Aura Sport & Cultura Award is back. The award created by Undici to celebrate the best of Italian sport. The idea behind it is, essentially, the same one that has always driven us: at Undici, we believe the most positive figures in sport deserve to have their stories told and to be recognised for what they represent. Because they embody and create values. Because the way they live their lives and careers can be an inspiration to everyone. In 2025, the award went to Myriam Sylla, one of the defining figures of the Italian women’s volleyball team, following a vote by a jury made up of current and former athletes, sporting executives, journalists and representatives of sporting institutions, chaired by Federica Pellegrini. Sylla received the Aura trophy, designed and produced by AMDL CIRCLE, at an event held at Teatro Franco Parenti in Milan.
Now Undici is ready to do it again. And to take things a step further. The second edition of Aura Sport & Cultura Award, with OMEGA and Gruppo FS as Main Partners, will bring plenty of new elements. Starting with the date and venue: the 2026 Aura Sport & Cultura Award will be presented on 28 September 2026 at Triennale Milano. We weren’t exaggerating when we said we were going to raise the bar. The award remains rooted in the pillars on which we built it from the outset: transformation, emotion, storytelling, innovation, impact and vision. And then there is sport, of course, and the stories it gives us. Since September 2025, Italian athletes have produced a succession of unforgettable performances, moments that have already found their place in sporting history and collective memory. We can’t wait to celebrate them.
The list is a long one. The stars of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The medal winners at the European Swimming Championships, held only a few days ago. The Azzurri who shone at the World Championships in Tokyo and the European Championships in Birmingham — athletics, naturally. The volleyball players from the World Champion national teams. The tennis players. The drivers. After such an extraordinary sporting year, Aura Sport & Cultura Award 2026 is set to be an extraordinary event. The new print issue of Undici is part of that story too: a special edition bringing together many of the stories we have told through Aura, including interviews with some of the great Italian athletes who have managed to inspire far beyond their results. Through what they have achieved, certainly, but also through the way they have faced and lived the challenges of their disciplines.
We are only at the beginning of the road to the award ceremony. In the coming days, we will begin revealing how the voting process for the second edition will work, introducing the members of the jury and, naturally, the new candidates for the award, along with the reasons why we chose them. Follow the Undici website and social channels for all the updates. For now, here is a small preview: we are putting together a programme of meetings, interviews and talks open to our audience, to our community.
That is all we can say for now. We have plenty of surprises planned for 28 September, and we would rather not give them all away. It is a date that means a great deal to us, because it gets to the heart of what Undici is about. Aura Sport & Cultura Award is not simply a prize. It is a way of understanding and experiencing sport through the celebration of its people, its excellence. Excellence on the field, in competition and on the track, yes. But above all, beyond it.
That is what matters most to us. It is what we want to keep telling. And we want you there with us.
