The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by
Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just one, the
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Several new awards have been introduced, and currently eight awards are presented. The first awards to be added were the
Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to:
*BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award
*Canadian Press Team of the Year Award
*GPA Gaelic Team of the Year
*IRB International Sevens Team of the Year
*IRB International Team of the Year
* J.League Team of the ...
and
Overseas Personality awards, which were introduced in 1960.
A
Lifetime Achievement Award was first given in 1995 and again in 1996, and has been presented annually since 2001. In 1999, three more awards were introduced: the
Helen Rollason Award
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given “for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity”, and BB ...
, the
Coach Award, and the
Newcomer Award, which was renamed to
Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2001. The newest is the
Unsung Hero Award, first presented in 2003. In 2003, the 50th anniversary of the show was marked by a five-part series on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
called ''Simply the Best – Sports Personality''. It was presented by
Gary Lineker and formed part of a public vote to determine a special
Golden Sports Personality of the Year. That year
Steve Rider
Stephen Rider (born 28 April 1950) is an English sports presenter, and was the anchorman of ITV's football coverage. He anchored ITV's Formula One coverage from 2006 to 2008, and football coverage from 2006 to April 2010. He was the lead presen ...
and Martyn Smith wrote a book reflecting on the 50-year history of the award and the programme. The event was held outside London for the first time in 2006, when tickets were made available to the public.
The trophy for the main award is a
silver-plated four-turret lens camera, and for the
other awards
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
smaller imitations of the main trophy are used. All of the
BBC local regions hold their own independent award ceremonies, which take place before the main ceremony and are used to compile a shortlist for the
BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award
The BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to the sportsperson who has made a substantive yet unrecognised contribution to sport. Sport ...
.
Other awards have been presented in the past.
Special Achievement Awards have been presented on five occasions: to jockey
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and Horse trainer, trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of ...
in 1984 and 1994,
disabled marathon runner Dennis Moore in 1981, comedian
David Walliams in 2006, and comedian
Eddie Izzard
Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
Izzard's stand- ...
in 2009.
Sebastian Coe
Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...
picked up a
Special Gold Award
Special or specials may refer to:
Policing
* Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force
* Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer
Literature
* ''Specia ...
in 2005 for his work in helping Britain obtain the right to host the
2012 Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.
Six awards have been presented once:
Manager of the Year Manager of the Year may refer to:
* Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award
* League Managers Association Manager of the Year
* Premier League Manager of the Season
The Premier League Manager of the Season is an annual association footba ...
in 1969, a
Special Team Award
Special or specials may refer to:
Policing
* Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force
* Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer
Literature
* ''Specia ...
in 1986,
Good Sport Awards
In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...
in 1990, an
International Team Award
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
in 1983, the
Sports Personality of the Century Award
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
in 1999, and the Expert Panel Special Award in 2020.
In 2003, to celebrate fifty years of Sports Personality of the Year, two special
anniversary awards were created to recognise the best team and Sports Personality from the previous fifty years. Rower
Steve Redgrave
Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold ...
was voted
BBC Golden Sports Personality of the Year and England's
1966 World Cup-winning football team was chosen as
Team of the Decades.
List of given awards
History
The
BBC's Sports Personality of the Year was created by
Paul Fox, who came up with the idea while he was editor of the magazine show ''
Sportsview''. The first award ceremony took place in 1954 as part of ''Sportsview'', and was presented by
Peter Dimmock. Held at the
Savoy Hotel
The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August ...
on 30 December 1954, the show lasted 45 minutes. It consisted of one
award
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An awar ...
for the sportsperson judged by the public to have achieved the most that year.
Voting was by postcard, and rules presented in a ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves ...
'' article stipulated that nominations were restricted to athletes who had featured on the ''Sportsview'' programme since April. For the inaugural BBC Sportsperson of the Year award, 14,517 votes were cast and
Christopher Chataway
Sir Christopher John Chataway (31 January 1931 – 19 January 2014) was a British middle- and long-distance runner, television news broadcaster, and Conservative politician.
Education
He was born in Chelsea, London, the son of James Denys ...
beat fellow athlete
Roger Bannister
Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile.
At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres an ...
.
The following year the show was renamed ''Sports Review of the Year'' and given a longer duration of 75 minutes.
1960s
In 1960 Dimmock presented the show, and introduced two new awards:
the
Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to:
*BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award
*Canadian Press Team of the Year Award
*GPA Gaelic Team of the Year
*IRB International Sevens Team of the Year
*IRB International Team of the Year
* J.League Team of the ...
award and the
Overseas Personality award, won by the
Cooper Car Company and athlete
Herb Elliott respectively.
