The winners of the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards, the most prestigious honours in sport, were announced in Madrid, on April 21.

25 years after the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards were held in Monaco in 2000, this special anniversary edition of the greatest show in sports celebrated the growth of Laureus as a unique sporting movement – encompassing the world-famous Awards and the work of Laureus Sport for Good in over 40 countries.

And it all took place in Madrid, the venue for last year’s globally-broadcast Awards show, when winners included Simone Biles, Jude Bellingham and Novak Djokovic. Sport is an electrifying part of Madrid’s appeal as a destination: as well as being home to five La Liga football clubs, tennis’s Madrid Open and the venue for the climax of cycling’s Vuelta a España; it will host Spain’s first ever regular season NFL game later this year and in 2026 will welcome F1 with the Formula One Gran Premio d’España staged in Madrid from 2026 on a stunning new street circuit.

The 25th anniversary Awards, staged 25 years after the first ever Laureus Awards in 2000, honoured the past, celebrated the present and inspired the future – with the biggest names from the world of sport, being joined by celebrity sports fans, in a unique mix for which Laureus is renowned.

And as ever, at stake was ‘The Laureus’: the statuette awarded to the winner in each category and the prize the greatest athletes in the world value above all other Awards – voted on by the 69 sporting legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Beyond the Awards ceremony itself, Laureus used the return to Madrid to showcase the impact of the social legacy of the 2024 Awards, in cooperation with the Community and City of Madrid.

The winners of the 2025 Laureus Awards are...