After two years in Birmingham, the 2008 Sports Personality Of The Year comes from Liverpool's Echo Arena The contenders for the trophy come from the worlds of athletics, boxing, cycling, motorsport, sailing, swimming and tennis Among the first to arrive is Man Utd and England legend Sir Bobby Charlton who will pick up the Lifetime Achievement award Arguably the greatest Olympian ever, rower Sir Steve Redgrave shows his support for the award which he won in 2000 BBC pundit and 400m record holder Michael Johnson also joins the list of sporting legends who attend the event Most famous for her two gold medals at the Athens Olympics, the 2004 SPOTY Dame Kelly Holmes makes an appearance With an impressive 11 Paralympic golds to her name, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson further bolsters the VIP presence at the Arena Sir Clive Woodward, the British Olympic Association's director of elite performance, arrives after a very successful summer in Beijing Having lost only one fight in his career, light-welterweight boxer Ricky Hatton poses for photos ahead of the ceremony From the same sport, James DeGale and David Price find themselves in front of the cameras again after winning medals at the Olympics Despite winning an Olympic cycling gold, Victoria Pendleton misses out on the Sports Personality shortlist to the surprise of many Kelly Sotherton, Great Britain's top heptathlete, went to the Olympics as one of the favourites but eventually finished out of the medals The first award of the evening goes to Paralympic swimmer Eleanor Simmonds who is named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Recently retired BBC Radio 5 Live rugby commentator Alastair Hignell, who is battling multiple sclerosis, is handed the Helen Rollason Award Hailing from Dorchester, veteran amateur boxing coach and fundraiser Ben Geyser is presented with the Unsung Hero Award Sir Bobby Charlton, England's all-time leading scorer, is presented with the Lifetime Achievement award by his older brother Jack It is a good night for cycling with David Brailsford winning the Coach of the Year honour, presented by Dame Kelly Holmes Scottish cyclist Chris Hoy, who won three golds in Beijing Olympics, celebrates winning the 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Hoy beat Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and Olympic swimming champion Rebecca Adlington to the award
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