Cannes Lions scraps on-ground event, goes the digital route

Cannes Lions scraps on-ground event, goes the digital route

The annual festival will run as an online event from 21-25 June.

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NEW DELHI: Organisers of the annual gala celebrating the advertising, marketing, and communications network, Cannes Lions (International Festival of Creativity), have announced that the on-ground event will not be conducted in 2021. The prestigious affair will now run as an online event from 21-25 June. 

The decision to scrap the on-ground festival comes at a time when France is witnessing a rise in Covid2019 cases. With a new round of restrictions in place, the organisers of Cannes Lions decided to call off the physical event. 

"Over the last year, we’ve been consulting with our customers and working on our plans, including the development of Cannes Lions Live as part of the new Lions Membership platform. We are now able to move fully to this format for 2021 - which will have all the celebration, inspiration, and participation of Cannes Lions - to unite the global community virtually during Cannes Lions Live this June," said Lions chairman Philip Thomas. 

Lions managing director Simon Cook revealed that Cannes Lions Live will also signal the return of the Lions awards. 

"After the benchmark of the awards was paused last year, we want to be able to give our community the chance to immerse themselves in the creative work once again. We’ll be championing the work on a huge scale – tracking progress throughout the week, analysing the winners, delivering insights, identifying new talent – it’s the return of the benchmark and a moment for the industry to reflect but also look forward," added Cook. 

Further information regarding the Cannes Lions will be unveiled in the coming weeks. It is expected that all Lions members will get complimentary access to Cannes Lions as part of their membership. Annual Lions membership is priced at €249.