| BBC Sports Personality of the Year | |
| Date: | 20 December 2020 |
| Location: | dock10 studios, Salford |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Presenter: | BBC |
| Host: | Gary Lineker Clare Balding Gabby Logan Alex Scott |
| Winner: | Lewis Hamilton |
| Runtime: | 120 minutes |
| Previous: | 2019 |
| Main: | BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award |
| Next: | 2021 |
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020 took place on 20 December 2020 at the dock10 studios in Salford.[1]
The event was broadcast live on BBC One and hosted by Gary Lineker, Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott.[2]
The nominees for the award were revealed on 1 December 2020. On the night of the final, the public were allowed to vote for one of only six pre-selected contenders.[3]
| Nominee | Sport | 2020 Achievement | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nowrap | Lewis Hamilton | nowrap | Formula 1 | Surpassed Michael Schumacher as the most prolific Grand Prix winner and equalled his record of seven World Drivers' Championships to become the most successful F1 driver in history. | |
| nowrap | Jordan Henderson | nowrap | Football | As captain, he led Liverpool to the club's first top-flight league title in 30 years. Also named the FWA Footballer of the Year. | |
| nowrap | Hollie Doyle | nowrap | Horse racing | Became the first female jockey to ride five winners on the same British card with an 899/1 quintuple at Windsor Racecourse. Also claimed her first Royal Ascot win on Scarlet Dragon (at 33/1) and surpassed her own record of winners ridden by a British female jockey in a year (now 120). | |
| Stuart Broad | Cricket | Helped England win the Test series against the West Indies and Pakistan, in which he was also the leading wicket taker. In the former, he became the fourth pace bowler (and seventh overall) to take 500 Test wickets and was player of the series. | |||
| nowrap | Ronnie O'Sullivan | nowrap | Snooker | Won the World Snooker Championship for the sixth time, the fourth player to do so in the modern (post-1968) era. This was his 37th ranking tournament victory, surpassing Stephen Hendry's previous record of 36. | |
| nowrap | Tyson Fury | nowrap | Boxing | Became a world heavyweight champion for the second time by handing defending WBC champion Deontay Wilder the first defeat of his career, 14 months after their first bout ended in a draw. |
This year's Award was cornered by controversy, when the WBC World Heavyweight Champion, Tyson Fury, issued a video on social media politely requesting the BBC remove his name from the nominations for the award: 'This is a message for the @bbcsport and their SPOTY award. Please take me off your list as I'm the people's champion and have no need for verifications or any awards.'[4] The BBC ignored Fury's request. Fury then had his lawyers send the BBC an official letter repeating his request. The BBC did not remove Fury's name from the nominations. Fury requested his fans to respect his wishes and not to vote for him.[5]
In addition to the main award as "Sports Personality of the Year", several other awards were also announced:
Sgt Matt Ratana
| Artist | Song | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celeste | "Stop This Flame" | Opening performance | |
| "Smile" | In memoriam | ||
| Rick Astley | "Every One of Us" | Performed in recognition of the regional SPOTY winners |
The following people were remembered at the ceremony:[11]