Inside the Laureus World Sports Awards 25th anniversary

This year’s Laureus World Sports Awards was a huge success, celebrating incredible talent with Armand Duplantis named Sportsman of the Year and Simone Biles honored as Sportswoman of the Year, among many other outstanding winners and nominees.

Each year, we aim to make the Laureus event prestigious, memorable, and deeply connected to the Laureus brand, while maintaining a sense of continuity with past shows. This marks the fifth evolution of the Mandela head since its original creation in 2020. Over the years, the design has undergone subtle colour changes, adapting to each event’s styling and location, yet the core message remains unchanged: “Sport has the power to change the world.” The 25 years of Laureus Sport for Good’s inspiring work stands as a testament to that belief.

For 2025, the graphical statuette shifted from last year’s bright, vibrant palette to a refined cool blue and white. We also evolved the statuette icon, introducing a hand-drawn caricature style for use across event boards. The 3D model of the statuette was fully recreated, with meticulous attention to structure, texture, and detail — including subtle gold spark reflections across various backgrounds — ensuring it remains true to the real-world award.

Iconography has long been a signature of Laureus branding, dating back to Berlin 2020. This year, we reimagined the iconic sporting heroes, drawing inspiration from the dynamic shards and angles of the updated statuette design to create a fresh, striking look.

Overall, the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards was an exceptional celebration of sport and design.
If you’re interested in exploring previous years’ work, please browse the archive on this site.

To find out how Runningbird can elevate your next event branding, get in touch — we’d love to collaborate.