The curtain will rise today at 9:00 PM for the Ballon d'Or ceremony, which will take place at the London Palladium. For the first time, the award will be presented in London, in a symbolic gesture to commemorate the winner of the first edition, held in 1956, the Englishman Sir Stanley Matthews.
Tonight, Monday 26 October, it will be revealed which footballer will win the most prestigious award in football, succeeding Ousmane Dembélé, who triumphed in the last edition. But this will not be the only award to be awarded. The ceremony will also present the Women's Ballon d'Or, which was won by Aitana Bonmatí a year ago, as well as the Kopa Trophies for the best young talents, the Yashin Trophies for goalkeepers and the Johan Cruyff Trophies for the best coaches.
Also, the Gerd Müller Award for top scorers, the Socrates Award for people who have distinguished themselves in football through social or humanitarian initiatives, as well as awards for the best men's and women's football clubs in the world, will be presented.
Time and program of the Ballon d'Or ceremony on television
The official Ballon d'Or ceremony will begin at 9:00 PM Albanian time, or 8:00 PM in London. However, the event will begin at 6:00 PM with the red carpet, where the protagonists of the evening and the famous football names who will be present at the London Palladium theater will parade.
The first half, according to the program, will end around 20:40. Then the official ceremony will begin, during which the awards will be presented. This is the most anticipated part of the evening, which will start around 21:00 and will be hosted by Kate Scott, together with the legend Thierry Henry.
The ceremony will last about two hours and will conclude with a press conference with all the winners. A list of 30 candidates has been compiled for the Ballon d'Or for men and women. Among the male footballers, the favorites are Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Harry Kane.
The latter is considered a candidate who could surprise and win the award thanks to the trophies won with Bayern Munich and his excellent performance in the World Cup held with England. However, there is no name that clearly stands out above the others, in one of the most uncertain editions in recent years. During the evening, a new award will also be awarded, the All-Time Ballon d'Or, where, of course, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are also among the candidates.
