Cannes Lions postponed to October in wake of Coronavirus outbreak

• The 2020 Festival will now take place from 26 to 30 October.
• The deadline and eligibility dates to be extended; the organising team is currently finalising their plans around this.

Cannes Lions announces today that the annual Festival of Creativity will not take place in June as previously planned. It will now take place from 26 to 30 October.

The statement released on its blog read,“We have worked with the City of Cannes to ensure that the move from June to October will be a smooth transition for everyone. All passes, sponsorship arrangements and bookings will roll over and remain valid. We recognise that this is a difficult time for the entire community and we will remain in deep consultation with our customers and partners as we continue to plan for the Festival and prepare for the Lions.”

It further said, “It is our commitment to recognise the extraordinary spread of international creative work and its contribution to the development of people, business and society.”

Philip Thomas, Chairman, Cannes Lions, commented, “The global situation is dynamic and changing rapidly, we felt it was critical to provide visibility on June as soon as possible. We will continue to liaise closely with our customers as we develop our plans.”

Simon Cook, Managing Director, Cannes Lions, added: “Our community is facing unprecedented challenges and collaboration has never been more important. We are focussed now on planning the festival – and our beating heart, the Lions – to ensure our community is able to recognise the extraordinary work it contributes to business, organisations and society.”