BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2022: When does SPOTY air, how can I watch it and who are the Unsung Hero finalists?

This year has been significant for sport as we have already seen the Lionesses bring football home in the Euros, a record-breaking number of medals for the Home Nations at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the women’s curling team reaching gold at the Winter Olympics, Ronnie O’Sullivan winning his seventh World Snooker Championship, Manchester City taking the Premier League title, Liverpool winning the EFL Cup and FA Cup and golfing champion, Matt Fitzpatrick, winning the US Open.

There were plenty more sports events that followed including the Rugby League World Cup, Women’s Rugby World Cup and the end of the F1 season. In the meantime, SPOTY celebrates the best of the best in sport.

Gary Lineker, Claire Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott will be presenting the show live as it enters its 69th year. Categories for 2022 include: BBC Sports Personality of the Year, World Sport Star of the Year, Helen Rollason award, Young Sports Personality of the Year, Unsung Hero, Coach of the Year, Team of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement award.

Viewers can participate by voting at home for the BBC SPOTY winner and engaging with the BBC SPOTY social channels throughout the evening of the show. Unsung Hero and Young Sports Personality of the Year finalists have been announced.

Director of SPOTY, Barbara Slater, said: “The BBC is the home of major sporting events and has brought key moments from a huge year to audiences across the UK. We will be truly spoiled for contenders and can’t wait to celebrate the year’s achievements in December.”

The Unsung Hero award celebrates volunteers who make a positive difference within their community by enabling participation in grassroots sports. The nominations for the BBC Unsung Hero awards 2022 have been open since Friday, September 30.

When is BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2022 and how can I watch it?

The show will take place on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 and the awards show will be broadcast live from Media City UK in Salford.

You can watch it live on BBC One and catch up on the show on BBC iPlayer.

Who are the Unsung Hero finalists?

The finalists for the BBC SPOTY 2022 Unsung Hero awards are below.

The winner of this category will be announced live on air at 6.45pm on Wednesday, December 21.

- Mike Alden, from Bristol, was diagnosed with brittle bone disease at the age of four, but this didn’t stop him pursuing his dreams of playing football. He went on to encourage others to play the sport by setting up Park Knowle FC; the club is open to anyone of any age and ability, with teams for boys, girls, veterans and players with disabilities.

- Rukhsana Hussain, from Leicester, has brought together local women in her community, often those who face criticism from other community members who disapproved of Muslim women participating in sport, to get them active and socialising. She is viewed by many as a role model and a mentor. She dedicates herself to inspire women who have never played sport in their adult lives to try it out. Breaking stereotypes and prejudice wherever she goes, Rukhsana is determined to make a positive change.

- Nooh Omar Ibrahim, from Cardiff, is a huge sports fan and works in sport development with Welsh Rugby Union and Cardiff City Council. Outside of these jobs in his spare time, Nooh hosts games of street cricket in one of Cardiff’s most challenged areas and runs daily fitness and wellness sessions for all ages who have mobility, isolation and diabetes issues. Despite having had a difficult life, Nooh proves that you can be a positive role model in a community where aspirations may be limited.

- Mary O’Hagen, from Ballyronan, struggled with depression and anxiety after the birth of her first two children, who were both born blind. She struggled with her mental health during subsequent pregnancies and began cold water swimming to improve her health, both physically and mentally. After proving to be excellent in the water, Mary has gone on to become a qualified mental health swim coach and set up the Ballyronan Bluetits open water swimming club two years ago for the local community to participate in.

- Anna Pim, from Belfast, is already carving a legacy of coaching experience from the age of 17 and has already built up a team of coaches and volunteers for hockey in Northern Ireland, whilst also addressing player welfare through her ‘At the Heart of the Game’ programme, which trains and equips clubs and individuals with skills to address coronary safety. She coaches Under-11s and Under-13s teams at her local club and school and she is part of Ulster Hockey’s participation committee. Anna is a well known young leader and proves that making a difference through sport is possible.

- Dave Thompson, from Aberdeen, is a positive influence in the lives of young people in some of the lowest economic neighbourhoods in Aberdeen. His work with the StreetSport network has brought together regular sport and creative sessions to the city and helped young people to explore better routes from their current circumstances. Dave is also working very closely with young people with complex emotional and educational needs, taking the time to learn about these needs and help them to connect better with their peers through sport.

- Helen Thornton, from Ipswitch, set up the Badminton Homes for Ukraine programme to help Ukrainian families, who are known to the Ukraine Badminton Federation, to settle in England, from her base in Suffolk. As well as this, she has worked to make sure refugees can continue to enjoy playing sport. Helen has used the power of sport, her love of badminton and her connections in the grassroots industry to make a difference.

- Becca Todd, from Bristol, set up Team Brave, a fully inclusive football group aimed at women and girls based in Bristol. The training classes take place every Wednesday night and over the last year, the number of women attending has increased rapidly. It is free to join, inclusive, fun and friendly and all about promoting mental health and confidence. Becca also leads the club as a trustee as well as being a coach, working with a committee to apply for funding so that everyone can access football no matter their situation.

Who are the Young Sports Personality of the Year 2022 contenders?

The top three finalists for BBC Young SPOTY 2022 were announced live on Blue Peter on Friday, December 9.

Sky Brown (skateboarding), Jessica Gadirova (gymnastics) and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (diving) were the top three contenders for this year’s category.

- Sky, 14, successfully defended her X Games Skateboard Park title and put in an impressive trick-laden run to beat the reigning Olympic gold and silver medalists, and repeated the feat in Des Moines on the Dew Tour a week later. She was also the recipient of the Young SPOTY last year in 2021.

- Jessica, who is 18 years old, is one of the rising stars in artistic gymnastics and became Great Britain’s first female all-round medalist at a World Championships this year by taking home a bronze medal. She has also won gold on the floor, which made her only the fifth British individual gymnastics world champion in history. She retained her European title on the same apparatus and was part of the silver medal-winning British women’s team at both the World and European Championships.

- Andrea, 18, won seven diving medals across the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships. Her world team bronze medal was followed by two gold medals and a silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where she set a new personal record of 357.50 in the 10m platform final. The European Championships yielded two more gold medals and a team bronze.