London traffic can cause issues on any day but unfortunately for the Ballon d’Or organisers, they chose to hold a major event just a stone’s throw from Oxford Street on the same day the famous shopping area was made traffic-free.
That, coupled with large crowds at the event entrance, meant significant numbers of guests were delayed and the start had to be pushed back by 45 minutes.
Once it did get under way, a rowdy and boisterous audience sat through a ceremony that lasted nearly two and a half hours. On a number of occasions, hosts Kate Scott and Thierry Henry had to briefly pause proceedings while people shouted the names of players in the audience and there were several instances of booing during commercial breaks.
After Kane and Alexia Putellas had been crowned the winners in the two main categories, they then spoke to the world’s media in separate press conferences.
Journalists were able to put questions to Putellas but only men were selected to ask Kane a question, with several female journalists having their attempts seemingly ignored.
The Ballon d’Or team has since apologised.