Cannes Lions not to be held in 2020

The organisers of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity have announced that this year's event has been cancelled. The event was rescheduled to October after the outbreak of coronavirus.

Now, with more than a million people suffering from the virus, organisers have stated that the next edition of the Festival will run from 21-25 June.

 

The organisers added that their priorities have shifted to the need to protect people and to serve consumers with essential items with an added focus to preserve companies, society and economies.

 

Philip Thomas, chairman, Cannes Lions, said, “Cannes Lions at its core has always been about creativity and the Lions. We realise that the creative community has other challenges to face, and simply isn’t in a position to put forward the work that will set the benchmark. The marketing and creative industries, in common with so many others, are currently in turmoil, and it’s clear that we can play our small part by removing all speculation about the Festival this year. We have tried to make our decisions as early as possible to give the industry total clarity on the situation, and that is why we are announcing this move today.”

 

Simon Cook, managing director, Cannes Lions, added, “We all look ahead to a more positive time – right now, Cannes Lions will continue to bring the global creative community together and provide inspiration where we can find it. Our recent call for inspirational creative stories from around the world has already garnered hundreds of accounts of our community uniting and showing progress in this crisis. We believe firmly that the Lions continue to offer valuable recognition to that community and we look forward to celebrating and honouring the work in 2021, when the world will hopefully feel more stable, and our community can give their work the focus it deserves.”

 

The organisers have stated that all entries received so far for the 2020 awards will be judged next year. The 2021 awards will have a two-year eligibility period.