BBC Sports Personality of the Year LIVE: Latest news and pictures from Salford ceremony with Keely Hodgkinson favourite to take home the award after Olympics gold medal

There have been many special comebacks in the year of 2024, but not many were better than the one performed by Alex Yee at the Olympics.

He dramatically passed Hayden Wilde in the closing stages of the men’s triathlon when hope had seemingly been lost.

I was left with my mouth agast, I thought the race was over.

After claiming silver in Tokyo three years earlier, he somehow found the motivation to change it to gold.

It was simply magical, it really was.

And now he has the chance to win another award, can he do it?

Keely Hodgkinson, SPOTY nominee, speaking on BBC One:

Growing up I always knew I had a talent in the sport. I get the best out of my self when I have something to aim for. I took great inspiration from Jessica Ennis-Hill at London 2012. You start to dream into your teenage years.

There is definitely a difference. It’s been amazing ever since Paris, I have had people come up to me with such amazing messages saying their kids love to watch it.

David Coverdale, Mail Sport, in Manchester:

Jude Bellingham is the only one of the six SPOTY contenders not to do any interviews for the show. Even Joe Root has got up early in the morning in New Zealand to speak to the BBC, fresh from the Test series finishing yesterday. Last year, Rory McIlroy was the only contender to snub the awards night.

Just like the Ballon d’Or ceremony, Jude Bellingham is not in attendance tonight in Manchester.

He is currently preparing for the FIFA Intercontinental Cup final with Real Madrid in Qatar.

I was expecting to hear something from him when his tape was played at the show, but nope, nothing.

Dr Mark Prince, Helen Rollason Award winner, speaking to BBC One:

I am not often short of words I am always been up and motivating other people and this is really overwhelming for me. I want to let Nikki Rollason know that this is such a blessing receiving this award in your mum’s name – your mum was an awesome individual.

I don’t often talk about being proud of myself and I am so driven no matter how many kids I help. I just want to go to the next person, but I am proud of the fact when at a time there seemed to be no hope I kept believing that Jesus Christ my saviour was going to do great things.

I am proud of the fact I didn’t give in to revenge. God has given us a choice and we can choose no matter what happens to us we have a power of choice. We can choose how we deal with it. We have not got the choice of what happens, but the choice of how we deal with it.

David Coverdale, Mail Sport, in Manchester:

For me, there should be only one winner tonight – Keely Hodgkinson. Her win in the Olympic 800m was THE standout sporting moment of 2024.

Athletics is a truly global sport and gold medals are precious commodity. She also retained her European title in an unbeaten season. Keely is the best of British.

Jude Bellingham, what an athlete.

Everybody knew how good Bellingham was on the football p[icth before 2024, but my word did he take it to a new level this year.

He won the Champions league with Real Madrid, helped drive England to the Euros final, and scored time after time for both teams.

His exploits were rewarded with a third-place finish in the Ballon d’Or and now he may cap it of with the Sports Personality of the Year award.

Here, enjoy a few of his most iconic pictures this year.

After breaking the Pole Vault world record countless times in 2024, Armand Duplantis has been named World Sport Star.

He has had one hell of a year.

Duplantis won the Pole Vault gold at the Olympics in Paris in August and obviously did it by breaking the world record.

Sadly he is not in Manchester but has just given a little speech on the screen to give his thanks.

Just 12 months ago, not many people knew the name of Luke Littler.

However, in 2024 he was the UK’s most googled athlete after his exploits at the oche.

I guess that means he’s well-known now, right?

His life truly has changed hugely and below you can watch the incredible journey he has been on inside 30 seconds.

It truly is a whistleblown tour.

Where to start with Luke Littler, eh?

The teenage sensation launched to stardom at the start of the year when he reached the Darts World Championship final.

He has gone on to win the Premier League and his first major the Grand Slam of Darts back in November.

I mean, not bad for a 17-year-old…

And now he has the chance to win both the Young and the Sports Personality of the Year Award.

He has just taken to the stage to have a chat with Gabby Logan to talk through what a special year he has had.

Dr Mark Prince has been honoured with the Heland Rollason award.

The former champion boxer created the Kiyan Prince Foundation after his son was stabbed to death in 2006.

The programme provides coaching and motivational talks in boxing to keep children away from knife crime.

The charity has reached over 100,000 children and has changed many lives.

Prince takes to the stage with tears in his eyes as he collects the award.

It really has been a special year for Joe Root.

The former England captain has continued to deliver on the international stage year after year, but 2024 has to have been one of his best.

In October, Root surpassed former team-mate Alistair Cook’s run tally of 12,472 to become the country’s all-time Test run leading scorer.

He passed the mark in Multan, Pakistan on what was a special day.

Since then, the runs have kept on coming and he is now just shy of 13,000 runs.

Can he end his year by winning SPOTY?

Joe Root, England batter, speaking to the BBC from New Zealand:

It’s been great fun to play in a team where you all get along with each other, it’s been a hell of a journey from start to finish. It seems to be getting more and more enjoyable.

