BBC Sports Personality of the Year: 1,000 free tickets announced

London 2012 volunteers and young people are to share 1,000 free tickets for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012.

The event, at London's 15,000 capacity ExCeL on Sunday, 16 December, promises to be the biggest in the programme's 59-year history after Great Britain's golden summer.

Some 500 tickets will be given to volunteers through a random ballot.

The same amount will be handed to young people from the six Olympic and Paralympic host boroughs.

Director of BBC Sport Barbara Slater said: "2012 has been such a fantastic year for sport in the UK with incredible performances from our sportsmen and women.

"This however is an opportunity to say thank you to some of those that have made 2012 so special, the brilliant volunteer Games makers and the young people of the host boroughs who have made such an impact through sport in their local communities."

The London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog) will run a random ballot through their database for all volunteers.

BBC Sport Outreach will hold a by-invitation Olympic legacy session for young people in early December in each of the six boroughs. Attendees will be able to register for a ballot and names will be drawn at the end for a pair of tickets. Tickets will be divided equally between each borough.

Sue Barker, Gary Lineker and Clare Balding will host the 2012 review.

This year's ceremony will play host to a star-studded line-up of medal winners and sporting heroes who made 2012 so memorable.

With an increased shortlist of 12, in recognition of the unprecedented success of UK sportsmen and women this year, the competition for the coveted title will be one of the most hotly contested in the show's history.