When is the British and Irish Lions squad named?

The British and Irish Lions and Australia will play for the Tom Richards Trophy, which the tourists regained on their last tour in 2013

After months of speculation, head coach Andy Farrell will announce his British and Irish Lions squad to tour Australia on Thursday, 8 May at a live event in London.

Ireland players are expected to dominate the squad, while Scotland and England should also be well represented, but there might only be a handful of players from Wales after their poor results over the past year.

Players not involved in the Six Nations have also been linked with a place in the squad, including Toulouse back row Jack Willis, and Farrell's son and former England captain Owen Farrell, who plays for Racing 92.

Farrell has not said how many players he will pick but a total of 37 players were named in the initial squad for the last Lions tour to South Africa in 2021.

The squad will be revealed by former Wales wing and current Lions chairman Ieuan Evans, who was part of the victorious 1989 Lions tour to Australia.

The announcement is set to take place from 14:00 BST in front of more than 2,000 Lions fans at the O2 arena.

Who will be captain?

England lock Maro Itoje and Ireland number eight Caelan Doris, both captains for their national sides, are among the leading contenders to lead the Lions.

How to follow the Lions squad announcement on the BBC

You can follow live text coverage on the BBC Sport website and app from 13:00 BST.

BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones will be covering the announcement for BBC Radio 5 Live.

There will also be BBC reporters at events and rugby clubs across England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

The Rugby Union Weekly team will analyse the squad for a special podcast to download on BBC Sounds or via the BBC Sport website and app on Thursday evening.

What are the British and Irish Lions fixtures?

The Lions will play their opening match in Dublin against Argentina on 20 June before leaving for Australia.

The tourists will face five warm-up matches before the three-Test series with the Wallabies begins in Brisbane on 19 July.

Friday, 20 June - Lions v Argentina, Dublin (Aviva Stadium)

Saturday, 28 June - Lions v Western Force, Perth (Optus Stadium)

Wednesday, 2 July - Lions v Queensland Reds, Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium)

Saturday, 5 July - Lions v NSW Waratahs, Sydney (Allianz Stadium)

Wednesday, 9 July - Lions v ACT Brumbies, Canberra (GIO Stadium)

Saturday, 12 July - Lions v Invitational AU & NZ, Adelaide (Adelaide Oval)

Saturday, 19 July - Lions v Australia, first Test, Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium)

Tuesday, 22 July - Lions v Melbourne Rebels, Melbourne (Marvel Stadium)

Saturday, 26 July - Lions v Australia, second Test, Melbourne (Melbourne Cricket Ground/MCG)

Saturday, 2 August - Lions v Australia, third Test, Sydney (Accor Stadium)

All matches kick off at 11:00 BST apart from the game in Dublin which starts at 20:00 BST

Who are the Lions coaches?

Farrell's coaching team draws most heavily on the Ireland set-up he has left on secondment to lead the Lions.

Simon Easterby, who served as Ireland's interim head coach for this year's Six Nations, is joined by attack specialist Andrew Goodman and scrum coach John Fogarty, while Lions great Johnny Sexton, who started all three Tests of the 2013 series win over Australia, is an assistant coach.

Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel and England senior coach Richard Wigglesworth are also included.

It is the first time since 2001, when New Zealander Graham Henry took a break from his job with Wales to lead the Lions in Australia, that there is no Welshman among the Lions coaches.

The Lions' history in Australia

The Lions' first tour was to Australia in 1888 but the touring party pre-dated the Wallabies so they played club and regional sides.

They returned the following year before visiting again in 1904, 1908, 1930, 1950, 1959 and 1966, when they also toured New Zealand.

It was not until 1989 when they next travelled to only Australia, beating the Wallabies 2-1.

On their next tour in 2001, England speedster Jason Robinson scored a stunning early try in the third minute as the Lions won the first Test 29-13 at the Gabba.

They led at half-time in the second, only for Australia to recover and force a decider.

The hosts would claim a famous 29-23 win to take the series 2-1 and lift the Tom Richards Trophy in Sydney.

The Lions would avenge that defeat on their most recent visit, winning 2-1 in 2013.

Welshman George North scored one of the greatest tries in Lions history to hand the visitors a narrow 23-21 victory in the opening Test before Australia won by a point to level the series in the second.

North came to the fore again in the decider with an iconic hit on Israel Folau before lifting and carrying the Australia winger several metres back. The Lions cruised to a 41-16 win in Sydney and reclaimed the Tom Richards Trophy.