Legends of sport from past and present will convene in Madrid on April 20 to celebrate the most outstanding sportsmen and women of the year at the 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards - the Athletes' Awards.
Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history and five-time Laureus Statuette winner, will attend as a special guest and Laureus Ambassador. The gala event will take place at the Cibeles Palace, according to a press release.
Joining Biles will be two prominent football figures: Xavi Hernandez, who played over 1,000 professional games mainly for FC Barcelona, managed the club, and won the 2010 World Cup with Spain; and Fabio Capello, a Laureus Ambassador, who coached AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma, Juventus, as well as the England and Russia national teams.
Other notable attendees include Spain’s former world No 1 tennis player and Laureus Ambassador Garbine Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam champion; Jasmine Paolini, gold medallist in doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics and 2025 French Open winner, who was also a singles finalist at Wimbledon and the French Open in 2024 and led Italy to the Billie Jean King Cup titles in 2024 and 2025; and Amanda Anisimova, a 2025 Wimbledon and US Open finalist who attained a world No 3 ranking in January 2026 and has four WTA Tour titles to her name.
Italian Paralympic fencer Bebe Vio, recipient of the 2017 Laureus Disability Award, and Italian Paralympic swimmer Simone Barlaam, a multiple World and European champion who won four gold medals at the 2025 World Championship in Singapore, will also attend.
Yuvraj Singh, a Laureus Ambassador and former all-rounder for the India cricket team with appearances in 40 Tests and 304 One-Day internationals, and Bianca Bustamente, a 21-year-old racing driver from the Philippines competing in the Eurocup-3 series, are included among the guests.
The 2026 Laureus Awards will honour the remarkable sporting achievements of 2025 and celebrate over two decades of the Laureus movement, which has positively impacted more than seven and a half million young people worldwide through sport.
The winners, determined by votes from members of the Laureus World Sports Academy-the ultimate sporting jury-will be revealed at the ceremony at the Cibeles Palace.