UEFA has confirmed that the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony will be held in London on October 26, taking the sport's most famous individual prize to English soil for the first time in its history. The 70th edition of the gala will be staged in the British capital under the joint banner of UEFA and France Football.
The announcement gives the award its clearest date and place for next year: 2026-10-26, in a city that has never before hosted the ceremony. UEFA and France Football said the venue was chosen to mark the anniversary of the prize and to honour Sir Stanley Matthews, who won the inaugural Ballon d'Or 70 years ago.
The London decision lands at a moment when the men's and women's races are already drawing attention, even if the shortlists are still to come. Ousmane Dembele is the current men's holder, while Aitana Bonmati will defend the women's prize after another season in which the trophy remained one of the sport's defining markers of status.
There is also an early sense of who will shape the conversation when the nominations arrive. Harry Kane scored 61 goals and supplied seven assists in 51 appearances for Bayern Munich across all competitions, while adding the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and the European Golden Shoe to his season. Lamine Yamal, last year’s runner-up, finished with 24 goals and 18 assists in 45 appearances for Barcelona and won La Liga. Lionel Messi remains the most decorated player in Ballon d'Or history with eight titles.
The move to London is a departure from the award’s long association with Paris, where the ceremony has been closely identified for decades. It also underlines the third year of the strategic partnership between UEFA and Group Amaury, which began in 2024 and has seen the two sides co-organise the gala since then. The London edition is expected to be the most watched in the event’s history, a sign of how far the ceremony has grown beyond the simple naming of a winner.
What has not yet been announced is the shortlist for the Men’s Ballon d'Or, Women’s Ballon d'Or, Kopa Trophy and Yashin Trophy, leaving the field open for the next wave of debate. For now, the only certainty is the setting: on October 26, the 70th Ballon d'Or will be held in London for the first time, and the sport will measure its biggest individual prize in a city that has long been part of football’s story but never before the award’s stage.
