A week of recognitions for Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi will this week receive recognition for his fantastic campaign in the 2009 MotoGP World Championship. This evening (Wednesday) the Italian will be a main player in the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, for which he is one of six nominees.

The televised ceremony, which will recognise sporting achievement for the 2009 calendar year, will take place in the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi and will be attended by top sportspeople from around the world. Hollywood stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Hugh Grant and Clive Owen will also be present, with Kevin Spacey hosting the ceremony.

The winners of the Awards – which celebrate their tenth year in 2010 – are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy and are widely regarded as the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. This is the fifth time Rossi has been nominated in the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year category, and in 2006 he won the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award.

Hours later in Rome, on Thursday, Rossi will receive a tribute organised by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his representation of his country on the world stage. The event will take place at the Villa Madama, and will be presided over by Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. Different MotoGP personalities, ambassadors from countries in which the MotoGP World Championship takes place, and personal invitees of Rossi will join the Italian for the event to celebrate his exceptional achievements.

“The nine times World Champion has sounded the national anthem on 103 occasions in different parts of the world, and has presented the important values of excellence of our country in five continents,” read a notification of the event. “Valentino Rossi has become an icon who represents the marvellous virtues of Italy on a foreign front, making all his compatriots proud to be Italian.”