Ballon d’Or organisers revealed on Saturday that star US rapper French Montana and English singer Jorja Smith would perform at this year’s ceremony, part of efforts to draw more viewers to the awards event.
Last year saw Canadian singer Charlotte Cardin do her best to lift the somewhat stiff atmosphere at the prize giving in Paris as she performed her hit “Feel Good” in front of a motionless crowd of suited footballers and VIPs at a theatre.
The most prestigious individual award in football will be handed out in London next Monday, with Kylian Mbappe, Spanish pair Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres, PSG duo Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Harry Kane all seen as frontrunners.
It is the first time the Ballon d’Or ceremony, now in its 70th edition, will be hosted in Britain.
French Montana has over 30 million monthly listeners on Spotify, mixing Moroccan influences, trap, afrobeat and New York hip hop culture.
He has collaborated on hits with Drake, Cardi B and Swae Lee, with whom he made the 2017 track “Unforgettable”, which has racked up 1.9 billion views on YouTube.
English singer-songwriter Jorja Smith mixes RnB, soul and jazz influences, drawing on her Jamaican heritage and her classical music training.
Her career took off 10 years ago with “Blue Lights”, followed by other tracks ranging from intimate to more danceable.
In addition to their “exclusive performances” during the evening, “other surprises are planned”, the Groupe L’Equipe, which organises the ceremony, said in a statement sent to AFP.
The group owns the magazine France Football, which has been awarding the Ballon d’Or since 1956.
It is based on voting by a jury of journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.
In 2025, the top male player prize was awarded to France’s Ousmane Dembele and the women’s to Spain’s Aitana Bonmati.
The ceremony will be broadcast on sports streaming website DAZN, and the L’Equipe TV channel in France.
It will be hosted by former France and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, and sports journalist Kate Scott.
In 2022, tenor Andrea Bocelli was chosen to open the ceremony.
After last year’s event, Quebec-born Cardin revealed that she had felt uneasy, explaining that she had been through a “moment of great solitude” when she performed alone with limited lighting and stage effects.
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