FT Live @ CANNES

16–19 June 2025

Championing creativity through connections at Cannes Lions

In-Person from Cannes, France

Watch Highlights as the FT hosted a series of exclusive events at Cannes Lions

The 72nd edition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity took place from 16–20 June 2025 in Cannes, France.

FT Live hosted a series of curated events against the backdrop of the world’s leading festival for creativity in marketing and communications. Across the week, Financial Times journalists were joined by global brand leaders, innovators and cultural voices to examine the forces reshaping the creative economy—from AI and influence to entertainment, media and shifting consumer expectations.

All sessions were chaired by senior FT journalists, offering real-time insight and editorial perspective throughout a dynamic week on the Croisette.

FT Session @ Cannes

18 June 2025 | 14:00 - 15:30 CEST
In-person from Cannes

Insider Insights from Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

FT Sessions @ Cannes will explore the future of advertising, influence, brand storytelling and global consumer trends. Chaired by senior FT journalists, these thought-provoking discussions bring together industry leaders, creatives and innovators to deliver fresh insights and strategic foresight. Each session is will take place in front of a curated audience.

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Exclusive Session Livestreamed @ Nikkei FT Anniversary Teahouse, Cannes

Thursday 19 June
Exclusive Afternoon Briefing Reception

Generative AI and the Future of Brand Storytelling

Financial Times and Monks invite you to an exclusive session broadcast LIVE from Cannes Lions, where FT's Dan Thomas, Global Media Editor, leads an in-depth conversation with industry leading voices: Sir Martin Sorrell (Executive Chairman, S4 Capital), Amit Jain (CEO, Luma AI), Hannah C. Elsakr (Global Head of New Business Ventures, Adobe), and Steve Plimsoll (Chief Strategy Officer, HUMAIN). Together, they’ll explore how generative AI is reshaping the future of gaming, creativity, and advertising—transforming them into a seamless, immersive experience layer.

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In-person events @ Nikkei FT Anniversary Teahouse, Cannes

Tuesday 17 June
Exclusive Evening Briefing Reception

Financial Times x People Like Us

The Financial Times and People Like Us, will host a special evening focused on creative leadership, industry change, and the future of storytelling. This event will bring together brand leaders and emerging talent for panel discussion, dynamic showcases and high-level networking.

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Wednesday 18 June
Exclusive Brunch Briefing

Bridging the Trust Gap

The Financial Times and IPA will be showcasing our highly anticipated collaborative research report, exploring the way trust shapes decision-making, drives brand loyalty, and influences the bottom line.

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Thursday 19 June
Exclusive Drinks Reception

Accelerated Connections

The Financial Times and Aston Martin F1® Team are hosting an exclusive drinks reception at Cannes. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation exploring innovation, leadership, and more.

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Elon Musk’s X to offer investment and trading in ‘super app’ push

X chief executive Linda Yaccarino has said that users will “soon” be able to make investments or trades on the social media platform, as she outlined a push into financial services in owner Elon Musk’s quest to build an “everything app”.

How the culture war is remaking advertising

During this year’s Super Bowl, American viewers were given a blast from the past when food chain Carl’s Jr once again rolled out an ad featuring scantily clad women, having ditched its longtime “burgers and bikinis” approach in 2017.

Olympic product placement: ‘I can’t just give out 17,000 phones. It needs to return value’

At last year’s Olympic Games, Samsung gave the 17,000 athletes and officials a special edition gold flip phone that they could use to post on social media about their time in Paris.

Advertising revenues set to hit $1tn in market dominated by technology companies

The global advertising industry will surpass $1tn in revenue for the first time this year, with Google, Meta, ByteDance, Amazon and Alibaba expected to earn more than half the total in a market dominated by the technology sector.

Informa agrees to buy Cannes Lions owner Ascential for almost £1.2bn

Informa, the UK events and academic publisher, has confirmed plans to acquire Ascential, which owns global conferences including advertising festival Cannes Lions, in a deal worth close to £1.2bn.

Cannes Lions looks to laughter as ad industry feels threat of AI

Cannes Lions festival 2024 wants to restore humour to advertising, but underpinning a new category celebrating witty work is wider unease over the creative future of an industry rapidly adopting artificial intelligence tools.