Cannes Lions bans Russian entries and delegates

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Cannes Lions today announced that it will not accept submissions or delegates from Russian organizations to this year’s International Festival of Creativity and its associated awards programs.

"We stand together with our friends in Ukraine, and our many partners and community members in Russia who strongly oppose the actions of the Russian government," the organization said in a statement released today. 

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The Lions will also waive all fees for Ukrainian creatives who are able to attend the festival and refund awards submission fees from Ukrainian agencies.

The organization is still assembling its juries for this year's festival, which will resume in-person celebrations this year from June 20-24 after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic. Given that no Russian delegates will be allowed, the juries too, will not include any executives from Russian agencies or brands. 

Additonally, the Lions have created a talent directory for affected members of the creative community where they can set up profiles. The organization encourages the global ad and marketing community to commission and support those talents during this trying time.

The Lions and parent company Ascential will also make what they said was a "significant" donation to humanitarian charities aiding the affected regions of the conflict, though an exact amount was not disclosed.

According to a Lions spokesperson, for last year’s festival, which celebrated work from both 2020 and 2021, the Lions had received approximately 400 submissions from Russian companies. For 2019, some 300 entries came from Russia.

The Cannes Lions announcement follows that of the other big event that takes place on the Croisette, the Cannes Film Festival, which earlier this week announced that Russian delegations would be banned unless the war ends with conditions that are acceptable to Ukraine.