Cannes Lions postponed due to coronavirus outbreak

Cannes Lions has been postponed until October as the coronavirus outbreak continues to worsen.

Usually held in Cannes in June, this year’s event will move to 26-30 October. It comes as France goes into a strict 15-day lockdown that stops people leaving their homes unless for work or to buy food.

“The global situation is dynamic and changing rapidly, we felt it was critical to provide visibility on June as soon as possible,” says Cannes Lions chairman Philip Thomas. “We will continue to liaise closely with our customers as we develop our plans.”

The decision to postpone follows deliberations between Cannes Lions and its partners, as well as consultation with public health officials, the French authorities and the mayoral office of Cannes. All passes, sponsorship arrangements and bookings will remain valid for the new date. The awards will now take place during the new festival dates.

Cannes Lions managing director Simon Cook says: “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.”

Cannes Lions is the latest ad industry event to be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Advertising Week Europe, which should have been taking place this week, has been pushed back to September, while SXSW was cancelled. Events including the Adobe Summit and Facebook f8 have been set up as digital events.

Marketing Week’s parent company Xeim runs the Festival of Marketing, which will be taking place on 7 – 8 October at Tobacco Dock in London.