Soltalk December 2018 | Page 40

From previous page WEDNESDAY 26 King George VI Chase, Kempton BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2018 SUNDAY 16 For the first time the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2018 contenders will be revealed on the night of the show. Gary Lineker, Clare Balding and Gabby Logan will present the show - in its 65th year - live from Birmingham’s Genting Arena. The public will also decide the Greatest Sporting Moment of the Year, celebrating 2018’s standout memory. The BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award has been renamed World Sport Star of the Year and votes can also be cast from those living outside the UK for the first time. Other awards set to be presented on the night include Lifetime Achievement, Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, the Helen Rollason award - which recognises an outstanding achievement in the face of adversity - and the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero award to honour the most dynamic, forward-thinking and driven volunteers from across the UK. Nominations are already open for this award. 2018 has been a memorable year for sport, with England’s run to the semi-finals of the World Cup, Geraint Thomas storming to victory at the Tour de France, world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s win over Joseph Parker, sprinter Dina Asher-Smith’s gold medal haul at the European Championships and England’s netballers 38 revelling in their historic, golden moment at the Commonwealth Games. With Lewis Hamilton winning a fifth Formula 1 world title, England’s highest Test run-scorer Alastair Cook ending his international career with a century, Lizzy Yarnold’s successful defence of her Winter Olympic skeleton title and Europe’s victory to regain the Ryder Cup from the United States, this year’s awards could be the most competitive yet.