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The Cannes Lions festival of creativity is the latest victim of the Chinese virus pandemic.
The Cannes Lions festival of creativity is the latest victim of the Chinese virus pandemic. The event is now postponed from June 22-26 to the previously announced contingency dates of Oct. 26-30, the organizers said on Wednesday.
The decision was arrived at after consultation with public health officials, the Cannes mayoral office, French authorities and festival partners.
Speakers announced for the June festival dates included Claudine Cheever, global head of branding and advertising at Amazon; Jean Tanis, global marketing creative lead at Netflix; and Kathleen Hall, corporate vice president of brand, advertising and research at Microsoft.
“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,” said Philip Thomas, chair, Cannes Lions.
Simon Cook, managing director, Cannes Lions, added: “Our community is facing unprecedented challenges and collaboration has never been more important. We are focused now on planning the festival – and our beating heart, the Lions – to ensure our community is able to recognize the extraordinary work it contributes to business, organizations and society.”
Cannes Lions is an annual celebration of commercials, marketing and creativity that attracts some 15,000 visitors.
Earlier this month, Reed Midem canceled international TV showcase MipTV due to coronavirus concerns.
France is currently under lockdown in response to the pandemic. There are 7,652 confirmed cases with 148 deaths.
The fate of the Cannes Film Festival will be decided mid-April.
