The walk from the train station to the N.E.C. seemed to take forever, I didn't know what to expect but that was all part of the excitement. This was the first time members of the public were able to witness the annual Sports Personality of the Year awards and I felt privileged to be going.
Outside the arena there was a buzz of anticipation, who was going to win and who do you want to win were the questions on everyone's lips. We were handed a voting card for the individual and team awards and I made my selection.
After what had seemed a lifetime we finally got to our seats. The view was much better than I had expected, even though the public were sat in a ring behind the V.I.P's and sports stars. The stage itself was glowing and the camera crews were making last minute preparations. Behind them sat the BBC concert orchestra who were tuning up ready to entertain the crowd before the event. Surrounding the stage were four giant television screens playing clips of the sporting events which had defined the past twelve months.
Having practiced when to applaud, how long for and having listened to the orchestra belt out some classic sporting anthems it was time for the live show to begin. Garry Lineker, Sue Barker and Adrian Chiles appeared on stage to guide us through the next two hours of celebration and reflection.
At times the atmosphere was electric with huge applause for the heroes we had watched on our television screens. They had provided us with so much joy and excitement over the past year and this was a small way in which we could thank them. On other occasions it was a hard to hold back the tears, some couldn't as we witnessed stories and tributes about Heather Clarke, Paul Hunter and Earl Woods.
There were sections reviewing each sport and the various awards were handed out. As it got nearer to the end and the announcement of the individual winner the atmosphere began to build. David Walliams received a special award in recognition of swimming the channel for sport relief, in the warm up before going live he had joked that his was the fastest time ever, despite his humour you could see that the sport relief charity was something that meant a grate deal to him.
Outside the arena there was a buzz of anticipation, who was going to win and who do you want to win were the questions on everyone's lips. We were handed a voting card for the individual and team awards and I made my selection.
After what had seemed a lifetime we finally got to our seats. The view was much better than I had expected, even though the public were sat in a ring behind the V.I.P's and sports stars. The stage itself was glowing and the camera crews were making last minute preparations. Behind them sat the BBC concert orchestra who were tuning up ready to entertain the crowd before the event. Surrounding the stage were four giant television screens playing clips of the sporting events which had defined the past twelve months.
Having practiced when to applaud, how long for and having listened to the orchestra belt out some classic sporting anthems it was time for the live show to begin. Garry Lineker, Sue Barker and Adrian Chiles appeared on stage to guide us through the next two hours of celebration and reflection.
At times the atmosphere was electric with huge applause for the heroes we had watched on our television screens. They had provided us with so much joy and excitement over the past year and this was a small way in which we could thank them. On other occasions it was a hard to hold back the tears, some couldn't as we witnessed stories and tributes about Heather Clarke, Paul Hunter and Earl Woods.
There were sections reviewing each sport and the various awards were handed out. As it got nearer to the end and the announcement of the individual winner the atmosphere began to build. David Walliams received a special award in recognition of swimming the channel for sport relief, in the warm up before going live he had joked that his was the fastest time ever, despite his humour you could see that the sport relief charity was something that meant a grate deal to him.