Julian Boulding's Cannes Lions Review 2024

Cannes has changed. The Festival, not the city, which has not changed at all for the last 50 years.

Previously we complained that the Lions organisation, Ascential, had become all-powerful, all controlling. The Million Dollar beaches, the $100K cabanas, the $20K fee to be a fringe sponsor. The infamous year when the Lions announced plans to allow only their official badge-wearing delegates to enter the Carlton Hotel, until some of the regular guests complained.

Suddenly, this year, everything was different.

It felt a little like the collapse of the Soviet Union. Was it ever really there? That marathon nine-day festival, starting on Saturday morning with Healthcare talks and ending in the small hours of the following Sunday, after the Film Lions were distributed and everyone ended up in the Gutter Bar until the refuse collectors arrived at dawn?

Today, Cannes works to an efficient, American schedule. If you plan to go next year, you need to know this.

All the main action now happens between Monday afternoon (when the Europeans arrive) and Wednesday night (when the Americans leave). This allows two days at the start – Saturday and Sunday – to build all the vanity structures on the beaches; and two days at the end to carefully de-rig, without looking like a hurricane had passed through the town (the Mayor didn’t like that).

So, Monday afternoon through Wednesday night is a whirlwind of activity. It’s like fast-forwarding through SXSW or CES, with fleeting impressions of conversations enjoyed, talks heard, media deals struck, and parties visited.

The smart crowd arrives on Saturday when the bars are chilled, and you can still get a table at a pavement café without booking in advance. Monday morning is when the most interesting conversations happen. Tuesday and Wednesday are a blur (so take notes!). Thursday is for catching up with all the people who you have discovered are staying until Thursday. Friday is for diehards, although you can get a seat to listen to Jacques Seguela, Maria Ressa and Gut (not at the same time), without queuing for an hour or paying an extra €1000 for a line-skipping pass.

The Palais des Festivals is still a focal point, but no longer the focal point (except for the awards, if you think your agency might have won a Gold Lion).

There are equally interesting talks on the tech companies’ and media owners’ beaches: Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, the WSJ House. And if talks and seminars aren’t your thing, there’s music at the Spotify beach and sport at the Stagwell beach. And arguably, even more interesting discussions at the fringe venues – LBB Beach, the Inkwell beach, The Empower café… even the Dutch Embassy of Creativity.

This year, there were one thousand, two hundred and thirty-seven “Fringe Events and Parties” listed on the infamous Ben’s party list. The eponymous Ben estimates only around 10% of people participating in “Cannes” are official paying delegates – and the few that are, are often subsidised attendees, or groups with free passes.

The change has happened.

Breakfast with a Prince

It’s not every day, you can have breakfast with a real live member of a royal family. But I did.

One evening around six o’clock.... to read more please follow this link here.