Industry executives can put away their magnum rosé bottles until October.
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will postpone its annual June gathering until Oct. 26 to 30, the organizers said on Wednesday. All sponsorships, passes and bookings for official customers will roll over for the postponed event. Read the release.
“As always, the health, safety and wellbeing of our community is our priority,” the company said in a statement. “The decision was made following productive talks with our valued partners and customers and following consultation with public health officials, the City of Cannes and the French Authorities.”
The festival, originally scheduled for June 22 to 26, is the ad industry’s largest gathering and a major awards confab for creatives around the globe. But as COVID-19 tears through the world, organizers realized they could not hold the event on its original dates.
France instituted a 15-day lockdown on Tuesday as 7,730 citizens have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 175 citizens have died, according to the European CDC.
The Cannes Lion will judge all creative entries during the new festival dates and continue to work with its team of global jurors.
“It is our commitment to recognize the extraordinary spread of international creative work and its contribution to the development of people, business and society,” festival organizers said in a statement.