David Coleman joined the show the following year and remained a co-presenter until 1983. Swimmer
Anita Lonsbrough
Anita Lonsbrough, (born 10 August 1941 in York), later known by her married name Anita Porter, is a former swimmer from Great Britain who won a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Swimming career
At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealt ...
became the first female recipient of the main award in 1962; females won it in the following two years as well.
Frank Bough
Francis Joseph Bough (; 15 January 1933 – 21 October 2020) was an English television presenter. He was best known as the former host of BBC sports and current affairs shows including ''Grandstand'', '' Nationwide'' and '' Breakfast Time'', wh ...
took over as presenter in 1964 and presented Sports Review for 18 years. In 1969, a new
Manager of the Year Manager of the Year may refer to:
* Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award
* League Managers Association Manager of the Year
* Premier League Manager of the Season
The Premier League Manager of the Season is an annual association footba ...
award was given to
Don Revie
Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England mana ...
for his achievements with
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, the only occasion it was presented. In the following year boxer
Henry Cooper
Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer, best remembered internationally for a 1963 fight in which he knocked down a young Cassius Clay before the fight was stopped because of a cut eye from Clay's punches. C ...
became the first person to win the main award twice, having already won in 1967.
1970s and 1980s
During the 1970s Bough and Coleman presided over the ceremony alongside
Jimmy Hill
James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director, ...
,
Cliff Morgan
Clifford Isaac Morgan, (7 April 1930 – 29 August 2013) was a Welsh rugby union player who played for Cardiff RFC and earned 29 caps for Wales between 1951 and 1958. After his playing career ended, Morgan made a successful career in broadca ...
,
Kenneth Wolstenholme,
and
Harry Carpenter
Harry Leonard Carpenter, OBE (17 October 1925 – 20 March 2010) was a British BBC sports commentator broadcasting from the early 1950s until his retirement in 1994. His speciality was boxing. He was presenter of programmes such as ''Sportsnig ...
, who also went on to present the show until 1985.
Des Lynam took over as main host from Bough in 1983, and presided over figure skating duo
Torvill and Dean's win the following year, when they became the first non-individual winners of the main award.
Steve Rider
Stephen Rider (born 28 April 1950) is an English sports presenter, and was the anchorman of ITV's football coverage. He anchored ITV's Formula One coverage from 2006 to 2008, and football coverage from 2006 to April 2010. He was the lead presen ...
replaced Carpenter as co-host in 1986, at which a
Special Team Award
Special or specials may refer to:
Policing
* Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force
* Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer
Literature
* ''Specia ...
was presented to Great Britain men's
4 x 400 m relay
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest ...
team. In the 1980s,
Steve Davis finished in the top three on five occasions, including one win in 1988.
1990s
In 1991, angler
Bob Nudd
Robert James "Bob" Nudd (born 1944, in Chelmsford, Essex) was the first angler to win four individual World Freshwater Angling Championships; in 1990, 1991, 1994, and 1999.
About
Nudd represented the England team at the international level for ...
received the most votes following a campaign in the ''
Angling Times
The ''Angling Times'' first printed in 1953 is the UK's largest angling newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. ...
''. However, the BBC deemed this to be against the rules and refused to acknowledge his votes, allowing athlete
Liz McColgan
Elizabeth Nuttall (née Lynch, formerly McColgan; born 24 May 1964) is a Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running athlete. She won the gold medal for the 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships, and a ...
to win the award. The following year racing driver
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship ( 1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series (1993 CART World Series Season, 1993). Mansell was the reigning ...
became the second person to win the main award twice, having won his first in 1986.
Sue Barker
Sue or SUE may refer to:
Music
* Sue Records, an American record label
* ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus
* "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie
Places
* Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits islan ...
presented the show for the first time in 1994,
at which racing driver
Damon Hill
Damon Graham Devereux Hill, (born 17 September 1960) is a British former professional racing driver from England and the 1996 Formula One World Champion. He is the son of Graham Hill, and, along with Nico Rosberg, one of two sons of a Formula ...
won the first of his two awards, the second coming two years later. Boxer
Frank Bruno was the inaugural winner of the
Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996, and as of 2014 there have been 15 recipients of the award.
