2024 was an extraordinary 12 months of sport. a year dominated by some of the very biggest showpiece events. we had a men's euros in germany, where england came so close, and a paralympics and olympics in paris, where great britain once again excelled. achievements honoured here at the year ending bbc sports personality of the year. more on that later. but 2024 was also a year where some of british sport's biggest stars took theirfinal bows. the likes ofjemmy anderson, andy murray, tom daly and laura kenny to name just a few. but the year was also for new, exciting sporting talent.

and that's where 2024 started in january. the year was young and so too was the headline maker. 16—year—old luke littler�*s journey to the final of the pdc darts world championship had everyone gripped. he was eventually beaten by luke humphries, the future of darts in steady hands. it's been a roller—coaster. i'm glad i was a part of a good final. he deserved it. he played the better darts. but the start of the year marked the beginning of a surprising end for others. jurgen klopp began his long farewell from liverpool. lewis hamilton stunned everyone by announcing he'll leave mercedes for ferrari, and louis rees—zammit raised eyebrows injanuary by switching to american football, leaving rugby union just as the six nations was about to start. wales missed him. england missed out. this was ireland's tournament again. so the six nations begins

in a bouncing marseille. try for ireland again! who can stop them on this form? what an effort from alex mitchell! vander lava has only one goal. 0ne sight for the corner again. in they go! they've got it done. england! well, excitement around the aviva stadium. nash! 0n the move again is in. and scotland have the victory. absolutely unbelievable. can he finish? yes. italy get their win! drop goal attempt from marcus smith to win this game. how does this great story end?

0h, lorenzo. and wales do have the wooden spoon. surely one of the finest teams the irish have ever produced. i they are the six nations champions of 2024. - the women's six nations had a familiar feel. once more it came down to england and france. the decider in bordeaux, the trophy between the two sides. that's what they're playing for. england have done it. a third successive grand slam. the champions are england's red roses. england's six nations champions, champions of the world, or so they claim were the kansas city chiefs. the chiefs! super bowl winners again sharing the headlines with their most celebrated fan. winners on the world stage two in february were wigan warriors, the first silverware of their stellar year. wigan are a world club challenge winners! the formula one season,

meanwhile, began amidst controversy. allegations of inappropriate behaviour by red bull team boss christian horner. he was later cleared. the team are very together. they're very focussed on on the season ahead and have been tremendously supportive. whilst february also brought the first trophy of the domestic football season, the last, as it turned out, forjurgen klopp at liverpool as they beat chelsea in the league cup final, an extra time goal which coincidentally was the same story in the women's final, chelsea beaten this time by arsenal's late winner. glasgow hosted the world indoor athletics championship in march. the champion is coming home gold for britain'sjosh kerr and molly cordery. a big yearfor the city, as they were later confirmed as hosts of the commonwealth games in 2026. a wait for that at cheltenham. the wait was over. willie mullins lynn's 100th

winner at the festival, which the irish trainer backed up with winners in the gold cup and grand national. i am maximus triumphing at aintree. there was a sombre start for this year's london marathon, as tributes were paid to the 2023 men's winner kelvin kiptum, the kenyan world record holder killed in a road accident earlier in the year. the world's greatest athletes in the world's greatest race. fittingly, the 2024 races were won by compatriots alexander mutiso magno and perez chepchirchir. catherine de bruyne and marcel hug triumphing in the wheelchair race. he is the best in the business. london too saw success in basketball despite an uncertain future. the london lions became the first british side to win a european trophy. this is so big for british basketball, so amazing!

whilst in sheffield there was a first world snooker title for england's kyren wilson. may was the month that domestic football seasons drew to a close. seasons drew to a close, a succession of trophies beginning at wembley. another wembley wonderstrike! manchester united with their first women's fa cup, the women's super league reached a gripping finale. its fran kirby! chelsea forced to fight all the way to their fifth consecutive title in emma hayes final game in charge. things, unbelievably, were even more dramatic in scotland, a 90th—minute winner sealing the title for celtic. for the men's side, a little less nerve—shredding a 12th title in 13 years followed just days later with victory over rangers in the cup final. here butland spells it. he scores! in england, manchester city's dominance continued champions for the fourth year in a row.

