MADRID, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The annual ceremony to present the prestigious Princess of Asturias Awards was held on Friday in the city of Oviedo, northern Spain.
The awards are given every year in eight different fields: Arts, Communication and Humanities, Social Sciences, Technical and Scientific Research, Sport, Literature, International Cooperation and Concord.
The award winners each received a certificate, a statue by artist Joan Miro and a cash prize of 50,000 euros (55,000 U.S. dollars) in the ceremony hosted by the King and Queen of Spain and their eldest daughter Leonor, the Princess of Asturias.
Among the laurates this year, the sports award was won by Spanish world champion triathlon athlete, Javier Gomez Noya, while historian Mary Beard, famous for her work on ancient Rome, was awarded the prize for social sciences.
Actress Nuria Espert won the arts award and American author Richard Ford took the literature award.
The award for technical and scientific research went to Hugh Herr, a leader in the field of biomechanics, who lost both legs when he was just 17 years old.
The international cooperation award was given to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement for its aim of "stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions and preventing dangerous human induced interference with the climate system."
