Cannes Lions postpones Festival of Creativity to October 2020

The festival was originally scheduled to take place from 22-26 June but alternative dates were arranged as the COVID - 19 crisis deepened.

The festival, which is the premier event of the creative communications industry, will now host its famed Festival of Creativity from 26 - 30 October 2020.

France has ordered a 15-day lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus which has killed over 148 people and infected over 6,000. The lockdown came into effect from midnight Tuesday (17^th March, 2020).

In a press statement, the organizers said that the decision was taken after consultation with public health officials, the mayoral office of Cannes, and the French authorities.

They said, “We acknowledge the challenging circumstances facing us all as a community - we have and continue to be in deep consultation with many of our customers and partners as we adopt our contingency plans. The health, safety and wellbeing of our customers, employees, sponsors and partners remains our first priority.”

They also said that they’re monitoring the rapidly changing developments associated with the virus’ outbreak. While they have sound mitigation plans, they will continue to monitor the situation carefully and engage with customers to ensure they recognize the best of creativity in 2020.

Philip Thomas, Chairman, Cannes Lions said, “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.”

According to Simon Cook, Managing Director, Cannes Lions, “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.”