BBC Sports Personality shortlist will no longer be revealed in advance

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme is to be revamped, with the shortlist for the main award to be shortened and made public only on the night of the event.

Set to be held in Birmingham’s Gensing Arena on 16 December, the show will see a number of changes. As well as the voting changes, there will also be a new award for a moment of the year, while the overseas personality will be renamed and voted for by viewers from across the globe.

Barbara Slater, the BBC’s director of sport, said the changes would allow a greater number of sporting stories to be told. With the shortlist possibly being reduced from 16 to as few as six names, there will potentially be 10 fewer athlete profiles, allowing space for more action in the two-hour live broadcast.

“Our biggest challenge is to tell the story of the year,” she said. “Telling the whole story is about reflecting more stories rather than less. I think it will be a better show with more time to celebrate those more diverse stories.”

Slater said shortlisted athletes would learn of their nomination at the same time as the public. “I hope the reveal will be one of the moments of the show,” she said.

A delayed announcement will also make it difficult for fans to lobby support for their preferred candidate. Voting will still be carried out during a half-hour window during the programme.

The overseas personality award will now be known as the world sports star of the year and voting will be possible through the BBC’s global channels. In another development the young sports personality award will be announced at the BBC’s Teen Awards ceremony in October.