Public to decide five awards at BBC Sports Personality of the Year

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony will be held in Salford on 13 December, with the public choosing winners in five of the nine award categories. The greater role for viewers includes the main Sports Personality award and two new football prizes.

Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott will present the live show, which starts at 17:45 GMT on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

The public will also vote for World Sport Star of the Year and Team of the Year. An independent panel will set the shortlists for those awards and the main Sports Personality prize, while separate panels of football experts will draw up the football shortlists. Panels will choose the winners of Young Sports Personality and Coach of the Year.

The new categories are Men’s Footballer of the Year and BBC World Service Women’s Footballer of the Year. The women’s award has been presented by the World Service since 2015; this year it joins the televised ceremony. Voting for it, open to audiences worldwide, begins on 10 November.

The ceremony will also include the Helen Rollason Award and Lifetime Achievement award. The BBC says it will celebrate a year that included Britain’s most successful Winter Olympics, England’s best finish at a men’s World Cup since 1966 and record-breaking performances at the European Athletics Championships.

The BBC has yet to announce full voting dates and rules.