SPORTS Personality of the Year has been run by the BBC since 1954. Since then, there have been 70 events and 64 different winners across 18 different sports. This morning, the six-person shortlist was announced for the 71st event which will be held next Tuesday 17th December.

Is it me, or has the award lost its charm a little in recent years? When I was younger, I used to actually look forward to it. Not just finding out who was going to win the award, but the programme as a whole. In 2012, the programme doubled up as an ode to sport, and to the London 2012 Olympics in particular. It was a two-hour trip down memory lane with moments of joy, sadness, and pride thrown in. It was a great event. 

I don’t think it is just me that thinks the award has lost a little of its prestige. Or at least, that the public’s interest is declining. This will be the third event in a row that has been held on a weekday evening, rather than its former primetime slot on Sunday evening. Are the BBC worried that it won’t be able to compete with ITV’s new gameshow ‘You Bet!’?

Let’s get one thing clear. The word ‘Personality’ in the title has been misconstrued, accidentally and deliberately, by several viewers. It does not mean that the winner should be able to do five minutes of stand up during their acceptance speech. In this context, it simply means ‘famous person or celebrity’. The award should go to the most achieving sportsperson of the year, regardless of their perceived ‘personality’. It must be said, though, that being likeable does help in a public vote. 

Perhaps the list of recent winners has, to some extent, inspired some disinterest. It has been a fairly quiet period for British sport. Last year’s top two – Mary Earps and Stuart Broad – didn’t even win anything. 

For me, the victor should be the person who captures the attention of the entire nation. The recent stand outs for me in that regard are Emma Raducanu, whose 2021 run to the US Open title appeared to come from nowhere, Ben Stokes, whose innings in the World Cup final and The Ashes that year almost forced the entire country to stop and take note, and Bradley Wiggins in 2012 who made history by winning at the Tour de France and the Olympics. Maybe some years, those moments simply don’t happen.

This is an Olympic year; one would expect the field to be stellar. The shortlist announced the following contains the following individuals:

Jude Bellingham (Football)

Keely Hodgkinson (Athletics)

Luke Littler (Darts)

Joe Root (Cricket)

Sarah Storey (Cycling)

Alex Yee (Triathlon)

Their achievements differ vastly, and are difficult to compare. For example, what makes one Olympic gold medal more important than other? Why should Keely Hodgkinson be nominated and not, for example, Nathan Hales? Is the men’s trap not comparable to the women’s 800m? The answer of course lies in my earlier comments, the inspiration of the viewership. But Hodgkinson’s gold still didn’t feel quite as significant as those other standstill moments that I noted before.

This is all my perception of course, and others will disagree. Maybe it’s simply that fewer people tune into these sporting events, or maybe that fewer people watch live TV at all. Changing habits are sure to play a part.

The other person on the list that can claim to have captured the attention of the entire nation is Luke Littler, who became a chat show regular after rising to stardom at the PDC World Championships. Since then, he has risen rapidly up the rankings and earned the second-most prize money in 2024. It is important to note, though, that he did not ultimately lift the world title. Why was Luke Humphries not nominated?

Ironically, some of the others on the list can claim to have achieved more than the two noted above. Sarah Storey won two Olympic golds and two world titles, and Alex Yee took gold and bronze and the World Triathlon Series title. Bellingham and Root both play team sports where it is perhaps harder to stand out. Bellingham helped Real Madrid to a domestic and European double while Root became England’s all time leading test run scorer. I don’t think either will win despite the popularity of their sports. England’s form in both football and cricket has been patchy and, rightly or wrongly, that will be the biggest driver of votes.

The six-person shortlist itself may have caused some indifference among potential viewers. Previously, ten, even twelve individuals were nominated. That gave the BBC the ability to nominate those who had achieved highly in niche sports, widening the breadth of fans who would tune in on the night. Today, on social media, many have already expressed their displeasure that their favourite sportsperson has been overlooked.

 

Ultimately, the person that wins the award will be the person that brought everyone together. Maybe that, rather thing simply winning, is what sport is all about. I will willingly watch, but I’m just not looking forward to it like I used to. Let’s hope that next year we have one of those country-stopping moments. 

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By Leon Parrott