In 1999 the show was renamed ''Sports Personality of the Year'',
and
Gary Lineker joined the show as a co-presenter alongside Rider and Barker. They were supported that year by
John Inverdale and
Clare Balding
Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcaster, journalist, and author. She currently presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4, BT Sport, is the current president of the Rugby Football League (RFL) and formerly presented the ...
. The ceremony introduced a further three regular awards:
Coach of the Year,
Newcomer of the Year, and a
Helen Rollason Award
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given “for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity”, and BB ...
for "outstanding courage and achievement in the face of adversity". In a one-off award, boxer
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...
was voted as the
Sports Personality of the Century.
2000s
50th anniversary (2003)
On 1 November 2003,
BBC Books published "BBC Sports Personality of the Year 50th Anniversary" (), written by Steve Rider and Martyn Smith, to mark the golden anniversary of the show. Leading up to the anniversary show on 14 December 2003, a series of five half-hour special programmes, entitled ''Simply The Best – Sports Personality'', were broadcast. Hosted by Gary Lineker, the episodes were shown on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
for five consecutive nights from 8–12 December 2003; each covered one decade of Sports Personality history.
At the end of each programme, viewers voted for their favourite Sports Personality winner from the decade covered; the five winners then went onto a shortlist for one of two special
50th Anniversary awards. From this shortlist, rower
Steve Redgrave
Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold ...
was voted
Golden Sports Personality of the Year by the public.
The
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
World Cup-winning
team of 1966 won a
Team of the Decades award, voted for by representatives from all previous
Teams of the Year.
2006–2009
In 2006, for the first time in its 53-year history, the event was held outside London, in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
's
National Exhibition Centre (NEC). For the first time, tickets for the event were made available to the public, and 3,000 were sold in the first hour.
That year,
Adrian Chiles
Adrian Chiles (born 21 March 1967) is a British writer and television and radio presenter. He has co-presented both '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–2011) with Christine Lampard. He was also the chief presenter for fo ...
joined the show and co-presented alongside Barker and Lineker for two years. The 2007 ceremony was the first of a two-year sponsorship deal with
Britvic
Britvic plc is a British producer of soft drinks based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It produces soft drinks under its own name, and several other brands.
Hist ...
's brand
Robinsons, and the capacity of the NEC was increased from 5,000 to 8,000. The event sold out,
but the sponsorship deal was shortened to one year after complaints by
ITV and RadioCentre caused the
BBC Trust
The BBC Trust was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2007 and 2017. It was operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and its stated aim was to make decisions in the best interests of ...
to rule in that "Editorial Guidelines were breached and the editorial integrity of the BBC compromised by giving the impression to licence fee payers via Sports Personality of the Year that part of a BBC service had been sponsored." They decided that the 2008 awards should not be broadcast as a sponsored event, and no new sponsorship deal was negotiated after the Britvic deal expired. In , the BBC announced that the 2008 Sports Personality of the Year event would be held at the
Echo Arena
Liverpool Arena, known for sponsorship reasons as the M&S Bank Arena, and previously Echo Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the city centre of Liverpool, England. The venue hosts live music, comedy performances and sporting events, and ...
,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
. One reason for the move to Liverpool was to allow greater numbers to view the show live, as the 10,600-seater venue in Liverpool had a bigger capacity than the NEC.
That year
Jake Humphrey replaced Chiles as co-presenter.
The 2009 show was rumoured to be held in either Cardiff or Glasgow. However, it was announced on 2009 that the show would be staged at the
Sheffield Arena.
2010s
The
2010 ceremony was held in Birmingham's
LG Arena with approximately 12,000 guests.
The
ceremony in 2011 was held at Salford's
dock10 Studios within
MediaCityUK
MediaCityUK is a mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The project was developed by Peel Media; its principal tenants are media organisations and the Quayside Media ...
. The
2012 ceremony took place at
ExCeL London
ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...
, which had been one of the major venues for both the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
and
Paralympics
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...
earlier that year. The
60th ceremony in 2013 was held at the
First Direct Arena
The First Direct Arena (also known as the Leeds Arena) is an entertainment-focused indoor arena located in the Arena Quarter of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the first in the United Kingdom to have a fan-shaped orientation.
