The Cannes Lions festival of creativity said on Wednesday that its 2021 edition would go virtual after the 2020 edition was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s event in the south of France, set to take place June 21-June 25, will “run as a fully digital experience,” organizers said.
“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,” said Lions chairman Philip Thomas. “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.”
Added managing director Simon Cook: “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, analyzing 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.”
Lions Membership, which launches in May, vows to be “the world’s largest creative network of people and businesses to drive professional, personal and societal progress through creativity.” All members get complimentary access to Cannes Lions Live as part of their membership. All Lion winners, past and present, will be gifted complimentary membership.
The talent lineup for this year’s Cannes Lions will be unveiled over the coming weeks.
