Nominations

### Games

**Nominees** are the people targeted for eviction. It is the responsibility of the Head of Household to choose houseguests to nominate for eviction.

## The Nomination Ceremony

The Head of Household selects two houseguests to nominate for eviction. The exceptions to this rule arrived during *Big Brother 1*, and *Big Brother 2* where two different kinds of twists required three/four nominees each week, with still only one person leaving each week. Each HOH still nominates only two houseguests in those situations. The HOH places the keys of the players who are safe into the Nomination Box, a circular device with numbered key slots. The keys of those who are nominated are placed in a smaller box located in the HOH suite. The HOH pulls the first key, revealing that that person is safe. The HOH spins the Template:Wp to the owner of the key, who then puts it around his or her neck, and pulls the subsequent key. This proceeds until there are no more keys in the box, with two players left without keys being nominated. The HOH stands up and explains the reasoning behind his or her nominations. At this point, the HOH calls the ceremony adjourned and the houseguests return their keys to the Memory Wall. The Nomination Ceremony takes place at the kitchen table. The Ceremony occurs each week until the Final Three, at which point both houseguests who lost the final HOH are automatically nominated.

The twists that allowed for a third or fourth nominee include:

* **Battle of the Block** - In *Big Brother 1*, two HOHs would be crowned each week, and they would each nominate one or two houseguests for eviction. Those nominees would compete in the Battle of the Block, where one nominee or pair wins safety, dethroning the HOH that nominated them, leaving one HOH and the remaining nominees to continue the week as normal.
* **Hit The Road** - During the premiere of *Big Brother 2*, there was no HOH or POV in play. After half of the house was granted immunity, the remaining half competed for safety, with the losing four being at risk for nomination. They then voted on whether they would like to hold another competition or have a regular nomination vote between the three, and they chose to do a vote.
* **Den of Temptation Curse** - Also in *Big Brother 2*, one houseguest would receive a curse from the Den of Temptation in the first week. They would have to nominate themselves as a third nominee, alongside the HOH's two initial nominees, at one of the next three nomination ceremonies, but if the POV was used to save them, there would be no replacement.
* **Temptation Competition** - Once again in *Big Brother 2*, houseguests chose whether or not they would compete in the Temptation Competition each week. The winner would be granted immunity, while the loser goes on the block as a third nominee, alongside the HOH's two initial nominees. If the POV was used to save them, there would be no replacement.

During Double Eviction and "Fast Forward" weeks, the HOH simply names the nominees.

## The Nomination Speech

Each version of Big Brother has their own speech, but the most well-known one is the Big Brother U.S. speech.

"This is the nomination ceremony. It is my responsibility as the Head of Household to nominate two people for eviction. In my nomination box are the keys of the houseguests I am nominating for eviction, I will turn two keys to lock in my nominations and their faces will appear on the memory wall. The first houseguest I have nominated is (Turn's Key) (Face Appears), The second Houseguest I have nominated is (Turns Key) (Face Appears), I have nominated you (HG #1 Name) and you (HG #2 Name). (HG #1 Name) (Reason as to why you nominated them), (HG #2 Name) (Reason as to why you nominated them). This Nomination Ceremony is adjourned/complete." - Big Brother 16 onwards

HOH 1: This is the nomination ceremony. It is our responsibility as the Heads of Household to each nominate two people for eviction. Based off a random draw, I will reveal my nominations first. The first houseguest I have nominated is (Turn's Key) (Face Appears), The second Houseguest I have nominated is (Turns Key) (Face Appears), I have nominated you (HG #1 Name) and you (HG #2 Name). (HG #1 Name) (Reason as to why you nominated them), (HG #2 Name) (Reason as to why you nominated them). HOH 2: The first houseguest I have nominated is (Turn's Key) (Face Appears), The second Houseguest I have nominated is (Turns Key) (Face Appears), I have nominated you (HG #1 Name) and you (HG #2 Name). (HG #1 Name) (Reason as to why you nominated them), (HG #2 Name) (Reason as to why you nominated them) This Nomination Ceremony is adjourned/complete." - Big Brother 1 (Battle of the Block Variant)

"This is the nomination ceremony. It is my duty as Head of Household to nominate two people for eviction. I will pull the first key/keycard, that person is safe. That person will pull the next key/keycard, so on and so forth. (Pulls Key/Keycard) (Safe Houseguest's Name), you are safe. (Repeated Until The Two Nominees Remain)  I have nominated you (HG #1 Name) and you (HG #2 Name). (HG #1 Name) (Reason as to why you nominated them), (HG #2 Name) (Reason as to why you nominated them). This Nomination Ceremony is adjourned/complete." - Big Brother 2

## Nomination Block

The Nomination Block is the chairs in the Living Room where the Nominees sit on Eviction Night and during the Power of Veto ceremony. Once the Nomination Ceremony is over, the houseguests without keys are considered on Nomination Block.

The Nomination Block is surrounded by couches on either side and has a head-on view of the television used to communicate with host Julie Chen. Houseguests on Nomination Block are ineligible to vote.

## The Backdoor

It is a popular strategy to place two houseguests in an opposing alliance to the Head of Household on Nomination Block. However, because both nominees get to play in the Veto, a popular strategy called "backdooring" places two "pawns" or "decoy nominations" on the block. The HOH does not want either of the nominees to go home. Instead, they are merely used as placeholders until after the Veto. This prevents a strong competitor from playing in the Veto, thus saving themselves. Instead, the Veto is guaranteed to be used and the HOH selects their true target as the replacement, thus leaving them defenseless.

## Trivia

* Jordan McDonough is the first person to successfully nominate themselves for eviction, via a twist.
* Bob Pancakes is currently the only houseguest to make it past Day 78 without ever being nominated.
* There has been a twist that allowed for there to be at least three or four people nominated before the Veto competition.
	+ Starting from *Big Brother 2*, if there was a third nominee active and they were Vetoed, there would be no replacement nominee, leaving only the HOH's original nominations on the block.
		- The reason being that the initial nomination was not done directly by a houseguest, but rather by America or a competition.
	+ Coincidentally, whenever there were three nominees on the block during eviction night, at least one nominee survived with no votes against them every single time. Meaning the vote was either #-#-0 or #-0-0. This has happened throughout every season with three nominees.
		- SBB2 is the first, and currently only, season to have had multiple separate twists that allow for a third nominee in one season. However, all were based upon the season's Temptation theme.