Cannes Lions responds to criticism regarding inaccessible stage

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has responded to criticism from Zaid Al-Qassab, former chief marketing officer at Channel 4 (now global chief executive at M&C Saatchi Group), about its lack of accessibility on awards night. 

According to Al-Qassab, Dom Hyams, global client director at Purple Goat Agency, was unable to access the stage in the Palais via the usual route, as the stage was not accessible for someone using a wheelchair. Hyams was asked to access the platform through the basement and enter backstage instead.

Cannes Lions responded by saying it partnered Purple Goat at this year's festival to assess what needed to change in order to create a "more inclusive and barrier-free" experience. 

A spokesperson for Cannes Lions told Campaign: "We are committed to building a truly inclusive Festival experience and recognise that accessibility must be both designed for and continuously improved.

"This year, we partnered with Purple Goat as an inclusion partner to conduct an audit during the Festival. Their insights will help us identify existing barriers and co-create long-term solutions that ensure Cannes Lions is accessible to all. We look forward to continuing the work with Dom and the Purple Goat team, their perspectives will help in shaping a more inclusive and barrier-free Festival experience."

The inclusive marketing agency worked with 4Creative to create the “Considering what?” campaign for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which picked up a Grand Prix in the Film category on 20 June. 

Hyams said: "Cannes Lions is the pinnacle of the advertising calendar, bringing the whole industry together to connect and celebrate all the brilliant work across the year. But like many areas of the world, it’s also a place that continues to evolve: to become more inclusive, accessible and representative of the talent shaping its future, and the communities we are trying to engage and represent.

"Purple Goat have welcomed consulting and supporting Cannes Lions this year to ensure future experiences are more accessible for everyone and have been really encouraged by their commitment to lead the charge in the industry, encouraging more diverse communities to experience and benefit from coming to Cannes Lions in years to come."

The Channel 4 team joined Hyams on the alternative route “in an act of solidarity”, Al-Qassab wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Al-Qassab also noted the irony of winning an award for a Paralympics campaign and the awards stage not being accessible for the winners.

He told Campaign: “The accessibility issues at the Palais in Cannes are by no means unique, both in our industry and across society. And to the organisers’ credit, Dom Hyams from Purple Goat was there in Cannes to assess such things. But the issue with access to the stage was easy to predict and solve, so I was disappointed at what could be perceived as the lack of thought.

"Not least because the Channel 4 Paralympics campaign won the Film Grand Prix. I’ve no doubt Cannes Lions will learn from this and improve. We need venues and event organisers across the globe to take all aspects of accessibility much more seriously.”

The winning 140-second film, directed by Steve Rogers through Biscuit Filmworks UK vs Revolver, depicted Paralympians facing universal challenges including gravity, friction and time. These forces of nature were personified in a three-part narrative, which encouraged viewers to drop the caveats and simply appreciate the capabilities of these elite athletes, regardless of their disabilities. 

Al-Qassab's LinkedIn post also said: “My old Channel 4 4creative team won the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Film Grand Prix tonight for the #Paralympics work. Tomorrow I’ll post about the brilliant team behind the work. But tonight I’m upset that Dom Hyams who masterminded the strategy was not able to go up to collect the award by the usual route because the Palais stage was not accessible - the irony.

“In an act of solidarity we all went through the basement and entered from backstage with Dom to collect the Lion but the world needs to do better. I’ll celebrate tomorrow. Or maybe I’ll celebrate when the world cares enough to act.”