Festival Focus Points

Underneath the six pillars are several new and returning strands guiding delegates through the Festival’s liveliest conversations. Returning formats include Future Gazers, a daily track on the next 18 months in creativity, culture and commerce, and New Voices, which spotlights the next generation of creative leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs.

Linking directly to the 2026 Awards programme, Inside the Jury Room returns to offer a unique glimpse into the decision-making process behind the work that sets the global benchmark for creative excellence. Across sessions running throughout the week on the Basement Stage, Jury members will share candid insights into what distinguished this year’s winners and how standards of creativity continue to evolve. Additional sessions will also take place across specialist stages, including the LIONS Sport Stage and LIONS B2B Summit, reflecting the breadth of the Festival’s expanding ecosystem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ7ZhiEZ8QI

Cannes Lions is also creating more space for interaction between speakers and delegates. The Rotonde Stage will host Debates, while new Roundtables offer structured morning discussions on the industry’s most pressing challenges, including independent agency ecosystems and regional perspectives from Asia and LATAM.

Alongside challenging insights, there are also sessions designed to deliver practical applications that delegates can take home with them. Running Monday to Thursday on The Forum Stage, the How To series will move beyond inspiration to focus on execution – offering attendees direct access to the processes, approaches and methods driving creative and commercial success across disciplines.