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A galaxy of sporting stars from across the world, including cricketers Kapil Dev and Yuvraj Singh descended on the sovereign city-state along the French Riviera in Monaco on Sunday for the 18th edition of the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards 2018 to be held on February 27.
While Kapil is an academy member of the Laureus World Sports Awards along with Australian cricket legend Steve Waugh, Yuvraj has been invited in role of an ambassador.
Besides, the who’s who of the sporting world will be here to attend the Awards, considered the Oscar of sports.
Some of the big names, who will be attending the gala night on Tuesday are German tennis legend Boris Becker, American tennis greats Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, pole vault great Sergey Bubka, renowned former Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, athletics great Michael Johnson, American swimming legends Mark Spitz and Missy Franklin among others.
Some big names from the football world, who will be present during the occasion are Alessandro Del Piero, Marcel Desaily, Luis Figo, Raul, Ruud Gullit, Carlos Puyol, Ryan Giggs, Andriy Schevchenko, former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas among others.
Among the notable nominees for this year’s awards set to walk the red carpet are American sprinter Allyson Felix, South Africa’s middle-distance runner Caster Semenya, double world champion and 2012 London Olympics gold medallist in 100m women hurdles Sally Pearson of Australia, goalkeeper Jackson Follman, who was one of just six survivors of the devastating air crash that wiped out 71 people, including most of the Chapecoense team.
A glittering collection of the greatest sportsmen, sportswomen and teams have been nominated for this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards, following a global vote by the world’s media.
The Awards to be presented will include best Sportsman, Sportswoman, Team, Breakthrough, Comeback, Disabled Sportsperson, Action Sportsperson, plus Lifetime Achievement and Spirit of Sport Awards, both of which are given at the discretion of the Laureus Academy.
The Awards Ceremony will also showcase sport’s incredible ability to transform the lives of young people around the world though the work of Laureus Sport for Good.
The Awards Ceremony would be hosted by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, best known for his TV series 'Sherlock'.
The 2018 Awards in Monaco will be the third time Cumberbatch hosts the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards, having previously hosted the 2014 Awards in Kuala Lumpur and the 2015 Ceremony in Shanghai.