an individual or community in all walks of life.

The Opus will showcase breath-taking photography, case-studies and exclusive interviews with Patrons, Laureus Academy Members and Award Winners that have helped influence the Foundation, creating a rich tapestry of diverse sporting stories which as a whole becomes one of the most inspiring body of works for generations to enjoy.

The Opus will tell the iconic story of Laureus Academy members, who have shaped lives through their global programmes. Insight is given into the quality of the support Laureus provides which is paramount to the success of its regional work and operations, allowing for better understanding of what is needed locally to achieve the greatest impact. To accompany this story will be the wonderful adventures of those who have benefited from the Laureus programs first-hand and have taken the spirit of what they have learned from the projects into their career and personal lives.

Inspiration is the key purpose of this Opus and it achieves this goal by telling the individual stories of over 50 great living sporting legends in the Laureus Academy and showing how they embrace the principle of using sport to help bring positive social change. First-hand accounts of their career memories, challenges and motivations are illustrated on a dynamic scale with epic photography of their finest moments.

The Laureus Opus will comprise of case studies of global projects and interviews with Academy Members who share a belief in the power of sport to break down barriers, bring people together and improve the lives of young people around the world and often in the communities that they hold dear to their heart.

The unique and insightful stories shared by the Academy Members will resonate with an audience regardless of age, gender, cultural or ethnic background. The intention is for the viewer to be empowered by the courage, will power and belief shown by their sporting heroes which in turn drives a sporting community to aim higher and achieve their goals in all aspects of life.

The stories of the Academy Members include:

Alberto Tomba, Alessandro Del Piero, Alexey Nemov, Bobby Charlton, Boris Becker, Cafu, Carles Puyol, Cathy Freeman, Daley Thompson, Dan Marino, David Douillet, Dawn Fraser, Deng Yaping, Edwin Moses, Emerson Fittipaldi, Franz Beckenbauer, Franz Klammer, Gary Player, Giacomo Agostini, Hugo Porta, Ian Botham, Ilie Nastase, Jack Nicklaus, Kapil Dev, Katarina Witt, Kip Keino, Li Xiaopeng, Luis Figo, Marcel Desailly, Marcus Allen, Mark Spitz, Martina Navratilova, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Michael Johnson, Mick Doohan, Miguel Indurain, Mika Hakkinen, Mike Horn, Monica Seles, Morné du Plessis, Nadia Comaneci, Nawal El Moutawakel, Rahul Dravid, Robby Naish, Sachin Tendulkar, Sean Fitzpatrick, Sebastian Coe, Sergey Bubka, Steve Redgrave, Steve Waugh, Tanni Grey - Thompson, Tegla Loroupe, Tony Hawk, Vivian Richards, Yang Yang, Yao Ming

The Opus itself will run to 850 sensational pages, each measuring 20 inches x 20 inches (50 cm x 50 cm) weighing in excess of 98 lbs. (32 kg). The Opus will be leather bound and presented in a beautiful, hand-made clamshell case.

The first 150 marquee copies will include a unique signature page that is signed by all the Academy Members listed above. This collection of autographs will be the first of its kind, making history, becoming a most special collectable and unprecedented investment treasure. All net profits from the Opus project will be channeled into the Laureus proj­ects around the world to help continue the great work the Foundation inspires year after year.

A second format of the Opus, The Classic Edition, will measure 15 inches x 15 inches. It will cover the same story as the Marquee Edition. Still weighing in at approximately 15 kg, this Classic Edition is created to satisfy the demands of a much wider fan base at a more affordable price point.

It is rare that we are offered the opportunity to tell such an important and unique series of stories in one Opus that celebrate the spirit of sporting greatness at the highest possible level...Laureus Sport for Good and its sporting members are unique and truly an inspiration to people all over the world and from all walks of life, young and old. We are deeply honoured and proud to be collaborating with Laureus to create what we hope will be a very special body of work that will inspire many generations and help towards the amazing work that the Founda­tion does year and after year.

Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, said: “This is a great chance for us to tell the story of Laureus through the eyes of the Laureus World Sports Academy, many of whom have been involved since day one. This is going to become a fantastic piece of work which is going to become part of the history of Laurues. I’m delighted, with my fellow Academy Members, to be here today to launch this exciting project.”