Ballon d'Or 2026: How to watch and live stream for FREE: Online streams, TV channels, date, start time

The 70th edition of the Ballon d'Or, arguably the most prestigious individual award that can be won by a soccer player, will be presented at the London Palladium on Monday October 26, this being the first time the annual award ceremony has taken place outside of Paris in a tribute to its inaugural winner Sir Stanley Matthews.

France Football's famous golden ball accolade, which was launched in 1956 and was first presented to a female player in 2018, has recognised many of the greatest players in the world. Ousmane Dembélé is hoping to retain the men's crown, an award won eight times by Lionel Messi and five times by Cristiano Ronaldo between 2008 and 2023. There will be a different winner of this year's Ballon d'Or Féminin, following in the footsteps of Aitana Bonmatí, who has won the prize in each of the past three years.

But how can you watch the ceremony live and for free? GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch the 2026 Ballon d'Or award ceremony.

When is the 2026 Ballon d'Or ceremony? Date, start time & live stream

Watch the Ballon d'Or ceremony on DAZNSign up for a FREE membership

In most countries around the world, streaming service DAZN will be broadcasting exclusive live coverage of the 2026 Ballon d'Or awards ceremony for free. In order to watch the ceremony, you just need to sign up for a free DAZN membership – you only need to provide your email address – or log into your existing account regardless of whether or not you have an ongoing subscription.

However, in a selected number of countries and territories, the Ballon d'Or ceremony is being screened by other, local platforms. GOAL takes you through where you can watch the ceremony in these countries – if your country is not listed in the table below, you should be able to watch the ceremony via DAZN.

This year's ceremony will be presented by Kate Scott and Thierry Henry. Former Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona and France striker Henry, who was the Ballon d'Or runner-up in 2003, co-presents live coverage of the UEFA Champions League alongside Scott on CBS Sports in the United States.

READ MORE: Ballon d'Or announces iconic venue and star-studded hosting duo for historic 70th-anniversary ceremony

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Who are the 2026 Ballon d'Or nominees?

GOAL takes you through the full list of nominees for each of the awards that will be presented at the Ballon d'Or ceremony below:

2026 Men's Ballon d'Or nominees

2026 Ballon d'Or Féminin nominees

2026 Kopa Trophy nominees

2026 Women's Kopa Trophy nominees

2026 Yashin Trophy nominees

2026 Women's Yashin Trophy nominees

2026 Men's Johan Cruyff Trophy nominees

2026 Women's Johan Cruyff Trophy nominees

2026 Men's Club of the Year nominees

2026 Women's Club of the Year nominees

Who are the bookmakers tipping to win the Ballon d'Or?

Among UK bookmaking firms, Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane is leading the betting to win the 2026 men's Ballon d'Or. As of Tuesday October 20, he is shortest priced at 1/2 among various bookmakers according to betting odds comparison website Oddschecker.

Next is Barcelona and Spain FIFA World Cup winner Lamine Yamal, last year's Ballon d'Or runner-up and the back-to-back Kopa Trophy award winner, who is as short as evens in some places.

Beyond the two bookmakers' favourites, Real Madrid and France's Kylian Mbappé is generally priced at 12/1, while Paris Saint-Germain and Georgia's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia can be found at 16/1.

Three previous Ballon d'Or winners in the men's shortlist are among those priced at shorter odds. Eight-time winner Lionel Messi is available at 16/1, last year's Golden Ball recipient Ousmane Dembélé can be found at 22/1, while 2024 winner Rodri's shortest price is 25/1.

Odds for the Ballon d'Or Féminin aren't as widely available as they are for the men's award, but according to US prediction market website Polymarket, the 2021 and 2022 winner Alexia Putellas – the Spain international who joined Women's Super League newcomers London City Lionesses this summer – is rated as an overwhelming 94% favourite to win the award as of Tuesday October 20.

The only other player ranked with a more than 1% chance of winning the Ballon d'Or Féminin is Barcelona and Poland's Ewa Pajor. Aitana Bonmatí, the winner of the Ballon d'Or Féminin in each of the last three years, is not on this year's shortlist.

Are Real Madrid boycotting this year's Ballon d'Or ceremony?

It is as yet unclear whether or not a delegation from Real Madrid will be in attendance at the London Palladium for the 2026 Ballon d'Or awards ceremony.

Los Blancos have made headlines by essentially boycotting the ceremony in each of the last two years, opting not to send a party to the 2024 ceremony after learning that the club's Brazil international forward Vinícius Júnior would miss out on the top prize to Spain captain Rodri, then of Manchester City and now of Barcelona.

Real Madrid also decided not to send representatives to Paris for last year's Ballon d'Or gala, in a move some media sources perceived as a protest against the voting system used by organisers France Football.

However, it appears as if the Madrid club may have changed its stance towards the award. Last month, the club posted a message to X (formerly Twitter) recognising that four of its men's players – Jude Bellingham, Marc Cucurella, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior – had been nominated for the men's Ballon d'Or prize.

READ MORE: A year after the boycott: Real Madrid changes its stance towards the Ballon d'Or

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Related links

• Ballon d'Or 2026 Power Rankings
• Ballon d'Or Feminin 2026 Power Rankings
• What is the Ballon d'Or trophy made of & what is it worth?