Celebrity visits are a common occurrence in Abu Dhabi these days, but for a pure concentration of superstars few events in the capital match the Laureus World Sports Awards.
For the second year running, the Emirates Palace will host the show, dubbed by many as the Oscars of the sporting world. Once again, Kevin Spacey will be undertaking presenting honours, but it has just been announced that Irishman Ronan Keating, the lead singer of Boyzone, will be entertaining the guests at the glitzy showbiz bash with his trademark crooning. Other stars who will be attending include Matthew Goode, British star of movies such as Watchmen, Brideshead Revisited and Match Point and Elsa Pataky, who’s appeared in more than 18 French and Spanish films as well as Hollywood cult hit Snakes on a Plane.
Award categories include Best Sportsman and Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, F1 champion Sebastian Vettel and US basketball ace Koby Bryant are among the favourites to scoop this prestigious prize. While in the Best Sportswoman category, American tennis champ Serena Williams is up against English heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis and US skier Lindsey Vonn. Also, the World Sports Team award is a contest that includes the Spanish World Cup winning football team and the Red Bull F1 team.
The winners are judged by a panel of retired sporting greats, and many of these, including German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer, Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath and Britain’s Olympic gold medal nabbing rower Steve Redgrave, have promised to attend. However, the event is invite only, so don’t just turn up and expect to be allowed access. Instead, keep an eye on www.timeoutabudhabi.com next week for results and pictures from the show.