The arena of ...
in Leeds. In
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
, the ceremony was held in Scotland for the first time in its history, at The
SSE Hydro in Glasgow, which had served as a host venue during the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the ex ...
earlier in the year. In
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
, the ceremony was held in Northern Ireland for the first time, at the
SSE Arena in Belfast, on 20 December. The event returned to Birmingham and Liverpool in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
and
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
respectively. The 2018 ceremony will take place in Birmingham, marking the city's fifth time hosting the event (3rd time at the same venue). In 2018 the
BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award was renamed World Sport Star of the Year. Along with the change of name, votes could be cast from outside of the UK for the first time. In addition a new award was announced: Greatest Sporting Moment of the Year. For the main award, the nominees would not be announced until the show itself.
2020s
The
2020 ceremony took place on 20 December at the
dock10 studios in Salford. Despite the national COVID-19 restrictions, the event was broadcast live on BBC One and hosted by Lineker, Balding, Logan and for the first time,
Alex Scott. Boxer
Tyson Fury
Tyson Luke Fury (born 12 August 1988) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title since defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020, and '' The Ring'' magazine title from 2020 to August 202 ...
created controversy ahead of the awards by rejecting his nomination and instructing his legal team to force the BBC to exclude him from the shortlist. Despite his protestations, Fury remained on the shortlist for the trophy which was won for the second time by
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
. Also awarded that year was the Expert Panel Special Award, awarded to footballer
Marcus Rashford for his campaign against child food poverty.
Trophy
The trophy for the
main award was created in the 1950s and cost about £1,000. It was first presented to the inaugural winner,
Christopher Chataway
Sir Christopher John Chataway (31 January 1931 – 19 January 2014) was a British middle- and long-distance runner, television news broadcaster, and Conservative politician.
Education
He was born in Chelsea, London, the son of James Denys ...
, in 1954. It is a
silver-plated four-turret lens
camera
A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with ...
, with the name of each winner engraved on individual shields attached to a
plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...
underneath the camera. The trophy originally had one plinth, but two more were added to create room for more shields.
A replica trophy was made in 1981 and sent to India in case
Ian Botham
Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser.
Hailed as on ...
won the award while playing cricket there—which he did. The original trophy is still used for the ceremony, and is engraved after the show before being given to the winner, who keeps it for eight or nine months.
The trophies for second and third place, and for the
other awards
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, are smaller imitations of the main trophy, but have in the past been silver
salvers. For the two special
awards celebrating the 50th Anniversary, and for the
Sports Personality of the Century award, similar miniature trophies were presented but they were gold in colour.
Regional and national awards
The three BBC national regions of
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...
,
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Irela ...
and
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland ( ga, BBC Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ''BBC Norlin Airlan'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of I ...
each hold individual sports personality awards. Respectively, they are
BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year
The BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year is a televised sporting competition, broadcast on BBC Two every year; and the most prestigious annual sport award in Wales. It was first awarded in 1954, and is currently organised by BBC Cymru W ...
,
BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year, and
BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year
The BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year is an annual sports award organised by BBC Northern Ireland.
Winners
See also
*Sport in Ireland
*BBC Sports Personality of the Year
References
External links
Northern Ireland ...
. The 12 local
BBC English Regions also have their own award ceremonies, which are held locally prior to the national ceremony. Also, fifteen regional winners comprise the nominees for the
BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award
The BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to the sportsperson who has made a substantive yet unrecognised contribution to sport. Sport ...
.
Intermittent awards
Manager of the Year
In 1969,
Don Revie
Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England mana ...
was presented with a Manager of the Year award for his achievements while in charge of
Leeds United A.F.C. Leeds became champions of the
Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
that
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
, having lost only two games and scored a record number of points.
[ (Note: Requires RealPlayer software).]
Special Achievement Award
In 1981, to recognise the
year of the disabled, Dennis Moore received a Special Achievement Award for completing the inaugural
London Marathon
The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...
despite being
blind since birth.
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and Horse trainer, trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of ...
won an award in 1984 for his achievements, including winning the
St. Leger Stakes on
Commanche Run
Commanche Run (1981–2005) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was a versatile top-class colt who won a number of Group One races at from one and a quarter to one and three-quarter miles in the 1980s.
Background
Bred in England, he ...
that year, Piggott's record-breaking 28th
British classic win.
[ (Note: Requires RealPlayer software).] In 1994, Piggott won the award again for his "services to racing".
Comedian
David Walliams received the award in 2006 "for his outstanding achievement of swimming the English Channel for charity", which raised over £1 million for
Sport Relief. Fellow comedian
Eddie Izzard
Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
Izzard's stand- ...
was presented with the award in 2009 after running 43 marathons in 51 days for
Sport Relief.
