After watching and evaluating the most beautiful sports images of the year to determine the nominees for the Georges Bertellotti Golden Podium Awards, after browsing and reviewing the beautiful sports books sent by the most prominent international publishers for the Renaud de Laborderie Sports Book Prize, sponsored by the Monegasque Olympic Committee, the SPORTEL Awards pre-selection committee, composed of a panel of experts, made its decision after an intense deliberation.
This year’s entries, in both divisions, were of high quality and the debates around the official selection were extremely enriching.
The best slow-motion sequences highlighting the emotion of the sporting moment, a prize sponsored by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, the documentaries giving new perspectives on sport, the documentary best highlighting a discipline, an event, a team or a sports personality, the best sequences involving an innovation in production, direction or format for the Innovation Prize, also those that best promote a sports program or a sports event for the Promotion Program Prize and finally the best ads related to sports for the Advertising Prize-Christian Blachas, sponsored by A. S. Monaco Basket – Roca Team.
TV channels, production companies, agencies, international federations, all submitted their most beautiful video productions to this competition which has become a reference in the sector. The most beautiful images of basketball, soccer, rugby, field hockey, MMA, mountain biking, the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, the last World Athletics Championships, the Paralympic Games… and all the major sporting events were represented.
The five beautiful books selected in the official selection will compete for the trophy, an original sculpture by Didier Noisetier. Vertige tout terrain, a book dedicated to the French cycling adventurer, Kilian Bron, as a real funambulist with spectacular images of his most vertiginous descents. Neige spectaculaire, also in the running, is a breathtaking ode to the white world from above, featuring breathtakingly beautiful shots by great photographers. The Fight, a dazzling tribute to the 1974 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Kinshasa, including Norman Mailer’s story and the stunning photography of Neil Leifer and Howard L. Bingham, is a remarkable book. Road to NBA, a true roadtrip through the great American basketball cities, should surprise the jury with its rich content and original presentation. Finally, L’œil du sport, with the 200 most beautiful photos of L’Équipe told by their authors, is a photographic bible that cannot be ignored.
The jury, chaired by Georges St-Pierre, two-time UFC MMA world champion and member of the UFC Hall of Fame, considered the greatest fighter in the history of ultimate fights, will have the challenge of choosing between the works selected.
The jury brings together several sports personalities from very different backgrounds, such as Arthur Bauchet, three-time Paralympic Champion in Alpine Skiing, Robert Colle vice-president of the Monegasque Ski Federation, representing the Monegasque Olympic Committee, Michael Payne an avant-gardist in sports marketing, in charge of the IOC’s worldwide broadcasting rights for two decades, Philippe Sella, the former French rugby XV international, Sarah Ourahmoune, Olympic Boxing vice-champion, representing the CNOSF, as well as Stéphane Le Goff, the great Canal+ reporter who has covered a dozen Olympic Games and a dozen World Cups in numerous sports, and finally the international footballer Eliaquim Mangala, Peace and Sport Champion for Peace.
The 2022 laureates will be announced at the prestigious Awards Ceremony on Monday, 24 October, at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco, in the presence of numerous Olympic and world champions and celebrities from a wide range of sporting disciplines.
SPORTEL Awards is now an event that has become part of a busy international sporting calendar. It is an opportunity for sports fans to experience unique moments with renowned sports personalities through several organized public events including screenings, conferences and exclusive meetings, autograph sessions…