To go past Cooky [as England’s highest Test run scorer of all-time], a mentor and a friend, was obviously nice and I got a call from him as well. We spend a lot of time together, it’s a massive part of what brings us our success.

One of my favourite awards of the lot is the Unsung Hero Award.

It’s a prize that celebrates volunteers in sport across England, with 15 nominees in contention.

Here are the names in the hat:

• Moon Mughis (Scotland)
• Liam Mackay (Wales)
• Rachel Reid (Northern Ireland)
• Samra Said (London)
• Jean Paton (South)
• Ian Bennett (South West)
• Adam Kenyon (South East)
• George Sullivan (East)
• Stewart Nubley (East Midlands)
• Asha Rage (West Midlands)
• Bob Purcell (West)
• Paul McIntyre (North West)
• Keith Grainge (Yorkshire)
• Kristen Ingraham-Morgan (East Yorks & Lincs)
• Stephen Newton (North East & Cumbria)

Sarah Storey, what a sporting icon.

This year’s SPOTY award is just so tough to call because of how brilliant all the stars involved are.

Storey is no different, she has had the year of her life. That’s a pretty big compliment given how successful she has been in her long and winding career.

At the Paralympic in Paris, the 47-year-old took her gold medal tally up to a magical 19.

Yes, that is 19 gold medals, not all in cycling either. She is a multi-sport phenom, starting her career in the pool 32 years ago.

If she does take the award, she’d be a worthy winner.

World Sport Star shortlist:

• Simone Biles, gymnast
• Caitlin Clark, basketballer
• Catherine Debrunner, para-athletics athlete
• Armand Duplantis, pole vaulter
• Sifan Hassan, runner
• Leon Marchand, swimmer

The stars have arrived, the trophy is here, and now the ceremony has got underway.

I two hours we will know which of the six nominees has become the Sports Personality of the Year.

In that time there will be plenty of other awards presented and moments celebrated.

Go grab a cuppa and enjoy the ride, it’s going to be fun.

To say this year has been a whirlwind for Keely Hodgkinson is a huge understatement.

Her life was changed forever when she crossed the line at the Stade de France four months ago.

Not only her life changed, though. Her family’s did too.

The people closest to Hodgkinson recently spoke to the BBC and it’s fair to say they were very emotional when reliving the gold medal-winning moment.

You can see it in their eyes.

David Coverdale, Mail Sport, in Manchester:

For those wondering, Keely’s stunning black dress is designed by KNWLS London in collaboration with Nike.

Now things are really getting serious.

Tonight’s presenters Clare Balding, Gabby Logan, and Alex Scott have all arrived for the awards and brought something rather special with them.

Yes, that is indeed the Sports Personality of the Year trophy.

Later tonight we will see it in somebody else’s hands, but the real question is, who’s will they be?

There is a reason Keely Hodgkinson is the favourite for the award, it’s because she has had a simply spectacular year.

2024 has changed her life forever.

Mail Sport’s David Coverdale, who is on location this evening, had the chance to speak to here earlier this month.

They went through a lot. From being the favourite to take home the award to her targets for next year.

It’s a brilliant read. If you want to hear from the potential winner, look no further than this.

Predicting award winners is a specialty of mine…

That may seem like a bizarre statement, but I’m seriously not lying. I usually hit the nail on the head when it comes to big prizes such as this one.

However, I’m not going to give you my prediction just yet.

What I will do, though, is tell you who is the favourite to scoop up this year’s Sports Personality of the Year award.

Most of the bookies favourite is runner Keely Hodgkinson after she heroically took home Olympic gold in the women’s 800m in Paris this year.

Not far behind her is Luke Littler, which is pretty mental. His spectacular year at the Oche has put him well in the frame to scoop up the award.

Imagine if he won, that would be pretty bonkers.

Speaking of past winners…

Mary Earps certainly knows the feeling of lifting the famous award and 12 months on from doing so she is back in Salford for the awards.

She became the third woman to win SPOTY in a row last year after being a key member of the Lionesses’ squad.

Now playing for Paris Saint-Germain, she simply had to fly over to her former own to be there to see who will follow in her footsteps.

It would be interesting to hear her prediction…

Tonight is the 71st installment of the famous SPOTY awards and my word have we had a lot of different winners in that time.

It’s safe to say, I don’t exactly have time to list all of them, but I will go through the last 10. I hope that’s OK…

• 2023: Mary Earps
• 2022: Beth Mead
• 2021: Emma Raducanu
• 2020: Sir Lewis Hamilton
• 2019: Ben Stokes
• 2018: Geraint Thomas
• 2017: Sir Mo Farah
• 2016: Sir Andy Murray
• 2015: Sir Andy Murray
• 2014: Sir Lewis Hamilton

Sir Mark Cavendish has swapped the lycra for a double-breasted suit as he has taken to the red carpet in Salford.

It would be pretty odd if he was wearing his cycling shorts, in all fairness.

One award has already been wrapped up before the show has even began.

I mean, takes the suspense away a little, eh?