for the fourth year in a row, whilst the month ended as it began at wembley. manchester city and manchester united! garnacho has bruno fernandes. oh, what a ball and manu scores! manchester united finally getting the better of their cross—city rivals. the fa cup winners are manchester united. there were no british sides involved in the big european finals. there was, though, a winner's medalforjude bellingham, his real madrid side, champions of the continent once again with victory over borussia dortmund at wembley. elsewhere, wales had its first women's world champion boxer in lauren price. the big fight of the month was in riyadh. tyson fury beaten by 0leksandr usyk.

back home, northampton were crowned rugby union's premiership winners. glasgow warriors, champions of the united rugby championship. rugby league, meanwhile, was in mourning. rob burrow remembered by all at the challenge cup finals, the former player and mnd campaigner passing away just days previously. saint helens women and wigan warriors men champions on a poignant day at wembley. across the atlantic, the men's t20 world cup england, though unable to successfully defend their title, beaten in the semis by india, who went on to defeat south africa in the final. june, though, was dominated by events in germany as tens of thousands of english and scottish football fans headed off to party at the euros. a wonderful opening ceremony and hopefully a magical month ahead.

germany have the lead inside ten minutes. good feet. 2—0 fullkrug and it's in the net. germany were simply miles better. welcome to the start of another england adventure. this time we really do actually sound like they believe. macca does get it across. and it's headed in by bellingham. one goal wins it for england. they've taken over the city of cologne today. everywhere you walked there was scotland blue. it's back to mctominay. and it's deflected in. shaqiri! steve clarkes side take it to the final game. game two at a major tournament. win it and get serious. and a big chance for kane! and that's a good effort! oh it's a wonderful strike.

goodness me. that was a hard watch at times. scotland on the brink of something historic. 0r on the brink of yet another group stage exit, so messi hasn't got it. schubert and scotland are out of the european championship. despair again. what we'll say is thank you to the country because we felt everyone behind us. sorry for letting us down. it's a big night in cologne. england safely through . but shut out by slovenia. lose to slovakia, and that's it for- england's euro 2024. strelets has support. what a chance this is. and slovakia lead. seconds to go. and it's in! jude bellingham! salvation. and we're going to extra time. and there. it goes from esa i and deflected back.

in for kane. they are on their way. have they got there, i don't know. a real heavyweight tussle. lifted in by amo, mikhail marino has won it for spain. and what a game in store. nice. hit the post. welcome to the dusseldorf arena. gareth southgate has once again led england to the quarterfinals. and andoy gets it across and switzerland score. now something has to change. saka having a go. well that didn't take long. it's going to penalties. how do you not even look at the ball. pressure is for tyres. it's a different generation. season ends in finale. dieser europameisterschaft. well who's going to - the final of euro 2024? nice curl. oh, i say, what anj unbelievable goal!

the 16—year—old. history beckons to make all the hard work to get this far worthwhile. england walk out for a semifinal. stevens is able to drive on. oh, what a goal. here comes kane. here come england! palmer finds watkins. watkins turns. watkins scores! england are on their way to berlin. well, here we are. four weeks and six games later, these players carry the hopes of those who missed out. the ghosts and the soul of english football fans, players and coaches alike. it's going to go over to williams now! well, england never got started at all. and saka gets it through. and bellingham tries to tee up palmer. oh yes! ice cold precision from palmer! gabriella gets it back in.

for england, the interminable wait goes on. spain are again the champions of europe. we wanted to do it so badly for ourselves, l but also for the fans - and everyone who's believed in us the whole way. so, uh, right now it'sjust huge disappointment. - it would be gareth southgate�*s final campaign standing down, to be replaced eventually by thomas tuchel. but it wasn't just the end for southgate. the summer of 2024 saw the final acts of some of british sport's very, very best. the likes of which we may never see again. at wimbledon, the talk was of andy murray, would he, wouldn't he, one last time? well, he did in the doubles, albeit briefly. appeared alongside his older brotherjamie murray

to centre court again. they don't want to say farewell, theyjust want to say thank you to andy murray. i want to play forever. i love, i love the sport. it's given me, you know, it's given me so, so much. i don't want to stop. so it is hard. thank you so much for everything. - andy murray! always, always leave them wanting more. there would be british success though at wimbledon. actually, plenty of it. the unseeded combination harri heliovaara and henri paton are the wimbledon champions. alfie hewett. he wins his first wimbledon wheelchair singles title. and, with it completes a historic career singles grand slam. alfie hewett and gordon reid retain their wimbledon doubles title.

