Ballon d'Or 2026: London Ceremony Begins With Kane Among Favourites

The 70th Ballon d'Or brings the awards ceremony to the London Palladium on October 26. The men's and women's honours cover the 2025-2026 season, according to Adda247 Current Affairs.

The men's contest has several prominent contenders rather than an agreed winner. France24 identified Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane as leading candidates to succeed Ousmane Dembélé.

On October 23, CNN Brasil reported that the ceremony would begin on Monday, October 26, at 17:00 Brasília time at the London Palladium Theatre.

By October 25, attention was turning to the nominees. La Nacion reported that Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez were among the 30 men's candidates, while judging Messi the more plausible winner of the two.

On October 26, Sky Sports described Kane as the odds-on favourite, while suggesting the result could be one of the tightest in recent history. That was a betting assessment, not an announced result.

The first rankings then began appearing. L'Équipe reported that William Saliba finished 29th and Dayot Upamecano 26th in the men's award. Franceinfo also reported Wendie Renard in 14th place in the women's standings.

Later in the supplied live updates, La Nacion placed Vitinha 14th and Achraf Hakimi 13th in the men's ranking, with the top ten still to come.

The ceremony is under way, but neither main winner has been identified in the supplied coverage. Franceinfo described the identity of Dembélé's successor as wholly uncertain, with Mbappé, Yamal and Kane among the favourites.

Messi remains part of the discussion too. The Times of India linked his candidacy at 39 to his World Cup performances. The available reports do not establish a final order among the leading contenders.

The next substantive development is the release of the remaining rankings and the announcement of the men's and women's winners. Al Jazeera is carrying live coverage of the awards and reactions.

The men's result will settle whether Kane's status as betting favourite translates into the trophy. Until that announcement, predictions should remain separate from the confirmed placings.