Host city of the Rio 2016™ Olympic and Paralympic Games, Rio de Janeiro is the capital of world sport as of 2013. This Monday, the city will for the first time host the Laureus Awards, the Oscars of world sport. The ceremony will start at 7 pm on Monday 11 March at the Municipal Theatre, presented by American actors Morgan Freeman and Eva Longoria and actress Maggie Cheung from Hong Kong. Music will be provided by American rapper Cee Lo Green.

Various medal-winners from the London Olympic Games will be competing to win an award, alongside other incredible non-Olympic sports athletes, such as Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel, candidate for Sportsman of the Year, and the Miami Heat basketball team, nominated for Team of the Year.

“The award for Sportsman of the Year should be the most closely fought contest. An incredible set of names will be competing, including Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Mo Farah and Bradley Wiggins. In fact, each category contains several star athletes. It’s really the crème de la crème of sport”, said Edwin Moses, two-time Olympic gold medallist in the 400 m hurdles and chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

The awards recognise the sporting feats of athletes in the year 2012. Nominees are chosen by a group of international journalists. Six athletes are selected in each of the seven categories, and the winner of each category is chosen by a specialist jury of the Laureus Academy, which features 46 of the greatest names in world sport, such as Sebastian Coe, Michael Johnson, Nadia Comaneci, Boris Becker, Franz Beckenbauer, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Gary Player, Giacomo Agostini, Tony Hawk, and Tanni Grey-Thompson, among many others. All of the people mentioned will be present at the Municipal Theatre.

After winning six golds in the six Swimming events he competed in London 2012, Daniel Dias is candidate for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability at Laureus Awards (Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Here is the list of athletes nominated for awards:

Sportsman of the Year

Usain Bolt (Jamaica) – Athletics
Mo Farah (Great Britain) – Athletics
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – Football
Michael Phelps (United States) – Swimming
Sebastian Vettel (Germany) – Formula 1
Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) – Cycling

Sportswoman of the Year

Jessica Ennis (Great Britain) – Athletics
Allyson Felix (United States) – Athletics
Missy Franklin (United States) – Swimming
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) – Athletics
Lindsey Vonn (United States) – Alpine Skiing
Serena Williams (United States) – Tennis

Team of the Year

Chinese Olympic Table Tennis Team – Table Tennis
European Ryder Cup Team – Golf
Miami Heat (United States) – Basketball
Red Bull Team (Austria) – Formula 1
Men’s Football Team (Spain) – Football
US Men’s Basketball Team (United States) – Basketball

Breakthrough of the Year

Yannick Agnel (France) – Swimming
Gabby Douglas (United States) – Artistic Gymnastics
Kirani James (Granada) – Athletics
Andy Murray (Great Britain) – Tennis
Neymar (Brazil) – Football
Ye Shiwen (China) – Swimming

Comeback of the Year

Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) – Athletics
Ernie Els (South Africa) – Golf
European Ryder Cup Team – Golf
Anna Meares (Australia) – Cycling
Felix Sanchez (Dominican Republic) – Athletics
German Men’s Olympic Eight Rowing Team (Germany) – Rowing

Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability

Patrick Anderson (Canada) – Wheelchair Basketball
Johanna Benson (Namibia) – Athletics
Daniel de Faria Dias (Brazil) – Swimming
Alan Fonteles Oliveira (Brazil) – Athletics
David Weir (Great Britain) – Athletics
Alex Zanardi (Italy) – Cycling

Action Sportsperson of the Year

Felix Baumgartner (Austria) – Skydiving
Jamie Bestwick (Great Britain) – BMX
Philip Köster (Germany) – Windsurfing
Joel Parkinson (Australia) – Surfing
Julie Bresset (France) – Mountain Bike
Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) – Surfing