it's a czech fairytale and cricova is the i wimbledon champion. he's a master craftsman at 21 years of age. across london, a farewell to another true sporting great. wonderful sight here at lord's. jimmy anderson bringing his incredible, record—breaking england career to an end with his 704th test wicket. and how many times have we seen this kind of delivery. will never be bettered, will never be beaten. . take this in, jimmy. i love the game so much. it's not really sinking in that i'm still in my head. i think i'm still playing next week, weirdly, but i'm sure at some

point it will sink in. you know, it'sjust been incredible. another extraordinary career ending was that of mark cavendish, but not before the manx missile created history at the tour de france. a record 35th stage win, cementing his legacy as one of cycling and british sport's all time greats. as well as the highs, you know, that suffering is what makes a race special. it's what grows you as a person, isn't it? so to feel that one last time is important is to feel victory one last time. speaking of british sporting greats, lewis hamilton marked his final year with mercedes with victory at an enthralling british grand prix. there we are, a sea of umbrellas. at royal troon, the weather offered its worst, xander schauffele gave his best, winning the open, his second major of a magnificent year. later, lydia ko would triumph in the women's event at saint andrews. in paris, security was being stepped up, the olympics and paralympics on their way, but one absence was charlotte dujardin. a medal at the games

would have made the dressage star britain's most decorated female 0lympian. instead, footage of her repeatedly whipping a horse became one of the biggest controversies of the british sporting year. the games would go on without her. bonsoir, tout le monde. welcome to an 0pening ceremony like no other. let it all begin. bon soir. bienvenue a paris. kicking off this olympic

games for britain. tom pidcock is the olympic champion. this is the gilded age for british eventing. go to great britain on the men's fourl by 200m freestyle relay. that is absolutely brilliant. what an astonishing finish. i have never seen anything like that. and they have conquered for team gb. britain has gold. it's one of the greatest. moments in french rugby. great britain take the olympic gold in the men's eight! what a moment in paris! gold! great britain's women. they've done it. what just happened? 0nly andy could write this one. 0nly andy. and just like that, it's the end of andy

murray's tennis career. you know, i gave as much as i could to the sport, being proud to be part of team gb over the last 20 years. and, um, yeah, definitely will miss it. goodness me. what a picture. what a team. believable scenes here at le bourget! that is incredible. yes, yes. come on. oh, i'm so delighted! i'm not crying because i've come second. - i'm crying because itjust took so much to get here. - in my heart, i've already won. at the age of 37, he is olympic champion. leon marsh of france

has won his fourth individual gold medal at this olympic games. utterly extraordinary. the guy is...guy's a superhero. julian alfred is storming away. alfred reigns supreme. katie ledecky of the usa becomes the only woman to win the same race in. the same race in four straight olympic games. unbelievable. who has got this? never seen a finish as close. great britain silver medallist. there can't be - regretted looking back and knowing you've done all you can. i they were coming. they were charging the line. wouldn't come for.

matt hudson—smith. great britain, the silver medalfor katarina johnson—thompson as an olympic silver. medal to her considerable collection. what a performance for brighton beach. goals for keely. goals for great britain. gold for being brilliant. au revoir, paris and merci. merci beaucoup. we'll go for a lie down. well finished for the olympics, but not for paris. just over a fortnight later, the city threw open its doors once more for the paralympics. more success for britain's established stars like hannah cockroft and the extraordinary sarah storey. gold medal. you didn't doubt her, did you? her 18th and 19th golds at the age of 46. alfie hewett, along with gordon reid finally got his gold. whilst the future too looks bright, five medals for teenager poppy maskell and for alice tai and a medal. two for the youngest member of the team, 13 year old iona winnifrith, with a silver in the pool. iona winifred! great britain's paralympians returning with 49 goals amongst their luggage across 18 sports. that's more sports than any other nation

for british athletes. summer in paris was truly remarkable. august also saw another british sporting hero emerge, jack draper making it all the way to the semi—finals of the us open in what was his break—out year. a little further south, golf�*s solheim cup got under way. a dominant opening day from the americans left europe with too much to do. it's coming back to the united states for the first time in seven years. team usa, victorious in virginia. september also saw the world of football honour the life of former england manager sven—goran eriksson, who passed away at the age of 76. here, one of the big british fights of the year, daniel dubois, knocking out anthonyjoshua in front of a huge wembley crowd. there was disappointment for england as they narrowly failed to make it out of the group stage at the women's t20 world cup.

