BBC Sports Personality of the Year is now just around the corner. The award ceremony will celebrate those involved in an action-packed 12 months of sport.Gabby Logan, Gary Lineker, Clare Balding and Alex Scott will present the 68th edition of SPOTY. As a result of growing COVID-19 cases, there will be no studio audience present.GiveMeSport Women runs through everything you need to know about this year’s event.
BBC Sports Personality of the Year date and time
This year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year will take place this evening (Sunday, December 19th). Proceedings will begin at 6:45pm, and run until 9pm.
How to watch BBC Sports Personality of the Year
BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be broadcast live on BBC One. It will likely be able to be viewed on iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app too.
What are the awards at BBC Sports Personality of the Year?
One athlete will be named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, but a number of other accolades will also be handed out.
This includes Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, World Sport Star, Young Sports Personality of the Year, and Unsung Hero.
The three contenders for Young Sports Personality of the Year have been announced, with Borussia Dortmund and England footballer Jude Bellingham, skateboarder Sky Brown and Para-swimmer Ellie Challis up for the accolade.
Brown became Great Britain's youngest Olympic medallist of all time when she claimed bronze in the women's park skateboarding final at Tokyo at the age of 13 years and 28 days.
Challis became Paralympic GB's youngest medallist when she won silver at the Tokyo Paralympics in August.
The nominees for World Sport Star have also been announced, and include Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah and Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore.
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, American football legend Tom Brady, Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez and Dutch F1 star Max Verstappen round off the shortlist.
Lifetime Achievement recipient
Gymnastics icon Simone Biles has been honoured with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement award.
The American won an Olympic silver medal as well as a bronze at Tokyo 2020, and also received widespread praise for opening up on her mental health struggles.
The 24-year-old withdrew from five events at this year’s Games, after admitting to struggling with a problem known as the "twisties" – a dangerous mental block where gymnasts temporarily lose air balance awareness.
Biles has also been subject to praise for her bravery in speaking out against former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, who is now serving a life sentence in jail for sexually abusing at least 265 young women.
"I want to take this moment to thank my teammates, my friends, and my family, who gave me - and continue to give me - so much love and strength," Biles said.
"I'm so grateful to everyone in the UK who sent such supportive and loving messages to me at that time.
"What I will always treasure, more than any medal, is hearing how I may have helped someone feel a little better.
"I will carry on fighting for what I believe in, for sport to be a safer place for young people to grow and flourish, and I will continue to speak up about mental health."
Who are the BBC Sports Personality of the Year nominees?
The nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year were named on Monday, December 13th at 08:30am.
US Open winner Emma Raducanu is on the shortlist. The 19-year-old made history in September after she became the first ever qualifier, male or female, to win a Grand Slam title.
Dame Sarah Storey is included after becoming Britain’s most successful Paralympian in the summer.
Diver Tom Daley, swimmer Adam Peaty and footballer Raheem Sterling have also been nominated.
Despite threatening to sue the BBC if he was included, unbeaten boxer Tyson Fury rounds off the shortlist.
F1 star Lewis Hamilton, who narrowly missed out on his eighth world title yesterday, has been snubbed.
Find out more about the nominees here.
What are Emma Raducanu’s chances of winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year?
Bookmakers have Raducanu as the clear favourite to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
If she was to win, she would become the first woman to be named BBC Sports Personality of the Year since equestrian Zara Phillips in 2006.
Raducanu, who will miss the awards ceremony as she is training in the Middle East, revealed she would prefer Hamilton to be given the accolade.
Previous winners of BBC Sports Personality of the Year
The past 10 years of BBC Sports Personality of the Year has been dominated by male athletes:
2010 – Sir AP McCoy
2011 – Mark Cavendish
2012 – Sir Bradley Wiggins
2013 – Sir Andy Murray
2014 – Lewis Hamilton
2015 – Sir Andy Murray
2016 – Sir Andy Murray
2017 – Sir Mo Farah
2018 – Geraint Thomas
2019 – Ben Stokes
2020 – Lewis Hamilton