Like other major industry tentpole events in 2020, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity was delayed, then ultimately canceled, with the best work of the 2020 season going undecorated. On Monday, June 21, the bestowing of the Lions will resume with the return of the festival, albeit in virtual form.
Though winners won’t be walking up the steps of the Palais des Festivals on the Croisette every night, there will be an awards ceremony each day, from Monday, June 21, through Friday, June 25. Covering the festival’s 28 categories, each will be 90 minutes long, viewable on the Lions Live Platform, streaming live from 12:00 p.m. to 13:30 p.m. BST/7:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. EST and also available immediately afterward.
This year, the juries will be judging and awarding work submitted for both the 2020 and 2021 seasons together. They will be awarding one Grand Prix for each category—in the past, judges have at times awarded multiple top honors in single categories, such as Film or Cyber. They will, however, have an option to award a single Grand Prix for each of the 2020 and 2021 eligibility periods.
Schedule of announcements:
Monday: Outdoor. Health and Wellness, Design, Pharma, Print and Publishing, Lions Health Grand Prix for Good
Tuesday: Social and Influencer, Media, PR, Direct, Creative Strategy, Creative Data
Wednesday: Film Craft, Industry Craft, Digital Craft, Entertainment Lions (General, Sport and Music)
Thursday: Mobile, Radio and Audio, Creative Business Transformation, Creative eCommerce, Brand Experience and Activation, Innovation, Creative Effectiveness
Friday: Film, Grand Prix for Good, Glass, Titanium, Sustainable Development Goals
Following each show, Cannes will be hosting one-hour “Debrief” specials from around the world for each Lions category. Each will take a deeper dive on the winners in chats with the jury presidents, jury members and the winners along with data analysis.
Cannes Lions will also be examining what’s going on more broadly in the creative world in a daily discussion. Viewers will be able to participate by submitting questions. Each day will close with a wrap-up highlighting the 10 biggest stories of the festival during that period.
Though most will be experiencing the events on screen, a select few in the States will be able to celebrate at an in-person event in New York City hosted by MediaLink at the Whitney Museum on Tuesday, June 22. The event starts at 1 p.m. ET. Partner programming themed around “The Business of Creativity” will then run from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. featuring both virtual and live content. Speakers will include Kate Jhaveri, CMO of the National Basketball Association; Steve Stoute, CEO and founder of Translation and United Masters, Goldman Sachs CMO Fiona Carter and Jason Horowitz, senior VP-marketing at Mattel.
The MediaLink Cannes event has become known for its high-profile celebrity performances at the Hotel du Caps in Antibes, France, co-hosted with iHeartMedia. The companies will try to bring a bit of that excitement back this year, with a performance by the Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl, beginning at 5 p.m.
