The Ballon d'Or 2026 ceremony has been delayed by 30 minutes, adding to a chaotic build-up for event organisers. The event at the London Palladium was due to start at 8pm GMT but will now begin at 8:30pm, with the delay attributed to traffic in the area.
Website Leak Causes Confusion
In the hours before the ceremony, the official Ballon d'Or website seemingly leaked the results of the award. An article declared Harry Kane as the winner, detailing his stats from last season and the breakdown of his performances. However, similar articles naming Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe as victors were also published.
All three articles were quickly deleted. It remains unclear whether all three were released at the same time, or if the actual winner was announced by mistake and the other two were published to cover for that error.
First London Hosting
This is the first time in the Ballon d'Or's 70-year history that the ceremony has been hosted in London. Organisers moved it from Paris to mark the 70-year anniversary of Stanley Matthews winning the first ever Ballon d'Or.
Kane remains the favourite to win the award and become the first English winner since Michael Owen in 2001. Mbappe and Yamal are his chief challengers, with Mbappe the top scorer at the World Cup and in the Champions League, while Yamal won the World Cup with Spain and lifted the La Liga title.
