Having taken place on 16th December at London’s ExCel Exhibition Centre - one of the venues for the London 2012 Olympic Games - the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012 was awarded to cyclist Bradley Wiggins.
With many achievements to his name, his triumphant victory in the 2012 Tour de France and gold medal in the Olympic Time Trial race helped him to top the popularity charts. The stunning venue was filled to capacity with 16,000 people from all sectors of the sporting world. Over 1.5 million telephone votes were placed before the winners were announced.
Olympic gold medal heptathlon winner Jessica Ennis was voted into second place, with Olympic gold medal tennis singles winner Andy Murray picking up third spot.
In 2011 Bradley’s fellow cyclist Mark Cavendish picked up the Sports Personality of The Year top award, with golfer Darren Clarke and athlete Mo Farrow being worthy runners up. In 2010, the jockey AP McCoy came out on top, with the runners up being Jessica Ennis and Phil Taylor.
Originally conceived in 1954, the BBC Sports Personality of The Year Awards have been held annually, and since 2006 have been held in different venues around the UK. Taking place in December every year, the awards honour all of the country’s top sportsmen and women who have achieved something special or notable during the year. The ceremony culminates in the presentation of the highly recognisable silver plated trophy of a TV camera with a four turret lens.
There are two runners-up each year for the BBC Sports Personality of The Year Awards, and they receive smaller versions of the trophy. Other awards on the night can also include the Overseas Sports Personality of The Year, the Sports Personality of The Year Lifetime Achievement Award and several others. Having evolved from a 45 minute show into a live and glitzy TV show watched by millions of sports fans, the BBC Sports Personality of The Year Awards is a great way to bring so many sporting achievements together into one place.
The move from London to larger venues outside the capital enabled tickets to be sold to the public, and the popular telephone voting system for viewers that takes place during the show enables anyone to vote for who they would like to win the top BBC Sports Personality of The Year Award.
