Hamilton has been a member of the Oxbow Team since 1990 and boasts achievements such as "Waterman of the year" in 2004 and "Rider of the Year" in 2000, overcoming the biggest waves in the world, among them Jaws in Peahi and Teahupoo in Tahiti. An accomplished waterman and kite surf pioneer, Hamilton is an internationally renowned free-surfer who has contributed to the development of the sport around the world.
Hamilton will join many of the world's leading brands, government institutions, rights-holders and governing bodies from sport already signed up to attend the Forum, which has quickly established itself as one of the industry's most influential thought leadership platforms. Lucien Boyer, general commissioner of the Global Sports Forum Barcelona, said: "Laird is one of the greatest free surfers in history and we look forward to him sharing his vision on the world of surfing along with the various projects he is working on."
Hamilton is the latest speaker to sign up to take part in the Forum, which aims to provide a year-long community for people to debate the latest issues and share opinions on sport. Ex-footballer turned actor Eric Cantona, London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic hopeful Oscar Pistorius, London 2012 organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe, FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and YouTube head of sports content Claude Ruibal are already confirmed to take part. To view the latest list of speakers confirmed to take part in the Global Sports Forum Barcelona 2012, which runs from March 7-9, visit www.globalsportsforum.org/2012speakers.