i'm going to miss her terribly. i can hear that. i'm going to miss her terribly. i can hearthat. ian, incredible broadcaster as well. thank you forjoining us. janice long who has died and her friend long who has died and herfriend ian mcnabb paying tribute to her. now on bbc news it is time for year in review. there's never been a sporting year quite like 2021. it would, though, take a little time for the volume to be turned up. like everything else, it had to wait. as the year began, the backing track was the sound of silence. fans were still some way behind. covid's cancellations and chaos continued, the pandemic still providing all the background noise. the empty stadia a stark, constant reminder that no amount of fake sounds or even fake crowds could drown out. that was over here. over there, well, this was how the world's best tennis players were preparing for one of the first major sporting events of the year, the australian open. strict hotel quarantine divided opinion. tennis was struggling to keep calm and carry on. novak djokovic became the men's champion — the first of three grand slams for him this year. naomi osaka, the women's champion, herfirst and final grand slam of 2021. her withdrawal from the others to protect her mental health, the starting point for another of the year's major sporting narratives. in truth, many were still questioning whether sport should be going ahead at all. rugby union's six nations did — just about — and despite everything off the field, on it, it was one of the best we've ever seen. an empty twickenham and defending champions england is where scotland began. intimidating, perhaps, but they came with a plan. commentator: he gets the touchdown, a silent twickenham, _ save only the cheers and roars of the scotland players. wales began at home, no crowd of course. ireland were shown red. the team in red would do just that. to the snow and murrayfield. the rugby once more red. he's going to get it! what an important win for wales. back home, the neighbours were waiting. will england catch fire? when will they catch fire? not in cardiff — the questions didn't end there. he can't quite gather it. it has gone forward, has it? to paris for an extraordinary finish. to the match and, ultimately, the championship. surely it's going to be... for the bonus point try! that will win france the game. wales beaten. could scotland now help out? they could scarcely have left it later. what an end to this championship! that meant wales were champions. drama that deserved an audience. the women's six nations — that felt the impact even more. restructured, reorganised, the culmination, an england—france final. wonderful stuff from england. they cannot stop winning. they are champions again in 2021. england couldn't stop winning, and neither, it seemed, could rachael blackmore. never getting carried away. in april, she became the first femalejockey to win the grand national. the gender thing was never an issue. i just carried forward. it was just such a special race. i'm absolutely honoured to be able to put my name beside it. the roar was finally back. the snooker championships became the first major british event to welcome back fans. raising the roof, champion mark selby. fans returning in football and revolting proposals for european super league sparked outrage. fan power won — for now. manchester city are the premier league champions. one of those involved was manchester city. having won the league cup, they added the premier league. as did chelsea women after they had to wait to the last of the season to clinch the domestic prize. chelsea are the champions of england! still, very little could match the scenes ofjubilation in glasgow. in one side of it, at least. it's a big moment. we are right at the top. rangers the champions but the couple belonged to stjohnstone. with still no fans there. that is what partly made the fa cup final so extraordinary. 21,000 inside wembley to witness one of the great cup final goals. what a shot! fa cup winners for the very first time. one of the year's most poignant sporting moments. chelsea women's champions league final was played behind closed doors. fans back home will have watched through their fingers, beaten 4—0 by barcelona. travelling abroad was a novelty. for some, it was time to get reacquainted. manchester united in the europa league final. pour to the rearranged venue for the champions league final. a continental full english — chelsea against manchester city. seeing chelsea return as kings of europe. in club football, at least 2021 was a year of international football. europe was finally opening up. the euros began with a nod to the past but a turn to the future. the journey begins. they've lit up rome tonight. we are looking forward to a competition and something much more important. plays it into sterling! scotland are back and eager to make up for lost time. the czech republic on the break. anguish. a really big night ahead. and his team have done the nation proud! goodness me, it's loud. only a win will do. two players isolating, the team much criticised. into the back of the net by raheem sterling _ the start of the knockout stage of the european championship. lovely touch. flag stays down. it's 4—0 for this tournament. this time, that's that. this is an amazing story being told in budapest. it is the first shot knockout at euro 2020, and the reign of portugal as european champions is over. has to find the back of the net. the world champions, france, are going home. it's not the final, it just feels that way. in comes the captain! it's finally happened. this is one of those landmark football moments that don't come around too often. things could get better and better and better. kane! ukraine blown away. england on their own. england and denmark! a