On the weekend before Christmas the Sundae team headed down to the vibrant city of Birmingham, where Andy Murray was crowned once again as BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016 for a record breaking third time.
The prestigious awards ceremony was held at Birmingham’s Genting Arena and after a massive year of Olympic success in Rio, we were proud to run the biggest SPOTY red carpet ever seen!
The atmosphere was electric as some of the biggest names in the sporting world arrived to walk down the carpet. It was an honourable experience being able to chaperone the likes of Judy Murray, Jamie Vardy and England rugby star James Haskell through the hustle and bustle of flashing photographers, live television crews and journalists. It gave me a brilliant insight into how hectic their showbiz lifestyles must be.
We welcomed press from near and far onto the carpet including the Daily Mail, The Sun, Daily Star, P.A., Birmingham Mail, Style Birmingham and Radio 1’s Newsbeat who were joined by Olympic medallists, Jason and Laura Kenny, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Premier League cup winners, Leicester City Football Club, plus a rich selection of non-sporting celebrities like Eddie Izzard, Laura Mvula, Bake Off’s Candice Brown, Gareth Malone and Strictly Come Dancing 2016 winner, Ore Oduba.
In front of a 12,000-strong audience, the show was another huge success, with performances from Robbie Williams and Laura Mvula, a lifetime achievement award for Michael Phelps and a surprise appearance from Prince William! Murray accepted the award via video-link from Florida as runners up Alistair Brownlee and Nick Skelton collected theirs in person.
It was an amazing feeling to see all the blanket entertainment coverage the next day in the Daily Mail, Daily Star, Mirror Online, The Sun and The Times and making the front page of the Metro! Here’s to 2017!
Marie-Clare x