the men's side were in pakistan, wherejoe root became england's leading test match run scorer of all time. meanwhile, britain reached the final of the americas cup for the first time in 60 years. although the wait for victory goes on. every time we compete in the americas cup, we get one step closer. so next time it's time to step up and go all the way. back home on dry land, wigan completed an historic clean sweep of all the major rugby league trophies. oh my word, that's sensational! with grand final victory york valkyrie once again women's champions. whilst the formula one season reached its climax. max verstappen champion for a fourth consecutive season, a fourth consecutive season.

the sporting retirement was thought perhaps the theme of 2020 for the world of tennis said gracias to rafa nadal as he ended his incredible career at the davis cup. the final football trophy of the domestic year went again to celtic, winners of an epic scottish league cup final against rangers. but as the year drew to a close, time to look forward. pack your bags for switzerland! for wales, plenty to look for wales, plenty to look forward to as their women's forward to as their women's football team qualified football team qualified for a major tournament for a major tournament for the first time, for the first time, the euros in 2025. the euros in 2025. we're history makers we're history makers and that'll never get and that'll never get taken away from us. taken away from us. much further ahead, much further ahead, the decision in december the decision in december to award a men's world of the year 2024 to award a men's world cup to saudi arabia will cup to saudi arabia will continue to draw scrutiny continue to draw scrutiny for many years to come. for many years to come. saudi arabia! saudi arabia! but at the end of the year, but at the end of the year, marking a moment to reflect. marking a moment to reflect. 2024, a truly memorable 2024, a truly memorable

sporting year. the bbc sports personality sporting year. the bbc sports personality of the year 2024 is...keely hodgkinson. this year has been absolutely incredible for me. i've achieved everything i set out to do on the outdoor track, which is kind of rare, so i'm so grateful to be in this position. i hope you all loved watching parisjust as much as i loved competing in it. thank you so much. hello. the fairly mild spell of weather is set to continue through today and for many

of us through the weekend. we have mist and fog and for some of us, the fog will linger all day especially over higher ground. high pressure keeping things largely dry and settled. this system causing problems over the north of scotland and with the pressure there from the atlantic, not much of a breeze to lift the cloud so it is pretty murky in central and southern areas, in particular some bright or sunny skies. parts of northern ireland and was,... of blue sky as well. the rain sitting across the far north—west of scotland, temperatures 7 or 8 degrees. tonight, rain will extend across the north west of scotland, mist and fog forming especially in england and wales so saturday morning is murky for many. temperatures between 4 and 9 degrees. this you are not looking at a cold or frosty night. on saturday, another similar day for england and wales, some breaks in the cloud

over higher ground. this waving front sits across central scotland and northern ireland, some brighter spells across the north of scotland bringing showers in the north—west, temperatures between 7—11 degrees. the second half of the weekend sees the weather front pushing further south, squeezing the isobars through monday in scotland. perhaps some sunny spells and getting warmer at 10 or 11 degrees. the rain is persistent across scotland and we see more wet weather, some snow over the higher ground perhaps, turning colder across the north, 2 degrees in lerwick. furthersouth, it's mostly dry and settled, with variable amounts of cloud. the colder air in the north could work south heading towards wednesday, new year's eve, potentially some unsettled weather with the colder blast so still fairly mild as we start next week, wet and windy in the middle

of the week and colder at the end of next week. goodbye!

live from london, this is bbc news.

south korea is plunged into fresh political crisis as mps vote to impeach the acting president after only a few days in the job. han duck—soo confirmed he will step aside to avoid more turmoil. the german president officially dissolves parliament — announcing a snap election on february 23rd. azerbaijan airlines suspends flights to seven russian cities following a plane crash in kazakhstan on christmas day. the world health organization says a un air crew member was seriously injured during an israeli air strike on the main airport in yemen — which killed six people. and the bbc speaks to one of the uk's most successful businessmen — sir richard branson — about his struggles with imposter syndrome

we start in south korea, where the political crisis has