The Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony returns this week with some of the biggest stars set to be honoured for their achievements in 2024.
Lionesses star Mary Earps won the prestigious award last year after helping her country reach the 2023 Women’s World Cup final.
It was the second year running that a Lionesses player won the award, after Beth Mead picked up the prize in 2022.
The awards ceremony, which has been held since 1954, was traditionally held on a Sunday.
That tradition was broken in 2022 when he was switched to a Tuesday as it would have clashed with the Qatar World Cup final.
Mary Earps won the Sports Personality of the Year award in 2023
PA
The change appeared to be made permanent last year with the awards show once again being held on a Tuesday evening.
It was suggested previously that the permanent switch was to ensure more sports stars were able to attend the ceremony.
Emma Raducanu and Sir Lewis Hamilton have both been unable to attend events in recent years after winning the main award.
Rory McIlroy also skipped last year’s ceremony despite being nominated with Tommy Fleetwood stepping in for his Ryder Cup team-mate.
There could be a similar scenario this year with a couple of nominees unlikely to attend on Tuesday evening.
Joe Root is currently on England duty for their Test series with New Zealand while Jude Bellingham has been included in Real Madrid’s squad for the Intercontinental Cup final against Pachuca in Qatar this Wednesday.
Keely Hodgkinson is seen as the strong favourite to win the award after clinching Great Britain’s first athletics gold medal in an Olympic Games since Mo Farah in 2016.
The 22-year-old comfortably won gold in the 800m final and also became a two-time European champion.
Darts prodigy Luke Littler is set for a busy night as well as he’s nominated for both the senior and junior awards.
The 17-year-old has taken the world of darts by storm since his emergence at last year’s World Darts Championships.
But Phil Taylor has advised Littler to skip the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony to focus on his second World Darts Championships appearance.
“I would advise him not to go on it,” Taylor told talkSPORT.
The ceremony was moved to a Tuesday evening in 2022
PA
“Look there’s half a million pound on the table. I wouldn’t do anything.
“I’d just do a video and say thank you very much if I win and focus.
“But it isn’t just the half a million pound, it’s the publicity you’ll get, which he doesn’t need at the minute, and it’s also your spin-offs.
“That half a million quid could turn into £2million.”
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Keely Hodgkinson won the 800m final at the 2024 Olympic GamesPA
Taylor also cautioned Littler about the risk of picking up an illness before his first match of the tournament.
“The first round for everybody is going to be a dodgy one,” Taylor said.
“There’s all kinds of bugs flying about and illnesses and flus and whatever.
“Make sure you don’t get laid up.”
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