Ballon d'Or 2026: Ceremony Time by Time Zone on Monday, Oct. 26, and Both Nominee Lists

The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony is Monday, Oct. 26, at the London Palladium Theatre, starting at 20:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is 4 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), according to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). UEFA calls it the first Ballon d’Or ceremony staged in London. Below: the start time in 13 cities, both full nominee lists, the award categories, and a free one-page ballot for your own picks.

What time is the Ballon d’Or in 2026?

UEFA says the ceremony will commence at 20:00 GMT, or 21:00 Central European Time (CET). The times below are our conversion from that start, not an official schedule. UEFA has not published a red carpet time in the sources we used.

City	Local start	Time zone
London	8 p.m.	GMT
Paris, Madrid, Berlin	9 p.m.	CET
New York	4 p.m.	Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
Chicago	3 p.m.	Central Daylight Time (CDT)
Denver	2 p.m.	Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)
Los Angeles	1 p.m.	Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
Honolulu	10 a.m.	Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST)
São Paulo	5 p.m.	Brasília Time (BRT), 3 hours behind GMT
Lagos	9 p.m.	West Africa Time (WAT)
Tokyo	5 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27	Japan Standard Time (JST)
Sydney	7 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27	Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT)

Why is the gap with Europe one hour shorter this week?

Europe left summer time on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, and the United States ends daylight saving time on Nov. 1. For one week New York is 4 hours behind London instead of the usual 5, which is why a 20:00 GMT start lands at 4 p.m. ET and not 3 p.m. Our story on the UK and Europe clock change has the full time difference table.

Who are the Ballon d’Or 2026 nominees?

UEFA announced the nominees on Sept. 8, 2026: 30 men and 30 women. The lists below follow UEFA’s announcement, men’s on the left and women’s on the right. Names on the same row are not paired in any way.

Men’s nominees (30)	Women’s nominees (30)
Jude Bellingham	Selma Bacha
Pau Cubarsí	Barbra Banda
Marc Cucurella	Klara Bühl
Ousmane Dembélé	Esmee Brugts
Luis Díaz	Mariona Caldentey
Bruno Fernandes	Scarlett Camberos
Gabriel	Kerstin Casparij
Erling Haaland	Temwa Chawinga
Achraf Hakimi	Cata Coll
Harry Kane	Melchie Dumornay
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia	Caroline Graham Hansen
Lamine Yamal	Alex Greenwood
Sadio Mané	Patri Guijarro
Marquinhos	Pernille Harder
Lautaro Martínez	Yui Hasegawa
Kylian Mbappé	Rose Lavelle
Nuno Mendes	Mapi León
Lionel Messi	Lorena
João Neves	Melvine Malard
Michael Olise	Manaka Matsukubo
Willian Pacho	Vivianne Miedema
Julián Quiñones	Ewa Pajor
Declan Rice	Clàudia Pina
Rodri	Alexia Putellas
Fabián Ruiz	Wendie Renard
William Saliba	Alessia Russo
Ferran Torres	Khadija Shaw
Dayot Upamecano	Momoko Tanikawa
Vinícius Júnior	Caroline Weir
Vitinha	Tessa Wullaert

Which awards are presented?

UEFA lists these categories: the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or; the men’s and women’s young talent of the season; goalkeeper of the season; the men’s and women’s coach of the season; the men’s and women’s club of the season; goalscorer of the season; and the Sócrates Prize. The winners are not known yet, and this story does not predict them.

Where can you watch the Ballon d’Or in the U.S.?

UEFA says partners in Europe and across the globe are broadcasting the ceremony, and it names no U.S. broadcaster. Dazn says it will make the ceremony available free to fans in 200 markets globally. Its release does not list the United States, so check Dazn in your country. Hosts are not confirmed in the sources we used.

How does it compare with last year?

In 2025, the 69th Ballon d’Or ceremony took place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Monday, Sept. 22, and began at 21:00 Paris time, UEFA said. Counting from that edition, 2026 is the 70th. The ceremony moves from September to late October and from Paris to London.

Free Ballon d’Or 2026 nominees checklist

Our printable puts a man and a woman nominee on each row, with a box to tick, and the start time at the top. Mark the evening on your October 2026 printable calendar, or block the hours in a printable weekly calendar. Other events on the same week are in our World Series 2026 schedule and college football playoff rankings dates stories.