Supermodel Bar Refaeli and tennis legend Boris Becker chose the heart of London on the eve of the Laureus World Sports Awards to unveil a new polo shirt designed by fashion house Shanghai Tang in support for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation's mission to use sport as a tool for social change and to help improve the lives of children around the world.
The elegant polo shirt, in dark blue or orange, carrying the Laureus name and the bold number ‘1’, was worn by members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, a unique collection of 47 of the greatest sportsmen and women in the world. Chinese characters on the back of the shirt spell ‘Laureus’ in Chinese.
The new shirt was launched in the shadow of world-famous Big Ben and overlooking Parliament Square, at Central Hall, Westminster, where the Laureus Awards Ceremony was held.
Three-time Wimbledon winner Boris Becker said: “This is an extremely cool fashion item with a wonderful humanitarian purpose. On behalf of Laureus, I would like to thank Shanghai Tang for producing this shirt and for their generosity in helping the Laureus Foundation to fund its work.”
Laureus Academy Members, including Boris, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Michael Johnson, Martina Navratilova and Gary Player, volunteer their time to work for the charitable Laureus Sport for Good Foundation which supports sports-based projects which have helped more than one-and-a-half million young people since 2000.
The shirt is available for purchase online at www.shanghaitang.com and at Shanghai Tang boutiques in New York, Las Vegas, London, Singapore, Frankfurt, Moscow, Hong Kong and selected Chinese stores. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
The winners of the 2012 Laureus World Sports Awards were unveiled at a globally televised Awards Ceremony in London last week. Among the highlights were a record-equalling fourth Laureus Award for US surfer Kelly Slater and a double success for Northern Ireland golf with both Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy being honoured. FC Barcelona at last won the Laureus Team of the Year Award after their fourth Nomination.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic was acclaimed Laureus World Sportsman of the Year after his remarkable 2011 when he won three Grand Slam events – the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open – and took away the tennis world No 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal.
Former Brazilian international footballer Raí, now a campaigner for social justice, won the Laureus Sport for Good Award.
Clive Owen hosted the event. Among the other guests present from the world of entertainment and fashion were Bryan Ferry who performed on stage as well as segment host British actress Thandie Newton, Spanish actress Elsa Pataky, American actor Luke Wilson and Israeli actress and model Bar Refaeli.
Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which supports 91 community sports projects in 34 countries around the world, including five in London. Since its inception, Laureus has raised €40 million for projects which have improved the lives of more than one-and-a-half million young people.