Cycling legend Sir Mark Cavendish will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award later this evening.

Last month, Cavendish ended an illustrious 19-year career in style by winning his final race the Tour de France Singapore Criterium.

He won the main SPOTY award back in 2011, and now 13 years on he will be handed an equally brilliant one.

What a legacy he will leave in the sport of cycling, I remember watching his countless incredible sprint finishes over the years.

Personally, I think this award is just reward for what has been a memorable career in sport, don’t you?

Keely Hodgkinson, SPOTY favourite, speaking on the red carpet:

I am representing track and field tonight and it would be really great to win and put our sport up there and showcase not just myself, but all the incredible athletes we have right now.

It would be amazing to win. You look at the names down the list, not just track and field, you have got Andy Murray, Lewis Hamilton, British icons, so it would be great to put my name up there as well, so fingers crossed.

When I said that 2024 has been a busy year for sport, I really wasn’t lying. It has been rammed with action from start to finish.

With so much happening, I reckon a few of you may need a refresh. I’m here to help.

For football fans in England, it has been a bonkers year. Not because of what has happened in domestic football, though.

The Three Lions managed to make it to a second consecutive Euros final in July and this time there was real hope that the men’s team would finally bring it home, after so many decades of hurt.

Once again, though, they were bridesmaids. Gareth Southgate’s men were beaten narrowly by Spain in July’s final in Berlin and just days later the manager resigned from his position after eight years.

If the summer wasn’t chaotic enough, we were then treated to the Olympics and Paralympics where nominees Keely Hodgkinson, Alex Yee, and Sarah Storey all struck gold in Paris.

And while the Games will not be looked upon as a highly successful one in years to come, there were still a catalogue of magical moments that fans and athletes will hold with them for a lifetime.

Elsewhere, Carlos Alcaraz defended his Wimbledon title in Tennis, beating Novak Djokovic for the second year running just two months after winning his first French Open title.

Both England men’s and women’s cricket teams suffered humiliating exits from the T20 World Cup in what was not the best of years for the sport.

As I said, it was a busy, busy year…

I’ve got to say, I absolutely love it when SPOTY comes around!

I mean, it’s a staple of British sports, I watch it year in and year out without fail. Who doesn’t enjoy celebrating British success?

This year I am as excited as ever, we have a brilliant line-up who have all achieved incredible things this year.

Thankfully, we don’t have to wait long until the awards get underway.

The show starts at 19:00 GMT and should be wrapped up after two hours, with the main award being the last to be presented.

It’s going to be a very fun evening.

David Coverdale Mail Sport, in Manchester:

Think SPOTY is all glitz and glam? Think again. The written press are hidden away in a BBC bunker, watching the proceedings on TV, and get nowhere near the main studio floor.

Winners are brought to us for interviews after they have collected their trophies, but the nearest we get to a drink is a cup of coffee.

The contenders for tonight’s prize are starting to arrive.

It feels quite bizarre seeing them dressed up as they are rather than in their usual sporting gear.

Keely Hodgkinson, Alex Yee, and Luke Littler are all in the building glammed up to the gills.

You’ve got to bring your A-game on a night like this, haven’t you?

Before we get into the real build-up, you all have to know who are actually going for the main showpiece.

This year there are a variety of different athletes with all six nominees coming from different sports.

Here are the six contenders for the Sports Personality of the Year award:

• Keely Hodgkinson, runner
• Alex Yee, triathlete
• Jude Bellingham, footballer,
• Sarah Storey, para-cyclist
• Joe Root, cricketer
• Luke Littler, darts player

Right, while we all know the big award that is up for grabs, it’s not the only prize on offer.

So, that being said, I thought I would take you through all of the award categories to look out for this evening.

• Sports Personality of the Year
• World Sport Star of the Year
• Helen Rollason award
• Young Sports Personality of the Year
• Unsung Hero
• Coach of the Year
• Team of the Year
• Lifetime Achievement award

To say 2024 has been action-packed with sport doesn’t even do it justice.

This year has been stacked with spectacular moments across a variety of different sports, if I had to list all of them I would be here forever.

We were treated to an incredible Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, while in the football world, the European Championship was held in Germany. Many England fans won’t forget that one in a hurry.

There has also been two T20 World Cups, the World Athletics Championships, and plenty of drama in the Tennis world.

It’s fair to say, choosing a Sports Personality of the Year after everything that has gone will not exactly be easy. But still, it’s got to be done.

I mean, there have been plenty of individual performances.

It’s the time of the year when we celebrate some of Britain’s best athletes and their achievements.

As per usual, it’s been a sensational year of sport in this country, there have been so many memorable moments.

I would go through them now, but we have all evening for that.

While the BBC’s flagship awards show will be celebrating many athletes and teams across the country, there is one award that tops them all.

That’s right, the Sports Personality of the Year…

The question is, who will join last year’s winner Mary Earps, and become part of a legendary group of sportspeople.

We’ll find out later tonight, but before then we have a lot of build-up to go through.

Make sure you stick with us!