When is the Ballon d'Or 2025? Date, time of ceremony and when nominees are announced

The annual Ballon d'Or ceremony always brings with it intrigue and excitement, but there seems to be even greater levels of anticipation in 2025 as France Football gears up to announce the world's best footballers from the past year.

In the post-Messi and Ronaldo era, the field of contenders has been thrown wide open. Fans have become accustomed to a level of expectation in the lead up to the Ballon d'Or ceremony, with the eventual winner often a foregone conclusion.

That has not been the case in the past two years, with Rodri's win in 2024 coming as a significant surprise. The same is true for 2025, where the competition for the trophy seems very close. There are two main frontrunners in Ousmane Dembele and Raphinha, but it's far from a two-horse race.

The Sporting News has all the details on the coming award ceremony.

MORE: Who will win the 2025 Ballon d'Or? Power ranking the top candidates

When is the Ballon d'Or 2025? Date, time of ceremony

The 2025 Ballon d'Or will be awarded at a ceremony on Monday, September 22 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France.

A start time for the ceremony has not yet been announced, but it usually takes place at around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. Central European time, which would be 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

When are 2025 Ballon d'Or nominees announced?

The 2025 Ballon d'Or nominees have already been chosen by the France Football committee, who met at the Hotel de Crillon in Paris.

The names in the running for all the prizes on offer at the gala, including the Ballon d'Or awards for men and women, will be announced on August 7. France Football has this year chosen to reveal the nominees for each award at a particular time:

• 12:30 p.m.: Women's Kopa Trophy
• 12:45 p.m.: Men's Kopa Trophy
• 1 p.m.: Women's Yashin Trophy
• 1:15 p.m.: Men's Yashin Trophy
• 1:30 p.m.: Women's Cruyff Trophy
• 1:45 p.m.: Men's Cruyff Trophy
• 2 p.m.: Best women's club
• 2:15 p.m.: Best men's club
• 3 p.m.: Women's Ballon d'Or
• 3:15 p.m.: Men's Ballon d'Or

All times are CET, which is +6hrs from ET

Frontrunners for the men's prize include Ousmane Dembele, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Mohamed Salah, and Kylian Mbappe. All five of those players had exceptional seasons at the biggest European clubs.