Ballon d’Or ceremony delayed 30 minutes by London traffic

Red carpet hold-up pushes back start time

The Ballon d’Or ceremony in London has been delayed by 30 minutes due to traffic issues in central London.

Ballon d’Or ceremony at the London Palladium

The most prestigious individual prize in world football is being held at the London Palladium tonight. With masses of fans and a huge crowd in and around the surrounding area, guests have faced delays to the red carpet.

As a result the ceremony, presented by Kate Scott and Thierry Henry, has been delayed from 8pm BST to 8:30pm BST. Reporters on site said online that the delay is due to heavy traffic in London. The winner is expected to be announced around 10pm.

England captain Harry Kane is the favourite to win. The ceremony is taking place in London for the 70th anniversary of the award, a move reported on 25 October 2026 as a tribute to Stanley Matthews, the first Ballon d’Or winner who received the prize in Blackpool town hall in 1956, with his family attending the ceremony.

At the time of the FotMob snapshot on 26 October 2026 13:26:38, Kane had 7 appearances, 4 goals and 5 assists for Bayern München in the Bundesliga 2026-27.