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Birmingham to host the 2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year gongshow

Birmingham to host the 2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year gongshow

BBC Sport - BBC Sports Personality of the Year

The beeb has confirmed that Birmingham will play host once more to the corporation’s yearly sports awards night for 2016. BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be broadcast from the West Midland city.

“From the Ashes at Edgbaston to the Ryder Cup at the Belfry and athletics at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham is no stranger to hosting world-class sporting events and we’re honoured to be rolling out the red carpet for BBC Sports Personality of The Year. The city has a zealous population of sports-mad fans and is home to many sporting greats, so we’re looking forward to giving the event the celebration it deserves.” – Director of BBC Academy and BBC Birmingham, Joe Godwin

Gary Lineker, Clare Balding and Gabby Logan will once again be at the helm to celebrate the biggest sporting achievements in what has already been an extraordinary year. The star-studded event will broadcast live from the Genting Arena on Sunday 18 December.

Birmingham last hosted the show six years ago and 2016 marks a welcome return. A city with a rich sporting heritage and birthplace of the English Football League, Birmingham is a world-famous destination for international competitive sports from athletics and cricket to tennis.

Last year saw Davis Cup winner and former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray pick up the coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award at the SSE Arena in Belfast, watched by nearly 10 million viewers. 2016 has already produced some incredible sporting moments, from Leicester City’s fairy-tale Premier League title success, to watching three of our home nations compete in Euro 2016, plus England’s Grand Slam in the Six Nations and Danny Willett’s Masters victory. And, with the Rio Olympics, Paralympics and Ryder Cup on the horizon, there are certain to be lots of great contenders for the award.

The gong ceremony will be shown on BBC One and BBC One HD. Tickets will go on sale later this year.

“This has already been an extraordinary year of sport, and with so much more still to come, we’re in for a very special Sports Personality of the Year. Our past visits to Birmingham have been a great success and we’ve no doubt that will be repeated with this year’s show.” – Director of BBC Sport, Barbara Slater

The move by the beeb in recent times to show the Midlands is still a major television player follows high profile complaints that the West and East Midlands, and in particular Birmingham, was no longer the powerhouse of production it once was during the Pebble Mill studio years which opened in 1970 and were shutdown for much smaller premises in 2005. The BBC in the city now occupy a small part of the Mailbox site near Broad Street.

The Mailbox - BBC Birmingham - an ATV photo 2015

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