The city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia is slated to host the 15th Laureus World Sports Awards, considered as the Oscars of sports, on March 26.
The announcement came in just a little over a month prior to the actual ceremony. This came to light after Rio de Janeiro opted to skip hosting the event. The Brazilian authorities are not willing to spend about $12 million in hosting the event.
Sports fans from all over will certainly be flocking in this Southeast Asian city as star celebrities such as Serena Williams, Bradley Wiggins, Mo Farah, Michael Phelps, Sebastian Vettel, Alyson Felix, Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Missy Franklin, Jessica Ennis, Ernie Els, Neymar, Yannick Agnel, Anna Mears and Tirunesh Dibaba will be making an apperance due to their nominations for the awards this year.
“I am delighted that the 2014 Awards is to be staged in Kuala Lumpur. It is an exciting development that the event is being held in South-East Asia for the first time, enabling the Laureus message to be extended to a new part of the world,” said awards chairman Edwin Moses.
“Of course, this is a very emotional occasion as it is the first awards ceremony since the death of our patron, the great Nelson Mandela. I am sure that with the support of everyone in Kuala Lumpur it will be an event to remember, where we can salute today’s sporting heroes and pay tribute to President Mandela,” he added.
Top players honored in the past 15 years include Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Alex Ferguson and Michael Schumacher.
Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said: “Kuala Lumpur is honoured to have been given the privilege of hosting the prestigious 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards.
“We are proud to count badminton world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, squash world champion Nicol David and 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Pandelela Rinong (diving) as products of our sports culture.
“With international events such as the Monsoon Cup and Formula One Grand Prix, we are supremely confident that Kuala Lumpur is the perfect host for a sporting event with such global significance.
“I am positive this will be an event to remember for everyone,” he added.
The winners of the awards are to be selected by the 46 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
