London Set to Host Glamorous Ballon d’Or Ceremony for First Time

The Amaury Group and UEFA have officially announced that London will serve as the host city for the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony.

Scheduled to take place on Monday, October 26, 2026, the event marks the very first time in the 70-year history of the prestigious football accolade that the gala will be staged in the United Kingdom, shifting its traditional venue away from Paris to the British capital.

The selection of London for this year's edition carries profound historical significance for the global game.

The 2026 gala will serve as an official tribute to legendary English footballer Sir Stanley Matthews, who was crowned the inaugural winner of the Ballon d’Or exactly 70 years ago in 1956.

Matthews, who famously excelled for Blackpool and Stoke City, secured the maiden award ahead of Alfredo Di Stéfano and Raymond Kopa, establishing a legacy that organizers intend to celebrate prominently throughout the international broadcast.

The administrative and geographical shift introduces a fresh dynamic to the football calendar, positioning London at the absolute epicenter of the sport's administrative awards landscape this autumn.

The criteria for the 2026 awards will continue to evaluate individual performance, collective achievements, and tracking metrics across the 2025/26 European football season, rather than the calendar year.

With the ceremony locked in for late October, global voting panels consisting of specialized journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations are expected to finalize their ballots following the conclusion of major international summer tournaments.