DAIMLERCHRYSLER AND RICHEMONT ANNOUNCE LAUREUS SPORTS AWARDS

DAIMLERCHRYSLER AND RICHEMONT ANNOUNCE LAUREUS SPORTS AWARDS London, October 4 - DaimlerChrysler and Richemont today announced plans to establish the first ever world-wide sports awards celebration for sporting excellence covering all sports disciplines across all continents. The Laureus Sports Awards, named after the Latin word for laurel, the universal symbol for victory in sport, will be presented to the world´s greatest sportsmen and women in an annual ceremony that is set to accomplish for sport what the Academy Awards and Grammy's accomplish for film and music, in glamour, excitement and universal appeal. The inaugural event will be staged in Monaco in May 2000 under the High Patronage of HSH Prince Albert of Monaco. "I greatly value DaimlerChrysler and Richemont's commitment to bringing the Laureus Sports Awards to Monaco and look forward to welcoming guests to the inaugural event in May 2000," HSH Prince Albert said today. The aim of this initiative is to recognise the performance of sportsmen and women of different origins in a variety of categories, which transcend borders and barriers between different sports. Categories include, amongst others: Sportsman and Woman of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Coach of the Year, Extreme Sportsman and Woman of the Year, an Award for Sportsmanship and three Lifetime Achievement Awards. All winners will receive a Laureus statuette designed and produced by Cartier, which is to be unveiled soon. Winners of Laureus Sports Awards will be selected through a unique nomination process, which guarantees that the varying national and continental preferences to be found in sport are taken into account. Selected sports journalists from all over the globe will serve on the Selection Panel and will submit global and continental nominations to the World Sports Academy, comprising around 25 distinguished members who have achieved legendary status through athletic performance, who will elect the Awards winners. Confirmed Academy Members include sporting legends, Sevé Ballesteros, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Kapil Dev, Miguel Indurain, Ivan Lendl, Nawal El Moutawakel, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Viv Richards, Bill Shoemaker, Daley Thompson and Katarina Witt. Invitations have been extended to numerous other legends of sport who are to be welcomed as members of the Academy shortly. "The Laureus Sports Awards will recognise sport and sporting excellence. These awards are unique in that the recipients will be chosen by the world's greatest sportsmen and women. To succeed in sport and then to be recognised by your peers is without doubt the highest sport accolade one can achieve," Daley Thompson said today. As well as their role in celebrating sporting achievement through the creation of the Laureus Sports Awards, DaimlerChrysler and Richemont will, as the Founding Patrons, establish together with the World Sports Academy, an innovative charity programme to be known as Sport for Good. The programme will create templates for sports-related community development projects that make the most of sport's ability to touch and uplift people all over the world. Sport for Good plans to tackle issues such as literacy, health promotion and conservation, in partnership with others in the public, private and non-profit sectors. The awards ceremony itself, a spectacular entertainment show, will be available as a two hour live programme on the evening of May 25th from Monaco. A tape delay and edited version will also be made available to broadcasters. There will be a pre-show package available featuring exciting elements from the build-up to the awards in Monaco, including a Pro-Am Golf Tournament, an Ocean Day featuring 8 identical 24 metre Maxi One yachts and racing crews and other attractions soon to be announced. The world's top athletes and international celebrities from the entertainment, fashion, and music industries will be invited to be special guests. With the backing of DaimlerChrysler, and its premier automotive brand Mercedes-Benz, and Richemont, which owns a unique portfolio of fourteen of the world's best known luxury goods brands including Cartier, the Laureus Sports Awards are intended to be an annual highlight on the sports and entertainment calendars all around the world. LSA Inc., a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler and Richemont, with offices in Switzerland, London and Monte Carlo, will fund and manage the project. For more information, please contact: NINA FIDDIAN-GREEN, Laureus Sports Awards Media Affairs Manager Telephone : +44 (0) 171 514 2787 Fax : +44 (0) 171 491 2412 Cellular : +44 (0) 78 999 60 417