BBC Sports Personality of the Year LIVE: Keely Hodgkinson crowned 2024 SPOTY winner at Salford awards ceremony

The year featured a number of highlights, kicking off with 16-year-old Luke Littler reaching the final of the World Darts Championship, and falling just short of an astonishing victory. The prodigy has since proved that was no fluke with a string of trophies and a rise to the top five of the world rankings, instigating a nationwide darts boom in the process.

In her short career to date the 22-year-old had already gathered world and Olympic silver medals in the 800m, but this time she arrived at a major championships with golden expectations after a stellar season. Hodgkinson did not disappoint, streaming away from her rivals on the blue Stade de France track and bursting with emotion as she crossed the line, realising her achievement. For British fans, it was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Games.

Voting will open for the main award during the ceremony itself, which starts at 7pm.

Fans can vote online or by telephone or by scanning a QR code which will be visible on screen for those watching. Scanning it will take you directly to the vote page.

In order to cast your vote online, you must sign in to a BBC account (or register if you don’t have one already).

Once the vote is open, you can either dial to vote for your favourite, or vote online. You can only vote once and must be in the UK to vote on the website.

Keely Hodgkinson was already a world-class athlete long before that sticky August night inside the Stade de France when she streaked clear to claim Olympic glory. And yet it is a mark of the Games’ unique power that even an elite 800m runner can have their life changed by winning that first Olympic title. With gold came more recognition, more opportunities, and more strange encounters in ordinary life.

“I was pottery painting in a little cafe in Sale... that was random,” she says, pondering some of the oddest moments of her post-Paris era. “Some woman came in and was like: ‘Are you the runner?’”

A more glamorous encounter came when she was flown out to Milan Fashion Week in September, courtesy of Armani. “The trip was absolutely amazing,” she beams. “They flew me out and I sat in the front row at the fashion show. We had lots of dinners, I got to meet him, Giorgio Armani … He came over to me and he put his hand on my cheek and called me bella, which I thought was really nice. He can’t speak English but he’s quite into his sport. It was just quite funny because he’s just this powerful, small man. He’s a lot older now, he’s 90 years old, but he looks great.”

There is an award for the Young Sports Personality of the Year, which is awarded to a sportsperson who is aged 17 or under as of 1 January 2024. The three nominees are Littler, who is favourite to win, Olympic skateboarding medallist Sky Brown and Paralympic swimmer William Ellard.

In addition, there is an award for the World Sport Star, which is simply given to the non-British sports star who has achieved the most in that year – this was awarded to Erling Haaland in 2023.

The Unsung Hero Award is given to people in the local community to reward ‘unseen’ work in grassroots sports, with nominations made by the public. while the Helen Rollason Award is given for “outstanding achievement in the face of adversity” , and the winner is selected by BBC Sport.

There is also a Lifetime Achievement Award, which will go to cycling legend Mark Cavendish after he broke the all-time record for Tour de France stage wins, as well as gongs for the sports team and manager of the year.

Betting sites have priced up the six nominees with the golden girl of British athletics a strong favourite to take home the prize:

Keely Hodgkinson - 3/10 Betfred

Luke Littler - 3/1 bet365

Joe Root - 66/1 William Hill

Alex Yee - 66/1 Betway

Jude Bellingham - 150/1 bet365

Sarah Storey - 150/1 BoyleSports

The official nominees for the award have now officially been announcedas a six-strong shortlist vie for the prize.

The early favourite to win the award is Keely Hodgkinson, who was the face of Team GB at the Paris Olympics and delivered on her promise, winning a gold medal in the women’s 800m.

Luke Littler is another contender, with the now-17 year old enjoying a breakout year in the darts world after becoming the youngest ever player to reach the PDC World Darts Championship final.

Full list of SPOTY contenders:

Jude Bellingham (football)

Keely Hodgkinson (athletics)

Luke Littler (darts)

Joe Root (cricket)

Dame Sarah Storey (para cycling)

Alex Yee (triathlon)

The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 17 December in Salford, Greater Manchester.

It will be televised live on BBC One, with coverage starting at 7pm. Subscribers can also watch on BBC iPlayer, while there will also be coverage on the BBC Sport website and app.

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award returns this week, with some of the biggest names in UK sport vying to join names such as Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu as winners.

The prestigious prize, which is judged via a public vote, is given to the sportsperson who is seen to have been the most successful in the last year, though several other factors, such as the general impact of the athlete, are also taken into account.

In 2023, Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps won the award off the back of her performances in the Women’s World Cup, which included a now-famous penalty save in the final against Spain.

This year, a range of athletes are in the running, including darts breakthrough star Luke Littler, England football icon Jude Bellinghamand Olympic gold medallists Keely Hodgkinson and Alex Yee.

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of tonight’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony.

Some brilliant British athletes are on the shortlist for the award after an eventful 2024, though names such as Jude Bellingham and Joe Root look set to miss out to Olympic medalist Keely Hodgkinson, who won gold at Paris 2024 with a memorable performance in the 800m.

Though that isn’t the only award up for grabs, and we’ll have all the latest updates and winners right here.