chance to replace the ghosts of history. it was delightful! sterling! wembley is alive and thundering with noise! into the final of a major tournament for the first time in 55 years! england versus italy in the final of the european championship. excitement around wembley that hasn't been felt since, you know. it's luke shaw! it's the start of dreams! this is a problem, it is in. england once again are involved in a penalty shoot—out. the nation holds its breath. rashford has missed. saved! italy are the champions of europe. huge disappointment for england. the aftermath of the final equally so. the racist abuse of some players prompted more national soul—searching. the boys have done so well for us, which i think has brought so many parts of our country together. for some of them to be abused is unforgivable. the final two saw the dark side of returning fans. images of crowd trouble at wembley before the game were beamed around the world. a damning report would call it a day of national shame. what happened was a very near miss, and that near miss would be a significant loss of life or injuries, probably on a scale that sadly we saw at hillsborough. across the capital, things were far more serene. new stars were emerging whilst others were shining once more. the championships are back. the all england club looks picture—perfect and readyl to welcome back the fans. back where he belongs. he has done it again. i feel very lucky- i get to do it again. i'm going to do it - again, i want to play. we have just heard one of the sporting roars of the year. wimbledon has a new star. 18—year—old emma raducanu. ashleigh barty! destiny fulfilled. and the celebrations can begin. it's the sixth wimbledon title. there was a new name on the list of golf�*s open champions. what an incredible debut. the american winning in the first attempt. anna nordqvist triumphed in the british open. not for either of them, their final victory of the year. cycling's biggest moment was won, but british focus, on mark cavendish. harlequins were crowned men's premiership rugby union champions. one of the greatest finishes in the competition. before a much disrupted tour ended with the british and irish lions narrowly beaten in south africa. there were some fans back at wembley. the challenge cup final. st helens saw off castleford. but the summer of 2021 will be remembered for the biggest sporting event of all — the delayed olympics that almost didn't happen again. a global games amidst a global crisis, athletes bringing home both medals and memories. # wondering what the world would be like. # i knew i had to change my mind. # didn't realise what would happen oh so soon. max whitlock! still the olympic champion. we love you. # the way it's so different now... # there's a place... # when i don't know what to say. # when i don't know what to do. # there's a room i need to sit in. # surrounded by my favourite view. skye brown will take bronze! looking really good at the moment. can you believe that? # independence cost me the price of questioning your own advice. # i know i will be all right. #ido. # what i do. and ben meir has gold for great britain! — # i see the world. # there's a place that i see, and there's my time. # when i don't know what to say. # when i don't know what to do. # there's a room i need to sit in. silver and gold! in bmx racing! 0h silver and gold! in bmx racing! oh my god! _ # surrounded by my favourite view. # when i need a hand to hold. # so i can tell the truth. # would it be ok if i came home to you? the triathlon will be golden for great — the triathlon will be golden for great britain in tokyo! worthington has absolutely _ great britain in tokyo! worthington has absolutely smashed _ great britain in tokyo! worthington has absolutely smashed her- great britain in tokyo! worthington j has absolutely smashed her second run. has absolutely smashed her second run it_ has absolutely smashed her second run it is— has absolutely smashed her second run it is a — has absolutely smashed her second run. it is a glittering _ has absolutely smashed her second run. it is a glittering fifth— run. it is a glittering fifth 0lympic_ run. it is a glittering fifth 0lympic gold _ run. it is a glittering fifth olympic gold medal- run. it is a glittering fifth olympic gold medal for. run. it is a glittering fifth- olympic gold medal for laura run. it is a glittering fifth— olympic gold medal for laura kenny. galal yafai, _ olympic gold medal for laura kenny. galal yafai, the _ olympic gold medal for laura kenny. galal yafai, the olympic— olympic gold medal for laura kenny. galal yafai, the olympic champion! l jason kenny! double olympic champions. # when i see the world so different now. # because there's a place that i see, and that's my town. # when i don't know what to say. # when i don't know what to do. # would it be ok if i came home to you? # no, would it be ok if i came home to you? a captivated audience back home barely had time to draw breath. no sooner had the olympians returned with their medals, the paralympians were off to tokyo, set on winning more. she was crying, and i was too, but you never really expect it will come together like that. i literally gave everything i had. one tenth of the second. it was ridiculous. now i am so much more. i worked for this for such a long time, but i worked independently, so now i finished all three. we're finished. i'm going home. as britain was gaining champions, it was also losing one for now. anthonyjoshua lost all four of his titles, beaten by oleksandr usyk. england's netballers were winning their series against new zealand. but over in the united states, there was a genuinely astonishing story unfolding. # one night in new york. # feels like a lifetime anywhere. having caught the eye at wimbledon, 