There is a reason Keely Hodgkinson is the favourite for the award, it’s because she has had a simply spectacular year.

2024 has changed her life forever.

Mail Sport’s David Coverdale, who is on location this evening, had the chance to speak to here earlier this month.

They went through a lot. From being the favourite to take home the award to her targets for next year.

It’s a brilliant read. If you want to hear from the potential winner, look no further than this.

Predicting award winners is a specialty of mine…

That may seem like a bizarre statement, but I’m seriously not lying. I usually hit the nail on the head when it comes to big prizes such as this one.

However, I’m not going to give you my prediction just yet.

What I will do, though, is tell you who is the favourite to scoop up this year’s Sports Personality of the Year award.

Most of the bookies favourite is runner Keely Hodgkinson after she heroically took home Olympic gold in the women’s 800m in Paris this year.

Not far behind her is Luke Littler, which is pretty mental. His spectacular year at the Oche has put him well in the frame to scoop up the award.

Imagine if he won, that would be pretty bonkers.

Speaking of past winners…

Mary Earps certainly knows the feeling of lifting the famous award and 12 months on from doing so she is back in Salford for the awards.

She became the third woman to win SPOTY in a row last year after being a key member of the Lionesses’ squad.

Now playing for Paris Saint-Germain, she simply had to fly over to her former own to be there to see who will follow in her footsteps.

It would be interesting to hear her prediction…

Tonight is the 71st installment of the famous SPOTY awards and my word have we had a lot of different winners in that time.

It’s safe to say, I don’t exactly have time to list all of them, but I will go through the last 10. I hope that’s OK…

• 2023: Mary Earps
• 2022: Beth Mead
• 2021: Emma Raducanu
• 2020: Sir Lewis Hamilton
• 2019: Ben Stokes
• 2018: Geraint Thomas
• 2017: Sir Mo Farah
• 2016: Sir Andy Murray
• 2015: Sir Andy Murray
• 2014: Sir Lewis Hamilton

Sir Mark Cavendish has swapped the lycra for a double-breasted suit as he has taken to the red carpet in Salford.

It would be pretty odd if he was wearing his cycling shorts, in all fairness.

One award has already been wrapped up before the show has even began.

I mean, takes the suspense away a little, eh?

Cycling legend Sir Mark Cavendish will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award later this evening.

Last month, Cavendish ended an illustrious 19-year career in style by winning his final race the Tour de France Singapore Criterium.

He won the main SPOTY award back in 2011, and now 13 years on he will be handed an equally brilliant one.

What a legacy he will leave in the sport of cycling, I remember watching his countless incredible sprint finishes over the years.

Personally, I think this award is just reward for what has been a memorable career in sport, don’t you?

Keely Hodgkinson, SPOTY favourite, speaking on the red carpet:

I am representing track and field tonight and it would be really great to win and put our sport up there and showcase not just myself, but all the incredible athletes we have right now.

It would be amazing to win. You look at the names down the list, not just track and field, you have got Andy Murray, Lewis Hamilton, British icons, so it would be great to put my name up there as well, so fingers crossed.

When I said that 2024 has been a busy year for sport, I really wasn’t lying. It has been rammed with action from start to finish.

With so much happening, I reckon a few of you may need a refresh. I’m here to help.

For football fans in England, it has been a bonkers year. Not because of what has happened in domestic football, though.

The Three Lions managed to make it to a second consecutive Euros final in July and this time there was real hope that the men’s team would finally bring it home, after so many decades of hurt.

Once again, though, they were bridesmaids. Gareth Southgate’s men were beaten narrowly by Spain in July’s final in Berlin and just days later the manager resigned from his position after eight years.

If the summer wasn’t chaotic enough, we were then treated to the Olympics and Paralympics where nominees Keely Hodgkinson, Alex Yee, and Sarah Storey all struck gold in Paris.

And while the Games will not be looked upon as a highly successful one in years to come, there were still a catalogue of magical moments that fans and athletes will hold with them for a lifetime.

Elsewhere, Carlos Alcaraz defended his Wimbledon title in Tennis, beating Novak Djokovic for the second year running just two months after winning his first French Open title.

Both England men’s and women’s cricket teams suffered humiliating exits from the T20 World Cup in what was not the best of years for the sport.

As I said, it was a busy, busy year…

I’ve got to say, I absolutely love it when SPOTY comes around!

I mean, it’s a staple of British sports, I watch it year in and year out without fail. Who doesn’t enjoy celebrating British success?

This year I am as excited as ever, we have a brilliant line-up who have all achieved incredible things this year.

Thankfully, we don’t have to wait long until the awards get underway.

The show starts at 19:00 GMT and should be wrapped up after two hours, with the main award being the last to be presented.

It’s going to be a very fun evening.

David Coverdale Mail Sport, in Manchester:

Think SPOTY is all glitz and glam? Think again. The written press are hidden away in a BBC bunker, watching the proceedings on TV, and get nowhere near the main studio floor.

Winners are brought to us for interviews after they have collected their trophies, but the nearest we get to a drink is a cup of coffee.

The contenders for tonight’s prize are starting to arrive.

It feels quite bizarre seeing them dressed up as they are rather than in their usual sporting gear.

Keely Hodgkinson, Alex Yee, and Luke Littler are all in the building glammed up to the gills.

You’ve got to bring your A-game on a night like this, haven’t you?

Before we get into the real build-up, you all have to know who are actually going for the main showpiece.

This year there are a variety of different athletes with all six nominees coming from different sports.

Here are the six contenders for the Sports Personality of the Year award:

• Keely Hodgkinson, runner
• Alex Yee, triathlete
• Jude Bellingham, footballer,
• Sarah Storey, para-cyclist
• Joe Root, cricketer
• Luke Littler, darts player

Right, while we all know the big award that is up for grabs, it’s not the only prize on offer.

So, that being said, I thought I would take you through all of the award categories to look out for this evening.

• Sports Personality of the Year
• World Sport Star of the Year
• Helen Rollason award
• Young Sports Personality of the Year
• Unsung Hero
• Coach of the Year
• Team of the Year
• Lifetime Achievement award

To say 2024 has been action-packed with sport doesn’t even do it justice.

This year has been stacked with spectacular moments across a variety of different sports, if I had to list all of them I would be here forever.

We were treated to an incredible Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, while in the football world, the European Championship was held in Germany. Many England fans won’t forget that one in a hurry.

There has also been two T20 World Cups, the World Athletics Championships, and plenty of drama in the Tennis world.

It’s fair to say, choosing a Sports Personality of the Year after everything that has gone will not exactly be easy. But still, it’s got to be done.

I mean, there have been plenty of individual performances.

It’s the time of the year when we celebrate some of Britain’s best athletes and their achievements.

As per usual, it’s been a sensational year of sport in this country, there have been so many memorable moments.

I would go through them now, but we have all evening for that.

While the BBC’s flagship awards show will be celebrating many athletes and teams across the country, there is one award that tops them all.

That’s right, the Sports Personality of the Year…

The question is, who will join last year’s winner Mary Earps, and become part of a legendary group of sportspeople.

We’ll find out later tonight, but before then we have a lot of build-up to go through.

Make sure you stick with us!