The 70th Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place in London today, October 26, marking a historic anniversary for one of football's most prestigious individual awards. The British capital will host the event for the first time, with Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane considered the leading contender for the men's trophy.
As reported by İdman.Biz, organizers have prepared a special programme celebrating the 70th anniversary of the award, established by French magazine France Football in 1956. Alongside the announcement of the world's best male and female footballers, winners in 11 additional award categories will be revealed.
### Historic ceremony and starting time
The celebrations will take place at London's famous Palladium theatre. The official ceremony is scheduled to begin at 23:59 Baku time on October 26.
However, the programme will get underway considerably earlier. At approximately 20:00 Baku time, the rankings of male and female players placed between 30th and 11th will begin to be announced. The red-carpet arrivals are scheduled from 22:00 to 23:40, while the awards presentation is expected to continue until around 02:00.
French football legend Thierry Henry and renowned sports presenter Kate Scott will host the anniversary ceremony. According to UEFA's official broadcaster list, Quest Media holds the broadcasting rights for the event in Azerbaijan.
The decision to stage the ceremony in London also carries symbolic significance, paying tribute to England's Stanley Matthews, the first Ballon d'Or winner in history.
Which awards will be presented?
The 2026 programme features 13 awards. In addition to the men's and women's Ballon d'Or trophies, the following honours will be presented:
- Kopa Trophy – awarded to the best young male and female footballers
- Yashin Trophy – awarded to the best male and female goalkeepers
- Gerd Müller Trophy – awarded to the best male and female strikers
- Johan Cruyff Trophy – awarded to the best coaches in men's and women's football
- Club of the Year – presented separately in men's and women's football
- Sócrates Award – recognising social, charitable and community initiatives in football
Thus, alongside the two main individual prizes, ten awards will be presented across five paired categories, together with the special Sócrates Award.
The ceremony is jointly organised by France Football and UEFA, which have collaborated on the awards since 2024.
The winners of the main individual prizes are determined by an international jury of sports journalists, with 100 experts voting in the men's category and 50 in the women's category.
Each journalist selects ten players from a shortlist of 30 nominees, with the trophy going to the player who receives the highest number of points. Individual performances are the primary consideration, followed by team achievements and fair play.
Who are the favourites for the 2026 Ballon d'Or?
Harry Kane is regarded as the leading contender for the men's award. According to bookmakers' predictions published ahead of the ceremony, the Bayern Munich striker is ahead of his closest rivals, Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal.
According to statistics company Opta, Kane enjoyed an outstanding 2025/26 season, scoring 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern across all competitions.
He helped the Munich club win the Bundesliga and German Cup, while also finishing as the league's top scorer with 36 goals. At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Kane scored six times as England reached the semi-finals.
Mbappé, meanwhile, scored 42 goals in 44 matches for Real Madrid and finished as the World Cup's leading scorer with ten goals. The French forward also topped the scoring charts in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
Another serious contender is 19-year-old Lamine Yamal. The Barcelona youngster registered 24 goals and 17 assists for his club before helping Spain win the World Cup in the summer.
That triumph on the international stage could prove a decisive factor in the voting.
Interestingly, predictions differ. While bookmakers favour Kane, AI-based analytics company Avisia considers Yamal the most likely winner.
Its model gives the Spanish teenager a 23% probability of victory, followed by Kane on 21%, while Mbappé and Rodri are both rated at 19%.
Eight-time winner Lionel Messi is also among the contenders. The Argentine, who plays for Inter Miami, reached the World Cup final with his national team during the summer.
Should he win, Messi would claim a record-extending ninth Ballon d'Or and further strengthen his position in football history.
A total of 30 players are competing for the men's award. The shortlist also includes Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior, Ousmane Dembélé, Rodri, Michael Olise and other leading stars of world football.
The women's competition also promises a closely contested race.
Among the leading candidates are Lyon's Melchie Dumornay, Barcelona's Ewa Pajor, Manchester City's Khadija Shaw and two-time winner Alexia Putellas.
The reigning Ballon d'Or holders are France's Ousmane Dembélé, who won the men's award in 2025, and Spain's Aitana Bonmatí, who claimed the women's trophy three consecutive times between 2023 and 2025.
Seventy years of history and the first winners
The history of the Ballon d'Or dates back to 1956, when France Football established the award to recognise Europe's best footballer.
England forward Stanley Matthews became its inaugural recipient, finishing ahead of legendary striker Alfredo Di Stéfano.
Initially, the award was restricted to European footballers. The rules changed in 1995, allowing players of any nationality competing for European clubs to be considered.
Liberia's George Weah became the first winner under the revised criteria. In 2007, all geographical restrictions were removed.
Since 2018, France Football has also presented a separate Ballon d'Or to the world's best female footballer. Norway's Ada Hegerberg became the inaugural winner.
Across seven decades, the award has been cancelled only once, in 2020, when organizers decided not to hold the vote because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ten most decorated Ballon d'Or winners
Lionel Messi remains the competition's all-time record holder with eight trophies. His closest challenger is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won the award five times.
The historical top ten ahead of the 2026 ceremony is as follows:
1. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 8 awards: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 5: 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
3–5. Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) – 3: 1971, 1973, 1974
3–5. Michel Platini (France) – 3: 1983, 1984, 1985
3–5. Marco van Basten (Netherlands) – 3: 1988, 1989, 1992
6–10. Alfredo Di Stéfano (Spain) – 2: 1957, 1959
6–10. Franz Beckenbauer (Germany) – 2: 1972, 1976
6–10. Kevin Keegan (England) – 2: 1978, 1979
6–10. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany) – 2: 1980, 1981
6–10. Ronaldo (Brazil) – 2: 1997, 2002
Players with the same number of trophies share the corresponding positions in the historical rankings.
The central question ahead of the anniversary ceremony is whether Harry Kane will claim the first Ballon d'Or of his career, Lamine Yamal will become one of the youngest winners in the award's history, or another contender will emerge victorious.
The answer will be revealed during the night of October 26–27, Baku time.
