Cannes Lions: How Does the Festival of Creativity Work?
Talks, award ceremonies, meetings and receptions: how a professional week on the Croisette actually works.
Last updated 5 October 2026 · 5 min read
Cannes Lions, the international festival of creativity, brings together professionals from communication, brands, media and technology every June at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes. In 2027 it takes place from Monday 21 to Friday 25 June. It is organised by LIONS, owned by the Informa group. You attend with a pass, sold by the organiser, named and non-resellable; several levels of pass coexist. The festival combines talks, Lions award ceremonies, themed forums and, all around, a week of meetings, lunches and receptions on the beaches, yachts and terraces of the Croisette. It is not the Cannes Film Festival, devoted to cinema in May.
What is Cannes Lions?
The festival was born in Venice in September 1954, as the international advertising film festival, on the initiative of an association of advertising film professionals. Its trophy, a lion, pays tribute to the lion of Saint Mark. After alternating between Venice and Cannes, it settled in Cannes in 1984, then in 2011 took the name Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, to embrace far more than the advertising film.
Today, Cannes Lions is organised by LIONS, which belongs to the Informa group. For a week, it brings together agencies, advertisers, media, platforms and creators around three things: talks, awards — the Lions — and meetings. It is a professional event: most participants come for their company, often as a delegation.
It should not be confused with the Cannes Film Festival, devoted to cinema, which takes place in May in the same Palais. The audiences, the codes and the customs of the week are different: here, people come to work, to meet and to host.
The 2027 edition at a glance
The organiser has published the dates of the 2027 edition. The detailed programme, the speakers and the pass line-up are announced over the months; we follow them for you.
| Key point | Detail | What you need to know |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | Monday 21 to Friday 25 June 2027 | Five days of festival; many delegations arrive the day before |
| Venue | Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes | At the end of the Croisette, facing the Old Port |
| Access | By pass, sold by the organiser | Named, resale prohibited; several levels of pass |
| Organiser | LIONS, owned by the Informa group | TGZ Conciergerie has no affiliation with the festival |
| Audience | Professionals from communication, brands and media | A professional festival, not an event for the general public |
How does the week unfold?
At the Palais, the days are built around talks, given in several rooms including the Grand Auditorium Lumière and the Debussy theatre, open jury sessions, meeting spaces and, in the evening, the Lions award ceremonies. Themed forums attach themselves to the week — LIONS Sport, devoted to sports marketing, or LIONS Creators — with their own passes.
Outside the Palais, a second week plays out in parallel: companies take over the beaches of the Croisette, yachts in the port or villas to hold meetings, lunches and receptions there. These venues are often privatised, and entry is by invitation of their host.
For a delegation, the essentials come down to three choices: who attends what at the Palais, where and how to host clients, and how to keep tight diaries over a few hundred very busy metres.
Coming as a delegation
Most companies come as a group: executives, sales teams, creative teams, sometimes invited clients. Each person needs a pass in their name, a roof, a diary and a way to get back in the evening. It is this mechanism that we take charge of, from the booking to the last shuttle.
The format of the delegation decides the accommodation: a villa to house the team and entertain at home, a hotel floor on the Croisette to be within walking distance of the Palais, or a mix of the two. It also decides how to host: a yacht, a privatised beach, a dinner in the hinterland. Our Corporate page details how we support companies, beyond Cannes Lions.
Preparing your stay: accommodation, journeys, budget
Accommodation first: during the week, the hotels on the Croisette and the villas in the hills of Cannes and on the Cap d'Antibes are booked months in advance, often with a minimum stay. Our guide Where to Stay During Cannes Lions? compares the areas one by one.
Journeys next: people often arrive through Nice Côte d'Azur airport, about 27 km from Cannes; business aviation can land at Cannes-Mandelieu depending on the size of the aircraft; the helicopter links Nice to Cannes in a few minutes of flight. Once there, the Croisette is covered on foot, but the villas and the dinners in the hinterland call for chauffeurs. Our guide How to Get to Cannes Lions? details how it all works.
The budget, finally: it is set on quote, element by element — accommodation and length of stay, size of the delegation, number and level of passes, yacht or beach, client dinners, transfers. And one rule applies across the board: everything that matters is booked early.
Key takeaways
Cannes Lions 2027 takes place from 21 to 25 June, at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes. Entry is with a pass sold by the organiser, named and non-resellable. The festival is professional, and a large part of its value plays out outside the Palais: meetings, lunches, receptions on the water or on the beach. TGZ Conciergerie, an independent house based in Paris, with no affiliation with Cannes Lions, LIONS, Informa or the Palais des Festivals, and with no official status, organises your delegation's stay. Every stay is quoted on request, with availability and conditions confirmed before any commitment.
Frequently asked questions
According to the organiser, Cannes Lions 2027 takes place from Monday 21 to Friday 25 June 2027, at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes.
LIONS, which has belonged to the Informa group since the acquisition of Ascential, completed in October 2024. The festival was born in Venice in 1954 and settled in Cannes in 1984.
Cannes Lions is a professional festival: you attend with a pass, sold by the organiser, designed for professionals from communication, brands, media and technology. There are passes for students and young professionals, under the conditions set by the organiser.
The Cannes Film Festival is devoted to cinema and takes place in May. Cannes Lions, in June, is devoted to creativity and communication. Both occupy the Palais des Festivals, a few weeks apart, but they share neither the same organiser, nor the same audience, nor the same codes.
Many delegations arrive the day before the opening and stay three to five days, depending on the talks, ceremonies and receptions that matter to them. We compose this rhythm with you, delegate by delegate if necessary.
Every stay is quoted on request, because it is composed: three people in a hotel for three nights do not call for the same quote as a delegation of twenty in a villa, with a yacht and client dinners. What makes the budget vary: the length of stay, the accommodation, the number and level of passes, the reception venues, the transfers, the size of the group and how early you book.
No. TGZ Conciergerie is an independent house, with no affiliation with Cannes Lions, LIONS, the Informa group or the Palais des Festivals, and with no official status. We organise the stay and can arrange the purchase of passes from the organiser, in the name of each delegate, without ever reselling a pass.
Take it further
Your Cannes Lions is prepared now
Tell us who is coming, for how long and how you want to host: we organise the delegation's complete stay — accommodation, passes in your name, yacht or beach, client dinners, transfers. A single point of contact, a quote set out element by element, availability and conditions confirmed before any commitment.