The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has launched its 71st edition which will be held from June 17 to 21 in Cannes, France.
To support underrepresented and underserved communities, next year, any organisation will be eligible to apply for complimentary passes with priority given to registered charities, not-for-profit and diverse-owned organisations. In total, €1 million worth of complimentary passes will be provided, with allocations based on an eligibility scoring system.
Frank Starling, Chief DEI Officer, Lions, said, “This is about driving equity and increasing accessibility so that everyone in the global creative community has the opportunity to attend and benefit from the progress-driving possibilities that Cannes Lions brings on both a personal and business level.”
Applications for the initiative will open in December. Additional pass options include a Start-Up Pass, for smaller businesses. A new Connector Pass will also be available for attendees focused on networking.
Simon Cook, CEO, Lions, said, “We’re constantly evolving the Cannes Lions offer to meet the changing needs of our diverse audience. We’re committed to providing greater access to Cannes Lions, and addressing the different needs and circumstances of our global community.”
Cannes Lions has also opened its annual Call for Content, which invites proposals from anyone, anywhere. Applications will be accepted until January 5, 2024. Jenni Middleton, Editor in Chief & SVP Content, Lions, said, “Creativity can come from anywhere. Our open call for content ensures that we provide a global platform and that’s why we want our platforms to be open to as many voices as possible to come in.”
Applications to speak on the stage can be made via the content portal. Content and activations at the 2024 Festival will continue to double down on creativity, with the last day of the Festival again dedicated to bringing the focus onto the work. Additionally, with the 2023 Festival showing ‘Creative Impact’ was the most highly rated content stream, the next year’s agenda will build on this and continue to provide the business case for creativity.
The year 2024 will also see continuation of the LIONS Scholarship, which will offer 10 young people from around the world a fully funded place on the Cannes Lions Brand Marketers and Creative Academies. Kateryna Kononenko, who was part of the 2023 scholarship programme, said the Academy had “elevated her as a brand marketer”. Describing the experience, she said, “It’s intense. It’s emotional. It’s unimaginably insightful and inspiring.”
Additionally, the Festival will welcome its 10th cohort of women onto its fully funded talent accelerator programme for women, See It Be It. The programme was founded in 2014 by Cannes Lions to achieve equal gender representation of creative directors and leaders across the global industry. To date, 124 women have taken part in See It Be It. Applications are open until 8 January 2024 and can be made here.
Submissions into the Cannes Lions Awards will open on January 18. As part of the updates to next year’s Awards, the Mobile Lions will be retired. Further information on updates and changes to the Lions can be found here.
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