The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal was bestowed with the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Sports and the Franco-Columbian politician, Ingrid Betancourt, with the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord.

On the 3rd September, the Jury responsible for conferring the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Sport bestowed this award on the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal.

As noted in the Minutes of the Jury: "The Jury has prized the merits of the sportsman: in Grand Slam competitions, his fourth French Open title and his first Wimbledon victory, thereby becoming the number one tennis player in the world and, in this Olympic year, also obtaining the gold medal in Beijing. Rafael Nadal is an example to follow. Both in his victories and in the very few occasions when he is defeated, he shows great sportsmanship. The way he reacts after a victory and the way he highlights the merits of his opponents is particularly admirable. He has also recently established a charitable foundation bearing his name which focuses on social work among disadvantaged groups and cooperation for development (..)".

The Franco-Columbian politician Ingrid Betancourt was chosen for the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for Concord on the 10th September.

As noted in the Minutes of the Jury: "Ingrid Betancourt personifies all those people in the world who have been deprived of their freedom as a result of their defence of human rights and their fight against terrorist violence, corruption and drug trafficking. By highlighting the strength, dignity and valour with which Ingrid Betancourt faced six years of unjust captivity, the Jury wishes to express its solidarity with all those who suffer the same dramatic, inadmissible conditions that she has suffered, as well as with those governments which, just like the Government of the Republic of Colombia, work to consolidate the democratic system and civil liberties".

These are the last of the Prince of Asturias Awards to be bestowed in their twenty-eighth edition. The 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts went to the Youth and Children's Orchestras of Venezuela, founded by José Antonio Abreu; the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation was bestowed upon the organisations leading the fight against malaria in Africa: Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre (Tanzania), the Malaria Research and Training Centre (Mali), Kintampo Health Research Centre (Ghana) and Manhiça Health Research Centre (Mozambique); the Scientific and Technical Research Award was jointly granted to five scientists, worldwide leaders in the creation of new materials for the benefit of mankind: Sumio Iijima, Shuji Nakamura, Robert Langer, George M. Whitesides and Tobin Marks. The Award for Communication and Humanities was bestowed on Google; the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Science went to Tzvetan Todorov, and the Award for Letters to the Canadian writer Margaret Atwood.

Each of the Prince of Asturias Awards, which date back to 1981, is endowed with 50,000 Euros, a commissioned sculpture donated by Joan Miró, a diploma and an insignia. The awards will be presented this October in Oviedo at a grand ceremony chaired by H.R.H. the Prince of Asturias.