Hugely popular recording artist, singer-songwriter and musician Ronan Keating was joined by former track cycling world and Olympic champion Victoria Pendleton, former Pussycat Dolls band member and current Got To Dance judge Kimberly Wyatt and a host of celebrity guests including star of TV show Made in Chelsea Rosie Fortescue.
Also cheering the polo stars on from the terrace at HPC, The London Polo Club were Laureus Academy Members and legends of the sporting world, double Olympic 400m hurdles gold medalist Edwin Moses, Argentina’s greatest ever rugby player Hugo Porta and double Olympic decathlon champion Daley Thompson.
Speaking at the Laureus King Power Polo Cup, Ronan Keating, who was there with his fiancée Storm Uechtritz, said: “It was a privilege to attend the Laureus King Power Polo Cup. Both Storm and I love the sport and it’s great to be part of such a special and enjoyable day where money is being raised for such a worthy cause as the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. It’s great knowing that we are making a really meaningful contribution which will help deprived young people and that makes it all the more worthwhile.”
A handful of the world’s leading polo players competed for team sponsored by AMG, the performance brand of Mercedes-Benz, against a team representing the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Representing Mercedes-AMG were Rommy Gianni, Eduardo Heguy, David “Pelon” Stirling and James Beh. Representing the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation were Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha, Talapichet “Ton” Srivaddhanaprabha, Gonzalo Pieres and Facundo Pieres. Mercedes-AMG came out on top in an exciting encounter which ended 2.5 goals to 2.
During the event, a host of luxurious items and experiences were auctioned off, including an IWC Ingenieur Automatic Edition ‘Laureus Sport for Good’ watch, a ten-night stay on Denis Island in Seychelles and a unique AMG Advanced Driving experience. Over €100,000 was also raised for the Fundación Laureus Argentina, which will be fed back into a host of Argentinian-based projects which are focused on using the power of sport to influence social change among young people.
Laureus Academy Member Hugo Porta, Chairman of the Fundación Laureus Argentina, commented: “This is a really important event for our Foundation, we’re lucky that the best polo players are very kind to us and it’s great to see so many people from the world of sport and entertainment here enjoying the event and supporting the work of the Foundation in Argentina.”
King Power’s Polo Manager, Pete McCormack, said: “King Power are very much looking forward to starting their partnership with Laureus and supporting the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.”
During the event, as well as a cuisine served up in the style of a traditional Argentine Asado, guests enjoyed a pop-up bar from famous Mayfair private members club Annabel’s hosted by Pernod Ricard.
The Fundación Laureus Argentina, based in Buenos Aires, supports seven projects: Asociación Civil Mostrando Caminos; Club Deportivo Barracas (Mi Club Nuestro Lugar); Programa A Ganar; Fundacion El Desafio (Deporte Por La Vida); Proyecto Fatima (Fundación CUBA); Virreyes Hockey and Granja Andar.
The mission of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation is to utilise the power of sport to address social challenges through a worldwide programme of sports related community development initiatives. Laureus supports more than 150 projects worldwide and since its inception in 2000 has raised over €60 million for projects which have improved the lives of millions of young people.
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