When is the Ballon d'Or 2024 ceremony?

Excitement for the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony continues to build with the nominees for a host of awards having been revealed in early September.

With 2023 victor Lionel Messi and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo omitted from the Ballon d'Or shortlist, a fresh face is set to scoop the award in 2024. There could also be new winners of the Kopa Trophy and Yashin Trophy, awarded to the best young player and goalkeeper respectively.

Of course, there is also the Ballon d'Or Feminin to be handed out at the upcoming ceremony. Aitana Bonmati claimed the prize for the first time last year and will face competition from her Barcelona teammates as she looks for back-to-back triumphs.

Here is everything you need to know about the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony.

The 2024 Ballon d'Or is the 68th edition, with the first award being handed out in 1956. This year's ceremony will take place on Monday 28 October at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris - the same venue that has hosted the award since 2019.

Timings have been confirmed by UEFA and France Football, who are co-hosts for October's event, with the ceremony kicking off at 20:00 CEST, 19:00 GMT and 14:00 ET in the United States.

The ceremony will be hosted by French-British journalist Sandy Heribert and former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. They hosted last year's event as well.

How to watch the 2024 Ballon dOr ceremony?

Those interested in watching the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony are in luck, with the event streamed for free on the L'Equipe YouTube channel. Those in the United Kingdom will also be able to tune in for free on BBC red button.

This year, TNT Sports and discovery+ will also be showing the event, but viewers will need a paid subscription to access the ceremony.

Rodri is among the favourites for the award / Crystal Pix/MB Media/GettyImages

The 30-man shortlist for the men's Ballon d'Or was released on 4 September, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo missing out on a nomination. That's the first time that the duo have both been omitted since 2003.

The absence of Messi and Ronaldo means that 2024 will see a new winner, with no former champions making up the shortlist - that includes Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, who are the only two players to break the recent duopoly over the award.

Manchester City and Real Madrid players dominate, with no player outside of Europe's top five leagues featuring.

2024 Ballon d'Or Feminin nominees

Lucy Bronze is one of several English nominees / Ryan Pierse/GettyImages

The Ballon d'Or Femenin has only been awarded since 2018 but three of the four past winners have been nominated once again in 2024. Bonmati is the current holder and among the favourites to claim this year's accolade.

Bonmati's Barcelona teammate and compatriot Alexia Putellas is a two-time winner and appears on the 30-woman shortlist. She's joined by Lyon and Norway striker Ada Hegerberg, the inaugural winner of the award.

Voting is rather simple for the 2024 Ballon d'Or. No players or coaches are involved, with 100 journalists from FIFA's 100 highest-ranked countries casting votes. All of FIFA's member associations were represented before 2022 when the voting system changed. Those journalists previously picked their top five but now pick their top ten. Different points are awarded for each placing within the top ten.

The player who accumulates the most points from the votes is the winner of the Ballon d'Or, with Messi gathering 462 points to win his eighth award in 2023. He finished ahead of Man City forward Erling Haaland, who managed 357 points.

In the unlikely event of a tie, the player who accumulates the most first-place votes will win the award.

Multiple men's Ballon d'Or winners

While there will be a new victor in 2024, there are plenty that have won the award on multiple occasions in the past. Messi and Ronaldo have a combined 13 titles between them, while Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten have all won three each.

The first ever Ballon d'Or award was handed out in 1956 and claimed by Blackpool's Stanley Matthews. Up until 1995, only European players could claim the prize - hence why Diego Maradona and Pele never won the accolade - but when eligibility rules were altered, it was Liberia's George Weah who was the first non-European to triumph.

Multiple Ballon d'Or Feminin winners

With the Ballon d'Or Feminin still in its infancy, only one player has won the award multiple times. That's Barcelona midfielder Putellas, who is also nominated in 2024 having won back-to-back awards in 2021 and 2022. Bonmati may well match her compatriot's Ballon d'Or Feminin haul at the 2024 ceremony.

The Ballon d'Or Feminin only began in 2018 and Hegerberg was the first to claim it, with the Lyon and Norway striker also nominated in 2024. Megan Rapinoe won in 2019 and became the first and only non-European to win the prize.

2024 Ballon d'Or favourites

Bellingham is among the front-runners / Diego Souto/GettyImages

Vinicius Junior is one of the big favourites, with the Brazilian superstar having shone for Real Madrid last term. He scored in the Champions League final victory over Borussia Dortmund and produced 24 goals and 11 assists in all competitions for the La Liga champions.

His teammate Jude Bellingham is also knocking on the door after an exceptional debut season with Real Madrid, but a relatively slow end to the season on the output front might work against him after he opened the campaign in remarkable form. Still, he won the club's and La Liga's Player of the Season award and was instrumental in an underwhelming England side reaching the final of Euro 2024 over the summer. Bellingham's overhead kick at the last to take a round of 16 tie against Slovakia to extra time will live long in the memory.

Two Spanish Euro 2024 winners are also in the mix. One of those is Madrid's Dani Carvajal, with the right-back also scoring in last season's Champions League final at Wembley Stadium. The other is Rodri, who was instrumental in Manchester City securing another Premier League title, while also winning Euro 2024's Player of the Tournament.

The City midfielder is expected to make the podium at the 2024 ceremony.

Bonmati is aiming for another triumph / Eric Alonso/GettyImages

2023 champion Bonmati is the strong favourite to claim a second successive award. The Barcelona midfielder scored in the Champions League final as the Catalan giants beat Lyon. She also netted 18 other goals as Barca did the treble, while being named the MVP for the UEFA Nations League as Spain came out victorious.

Bonmati's Barca teammates are also among the nominees. In fact, Barca boast eight nominees who currently play for them or donned their jersey during the 2023/24 season. Among them, Salma Paralluelo, Caroline Graham Hansen and Mariona Caldentey (now of Arsenal) are likely to receive significant votes.

2024 Kopa Trophy favourites

Yamal is among the Kopa Trophy nominees / Quality Sport Images/GettyImages

There are just ten nominees for the Kopa Trophy, named after 1958 Ballon d'Or winner Raymond Kopa and won by the best men's player under the age of 21.

From the Premier League, Man City summer signing Savinho and Manchester United duo Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo have a chance of winning. RB Salzburg's Karim Konate is the only player currently outside of the top five European leagues to be nominated, although Joao Neves, now of Paris Saint-Germain, did feature for Benfica last term.

However, it feels inevitable Barcelona wonderkid and Euro 2024 star Lamine Yamal will win the award. He enjoyed an immense breakout season with La Blaugrana and won the Young Player of the Tournament at the Euros, as well as scoring the Goal of the Tournament for champions Spain.

Have we ever seen a 17-year-old perform at the level Yamal is week in, week out? A Kopa Trophy in 2024 will be the start of an honours-laden career and there's no doubt he'll be competing for the Ballon d'Or in no time at all.

Martinez is the holder of the Yashin Trophy / Michael Regan/GettyImages

The Yashin Trophy has only been around since 2019 and, with 2020's ceremony cancelled, has only seen four previous winners. They are Alisson, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Thibaut Courtois and, most recently, Emiliano Martinez.

The Argentine is nominated for the prize again but faces stiff competition to retain his crown. Donnarumma is the only past champion who can steal it from him with Alisson and Courtois enduring injury-hit 2023/24 campaigns.

The likes of Mike Maignan, Gregor Kobel and new Liverpool recruit Giorgi Mamardashvili have also been named among the nominees.

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