18—year—old emma raducanu is now making her mark at the us open. # this town is champagne. # so shake the bottle, pop the cork. going through qualifying, she won her first nine matches without dropping a set incredibly, all the way to her final in history. before the match, i was nervous. i felt like something wasn't quite right. something felt a little bit off. i think that's just usual nerves, but once i got onto the court, i was just having a lot of fun out there, and i think that's what helped because i wasn't distracted. i wasjust focusing on what i had to do. this fairy tale caught the world's imagination. emma raducanu, teenage grand slam winner, now with the world at her feet. # one night in new york. the united states also was the venue for golf�*s most eagerly anticipated events. firstly, the solheim cup. # 0h, say does that _ star—spangled banner yet wave? hitting all the right notes on the opening day, europe. fiona mcguire. the first irish woman to play the competition. she was brilliant. team usa would come fighting. you just don't know what's going to happen next. victory in sight, from there, they wouldn't let go. matilda retained the title. absolutely brilliant. before emily pederson. winning it out right for europe. up in wisconsin, there was less to celebrate in the ryder cup. team usa were going to great lengths to make this look every bit the record breaker. that's ridiculous! unbelievable! it sucks losing. it sucks not being able to be competitive. - the atmosphere could have been predicted. the dominance of team usa should have been. in october, the london marathon was back, bigger than ever. another mile marker in this longest of races back to normality. nothing normal about what was taking place in las vegas the following week. the third instalment of tyson fury�*s feud with deontay wilder. an occasion that lived up to the hype. settled decisively in the 11th round. fury, still champion of the world. back on england's green land, there was so nearly a french champion in rugby league. catalans dragons the first overseas side to super league's finale of season. there should have been a world cup to follow, but that now will have to wait another year. 2021 undoubtedly belonged to st helens, winning the women's title as well. chelsea finished by completing the treble, the much delayed women's fa cup final in front of 40,000 at wembley. fa cup victory. the first silverware of the new season in scotland went to celtic. cricket�*s t20 was won, perhaps surprisingly, by australia, where england's test side ended their year. the tour starting in the worst possible way. 2021 was a year that cricket was forced to reflect on much graver issues. the racism scandals posing questions. this is to be an acceptance in the institution and no one ever stamped it out. the response could now define the domestic game for years to come. for sporting drama, there was little to rival the rivalry in formula one. the battle to be number one was possibly the most intense the sport has ever seen. lewis hamilton won in the desert. it was becoming clear that max verstappen was going to push him all the way. things were blowing up in baku. a tire exploding at almost 200 miles an hour, robbing verstappen of victory. silverstone was a turning point. they were getting too close. hamilton is storming to victory. hungary was chaotic. in italy, the pair needed to be separated once more. the rivalry was boiling over. they touched again in saudi arabia and heading to abu dhabi, there was nothing between them. there was nothing to prepare fans for what followed. i crash allowed verstappen to take the race and the title. the amazing season deserved an amazing ending. this will live long in the memory. the arguments will go on perhaps just as long. few could really disagree with the bbc�*s sports personality of the year. emma raducanu. having created history in 2021, it was perhaps in keeping with the last 12 months that emma raducanu received her award in covid isolation. this extraordinary sporting year ending rather like it began. more rain at times in the week ahead as it turns much milder, even for a time overnight with temperatures quite widely into double figures later this week. it is looking somewhat drier as we get through the evening and are tonight, still a box of rain and little sleet and snow for higher hills, edging or through scotland. a lot of low cloud, mist and fog developing and another spell of rain bearing down on south—west england later in the night. for many, temperatures staying above freezing and hint of blue in northern england and scotland with some spots at freezing for a touch of frost going into the morning. a lot of low cloud, mist and fog to begin the day, bludgeoning up, particularly for scotland and northern ireland look cloudier in the western isles with outbreaks of rain. rain pushing through south—west england, wales, spreading further east england is turning later as it does so, windy with another spell of heavy rain along southern coastal counties to end the afternoon. through the evening also. milder to the south. this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. tributes pour in for archbishop desmond tutu, nobel laureate and veteran of south africa's struggle against apartheid — who has died at the age of 90. he was one of the greatest people i've ever met. he and nelson mandela are the two leaders who ended apartheid. but you know that he was a teacher, he was a moral leader, he was a campaigner. the bodies of 16 iraqi kurds who drowned when their inflatable boat sank last month in the channel while trying to reach the uk have been returned to northern iraq. new coronavirus restrictions come into force in scotland, wales and northern ireland — to try to limit the spread of the omicron variant.