International Team Award
In 1983, the team of ''
Australia II'' received an International Team Award in recognition of their victory in the
1983 America's Cup
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one ...
. The American defender ''Liberty'' had taken a 3–1 lead in
races, but ''Australia II'' came back to win 4–3 and take the America's Cup, ending a 132-year winning streak by the
New York Yacht Club. It was the first time the competition had gone to a seventh and final race.
[ (Note: Requires RealPlayer software)]
Special Team Award
In 1986, a Special Team Award was presented to the British 4 × 400m squad of
Derek Redmond
Derek Anthony Redmond (born 3 September 1965) is a retired British sprinter. During his career, he held the British record for the 400 metres sprint, and won gold medals in the 4x400 metres relay at the World Championships and European Champio ...
,
Kriss Akabusi,
Brian Whittle
Brian Ian Whittle (born 26 April 1964) is a Scottish politician and former athlete, who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region since 2016. A member of the Scottish Conservatives, he serves as Shadow Mi ...
,
Roger Black,
Todd Bennett, and
Phil Brown, who won gold at the
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
. Akabusi, Black, Bennett and Brown also won gold for England in the 4 x 400 m at the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the ex ...
that year.
[ (Note: Requires RealPlayer software)]
Good Sport Awards
In 1990, Good Sport Awards were presented for courage and good sportsmanship to
Derek Warwick,
Martin Donnelly,
Louise Aitken-Walker
Louise Aitken-Walker MBE (born January 1960 in Duns, Berwickshire) is a British rally and saloon car racing driver. Aitken-Walker entered competition in 1979 and finished 19th in her first Rally GB two years later. She contested the 1989 British ...
and
Tina Thörner
Maria Christina Thörner (born in Säffle, Sweden on February 24, 1966) is a Swedish rally co-driver. Tina Thörner's career in motor sports started in 1990. Since then, she has won three FIA Ladies' World Rally Championship titles, a third and a ...
, who were all involved in motor racing accidents that year. Warwick survived a high speed crash at
Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Mo ...
;
Donnelly crashed during a practice session for the
Spanish Grand Prix—the injuries he received ended his Formula One career;
Aitken-Walker and co-driver Thörner crashed off a cliff into a lake in Portugal when competing in the women's World Rally Championship, which they went on to win that year.
Sports Personality of the Century Award
In 1999, a one-off award voted for by the British public selected a Sports Personality of the Century.
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...
accumulated more votes from BBC viewers than the combined total of the five other contenders:
Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...
,
George Best
George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...
,
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has b ...
,
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tou ...
, and
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games.
Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lif ...
.
Special Gold Award
In 2005,
Sebastian Coe
Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...
received a Special Gold Award for chairing
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
's winning
bid for the 2012 Summer
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
and
Paralympic
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
games.
Expert Panel Special Award
In 2020,
Marcus Rashford received an Expert Panel Special Award for his campaign for free school meals during the COVID-19 pandemic and against child food poverty.
50th Anniversary awards
As part of the 50th Anniversary of BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2003, two additional awards were presented. In the lead up to the anniversary show on 2003, a series of five half-hour special programmes, entitled ''Simply The Best – Sports Personality'', were broadcast. Hosted by
Gary Lineker, the episodes were shown on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
for five consecutive nights from 8 to 2003 and each covered one decade of Sports Personality.
Golden Sports Personality of the Year
To celebrate the golden anniversary of the show, a special award was voted for by the public to recognise an all-time Golden Sports Personality from the
previous winners of the last 49 years.
A shortlist of five was planned to contain one winner from each decade of the award;
however, the actual shortlist contained two winners from the most recent decade—rower
Steve Redgrave
Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold ...
, who won the award, and footballer
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending ...
. The other members of the shortlist were footballer
Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England natio ...
, cricketer
Ian Botham
Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser.
Hailed as on ...
and ice skating duo
Torvill and Dean.
Team of the Decades
Alf Ramsey
Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager f ...
's squad won a poll to select a Team of the Decade for the 50th anniversary show. Representatives from each of the past winners of the
Team of the Year award voted for their outstanding team of the last 50 years.
Bobby Robson presented the award to
Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...
, who collected the award on behalf of the late
Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England natio ...
's team.
References
;General
*
;Specific
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc Sports Personality of the Year
Lifetime achievement awards
Sports trophies and awards
1954 establishments in the United Kingdom
Awards established in 1954
BBC Television shows
Annual sporting events in the United Kingdom