Birmingham wins back BBC Sports Personality show
BIRMINGHAM is to host the prestigious 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year show, having won it back from Sheffield, which hosted the event last year.
The LG Arena at the National Exhibition Centre will be the venue for the first time. In 2006, the show was held in a converted exhibition hall at the complex.
The event returns to the West Midlands after a record crowd of over 10,000 watched Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs crowned at Sheffield Arena in 2009.
Programme, ticket and voting details will be announced nearer the time.
Last year’s event pulled in 7.2 million television viewers as Giggs beat Formula One champion Jenson Button and heptathlon world champion Jessica Ennis to the honour.
Presented by Sue Barker, Gary Lineker and Jake Humphrey, this year’s event will be held on Sunday December 19, a week later than the traditional date in order to avoid a clash with the X-Factor final..
A host of sports stars was today joining civic leaders from the city to launch this year’s event.
Birmingham-born tennis legend Ann Jones, who won the BBC trophy in 1969 was joined by Geoff Thomas who won the Helen Rollason award at Sports Personality of the Year, 2005.
Mr Thomas, who lives in Birmingham, is a former English footballer, who won nine caps for the full England team and captained Crystal Palace to the FA Cup final in 1990. His professional carred ended when he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2003, from which he later recovered. He is the Founder of the Geoff Thomas Foundation, a charity that raises funds to fight cancer.
Thomas was the winner of the Hellen Rollason award at Sports Personality of the Year in 2005, after he raised over £150,000 for the Leukaemia Research charity by cycling 2,200 miles in 21 days, completing the route of all 21 stages of the 2005 Tour de France a few days ahead of the race itself.
He continues to work for charity through his Geoff Thomas Foundation, supporting people tackling cancer.
