The red carpet is rolled out on the famous steps, and stars in dinner jackets and evening gowns parade down the Croisette. The 77e The Cannes Film Festival opened on Tuesday in the Auditorium Louis-Lumière, the main hall of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, which was inaugurated in 1982. The film event is one of the most important for the city's economic activity with spin-offs estimated at €200M for these 12 days, with some 12,500 accredited professionals. Other highlights of the year for this vessel of glass and concrete include Cannes Lions, Mipim, Tax Free and the International Games Festival.
After the impact of the pandemic, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès has returned to its daily bustle and all its dynamism. 2023 will be remembered as a exceptional year with 152 events hosted, including 72 professional events, compared with 52 in 2019. All in all, a record turnover and operating profit for this facility managed by Semec, the semi-public company also responsible for promoting Cannes as a tourist destination.
" We have been helped somewhat by the closure of Acropolis in Nice, which has made Cannes an attractive venue for medical conferences." admits Managing Director Bruno Desloques, who is determined to retain these new customers over the long term. " In order to sign up certain events, we were also able to make a gesture in terms of rates, our objective not being to achieve the best possible result like a well-known MICE group listed on the stock exchange [GL Events, editor's note], but to make the destination work 12 months of the year." The priority is to work the wings and the low season.
With 300,000 trade visitors - including 60% from abroad - and 320 days of use last year, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès has the advantage of being able to host several events simultaneously. " We have recorded up to eight transactions per week. The different entrances to the Palais make it possible for professionals and the general public to meet and mingle." says Bruno Desloques.
This exceptional year was marked by the award, for the second year running, of the title of best destination in the world for events at the World Travel Awards. A prize won against competition from London, Rio, Barcelona, Sydney and Singapore. " Cannes is a small town of 75,000 inhabitants capable of competing with the world's major capitals.says the Managing Director with satisfaction. The town council and all the professionals involved are mobilised during major events. This is not necessarily the case elsewhere, particularly in Paris. The Palais des Festivals represents 13,000 direct and indirect jobs, and generates over a billion euros in economic spin-offs for the city." .
Developing a sustainable and responsible events business on a daily basis
" Cannes is fortunate to have events that are leaders in their sector. This process has been strengthened since the Covid" adds Bruno Desloques. The aim is to keep the momentum going by seeking out events focusing on the technologies of tomorrow, research and aerospace. And above all toincubate new meetings in the medical, audiovisual and AI sectors. One example is the World AI Cannes Festival, launched in 2022, whose last edition in February already attracted 15,000 visitors. These new events compensate for the eventual disappearance of others, such as MipTV, organised by RX France, whose 2024 show marked its demise after 61 years of existence. MIDEM, on the other hand, made a successful comeback with a show that attracted over 9,000 visitors.
Already four decades old, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès is the subject of constant attention from Semec. New investments are planned, totalling €8m, with the redesign of its main entrance, the interior street and the Ambassadors' Lounge scheduled for spring 2025, again in anticipation of the next Film Festival. At the same time, the building is continuing its energy transition to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and its carbon footprint by switching to LED lights, using heat from the sea for heating, and installing 1,400 m² of photovoltaic panels on its roof to make it self-sufficient in electricity. Its energy consumption has already fallen by 25% over the last two years.
Since the end of 2022, the Palais has also become company with a mission while respecting social and environmental criteria. A first for a convention centre in France. " The aim is to provide a sustainable welcome to the world, based on three principles: connecting the village to the world, revealing talent, and taking care of our customers and employees.s", explains Bruno Desloques. The Palais is also already certified ISO 9001 for quality, ISO 18788 for safety and ISO 20121 for sustainable events. Last but not least, Cannes has been awarded the "Sustainable Innovative Destination" label for its environmental commitments, which also includes the Palais des Festivals and a number of Cannes-based tourism operators such as the Barrière hotels and Lenôtre catering.
