Belgium's Olympic high jump champion Tia Hellebaut will be a special guest at a press conference to launch the World Sports Legends Award ©Getty Images

Belgium's Olympic high jump champion Tia Hellebaut and former Belgian international footballer Jean-Marie Pfaff will be special guests at a press conference to mark the official launch of the World Sports Legends Award, it has been announced.

Hellebaut won Olympic gold at Beijing 2008 and Pfaff made 64 appearances for his country during a career which also included spells with German side Bayern Munich and Belgian team Beveren.

International ballet star Lorena Baricalla is also scheduled to attend the conference, due to take place as part of SPORTELMonaco 2015, which runs from October 12 to 15.

The inaugural Monaco World Sports Legends Awards will be given to those sporting stars, both currently competing and those that have retired, who have brought about positive social change outside of sport.

The ceremony will be held alongside the SPORTEL convention and a host of American film stars and various sporting champions are expected to be in attendance at the event.

Candidates for the awards will be chosen by an international jury comprised of personalities from representatives from the sporting, cultural and media industries.

A special “Best Sports Values” award will also be handed out, given to the athlete who has made an exemplary sporting gesture, embodying the ethical and moral values of sport.

The first-ever World Sports Legends Award will be held as part of SPORTELMonaco
The first-ever World Sports Legends Award will be held as part of SPORTELMonaco ©WSLA

Legendary athletes and sporting competitors will also be rewarded with posthumous awards, it has been announced.

The convention itself, considered the most important for sports business people which allows for some of the industry’s most important figureheads to network and discuss business plans, will feature a series of talks and workshops.

The inaugural TV Sports Awards will take place this year as will the SPORTEL Awards, which include the Sports Book Competition and the Golden Podium Competition.

Back in August, SPORTEL revealed 99 per cent of the exhibition at their convention in Monte Carlo had sold out, with more than 1,200 participants already signed up.

insidethegames is an official media partner for the event.



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