The attention of sports fans all over the world will be focused on Madrid on April 20, when the 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards take place at Cibeles Palace. The best athletes in the world – and the all-time legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy – will converge on Spain’s capital once again for the greatest show in sports.
Where better than one of the world’s leading sporting cities to celebrate the standout achievements and performances of 2025, whilst also championing the transformative effect that sport has in diverse communities across the world.
Madrid has become synonymous with international sporting excellence. Home of the Mutua Madrid Open – an unmissable stop on the tennis tour – and host of the climactic stage of cycling’s Vuelta a España, in September this year the capital will add to its calendar the first Formula 1 event in the city since 1981. The city also boasts an enviable basketball venue and multi-purpose space at the Movistar Arena, as well as a vast swimming complex that regularly hosts national and international meets.
Two of world football’s most significant organisations call the city home, drawing the eyes of the world’s sporting community on a weekly basis. Real Madrid, 15-time winners of the UEFA Champions League, are never far from the spotlight, uniting a global audience to watch the world’s best footballers take to the pitch at their futuristic Bernabéu stadium. Across the city, three-time UEFA Europa League winners Atlético de Madrid’s renovated Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium will host the 2027 Champions League final and is a potential host venue for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Since Madrid first hosted the Laureus Awards in 2024, the city has benefited greatly from the work of Laureus Sport for Good. A growing network of Laureus Ambassadors in Madrid has connected Laureus-supported programmes that work to better young lives in the City and region, offering educational opportunities and active engagement through sport. Real Madrid star and winner of the 2024 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award, Jude Bellingham, was announced as a Laureus Ambassador in September, when he joined local children for a team-building football workshop at Laureus-supported charity, Fútbol Más.
The 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards will once again unite the world’s sporting community, alongside some of the biggest names in entertainment, culture and fashion. The iconic Laureus statuette will be awarded to one winner in each of seven major categories. The winners will be selected by the ultimate sports jury: the Laureus World Sports Academy.
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, President of the Community of Madrid, said: “Madrid is more relevant than ever, and this achievement is also thanks to international sporting events that increasingly choose the region as their host, knowing they will find joy, prosperity, culture, safety and, of course, a deep passion for sport here. In 2026, we are confident that the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix will renew the global success we experienced in 2025 with the NFL spectacle held at the world’s best stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu, as we look ahead to upcoming milestones such as the EuroBasket, the UEFA Champions League Final and the FIFA World Cup. In Madrid, sport is always welcome because, through the shared values it represents, we all win.”
José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid, said: “Madrid is proud that the Laureus World Sports Awards are being held here once again. We are a city that loves sport and athletes. The capital has proven—and will continue to prove—that it has the capacity to host the world’s greatest sporting events. Madrid will rise to the occasion so that the biggest gala in global sport has the best possible setting. We welcome this sporting celebration with great enthusiasm and are grateful that you have chosen us for the third consecutive year as host city. We are very much looking forward to celebrating this major sporting event with the world’s sporting elite. Madrid and the Laureus Awards, together once again. We look forward to welcoming you with open arms.”
Raúl González Blanco, Laureus World Sports Academy Member and Real Madrid legend, said: “I feel truly honoured that my home city is once again hosting this wonderful celebration of global sport. The Laureus World Sports Awards are special not only because they recognise sporting achievement and success, but also the positive change that sport can drive in our society. I can’t wait to welcome the world’s greatest athletes to Madrid once again – alongside the Laureus family – to celebrate another incredible year of sport.”
Alongside recognising exceptional athletic achievements from across the sporting world, the 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards will once again include the Laureus Sport for Good Award, 26 years after its inception at the very first ceremony. The words of Nelson Mandela are just as powerful today and, from a network of over 300 sports-based programmes in more than 40 different countries, the judges will recognise one charity’s commitment to changing lives through sport.
The globally broadcast Awards Show, including the Award presentations and related news stories, will be available to the world’s media and extensively covered across Laureus social media platforms.
