Ballon d'Or Turns 70 in London with Kane the Favourite

A 70th Birthday Under the Palladium Lights

The Ballon d'Or, created by France Football in 1956, reaches its 70th edition tonight — and for the first time the ceremony leaves Paris for London, staged at the London Palladium Theatre from 20:00 GMT / 21:00 CET on Monday 26 October.

The venue choice is a deliberate tribute to inaugural winner England's Stanley Matthews.

Thierry Henry and returning presenter Kate Scott will host an evening handing out men's and women's prizes for Ballon d'Or, Young Talent, Goalkeeper, Coach and Club of the Year, plus the Sócrates Award for solidarity initiatives, according to uefa.com.

Why Kane Leads the Race

Sky Sports reports that Harry Kane is the odds-on favourite to become the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001, and only the fifth English winner after Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen.

Per Sky Sports' tally, Kane scored an astonishing 73 goals for club and country last season — 61 for Bayern Munich, the most by a player in a season since Cristiano Ronaldo's 61 in 2014/15 — winning the Bundesliga and German Cup and taking the Golden Shoe, plus 12 England goals as the Three Lions took a World Cup bronze medal.

The Challengers: Yamal and Mbappé

Sky Sports frames this as one of the tightest races in years. Lamine Yamal, 19, is aiming to become the youngest-ever winner after helping Spain to World Cup glory, leading Europe's top-five leagues with 265 dribbles and 20 assists.

Kylian Mbappé, now second-favourite after a late betting surge per Sky Sports, won the World Cup Golden Boot with 10 goals — the most in a single edition since Gerd Müller in 1970 — and finished as LaLiga and Champions League top scorer.

Pundits including Jamie Carragher and Paul Merson back Kane, though Merson notes Yamal could win the award three to five times in years to come.

A Third Straight First-Time Winner

However the vote falls, football gets a fresh name on the trophy for a third consecutive year after decades of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominance, with Ousmane Dembélé and Aitana Bonmatí the 2025 winners, per Sky Sports and uefa.com.

uefa.com notes three former winners sit on the men's shortlist — record eight-time winner Messi, holder Dembélé and 2024 winner Rodri — while Alexia Putellas is the only previous champion among the women's nominees.

The ESPN live blog also flags contenders including Messi, Dembélé, Putellas, Ewa Pajor and Melchie Dumornay across the night's categories.

What to Watch as the Night Unfolds

The reference period spans 3 August 2025 to 19 July 2026, with Groupe Amaury retaining ownership and the independent voting system unchanged since UEFA joined as co-organiser in November 2023, uefa.com explains.

ESPN's live blog is tracking winners and reaction in real time as the game's brightest stars gather in London. For Kane, a victory on English soil would be poetic — Sky Sports notes he told Sky Sports News, 'It'd be incredible if I do.

It'd be special for sure. I'd love to win it, but we will have to wait and see.

A big night, but I'm not getting carried away.'

Sources

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