The Palais des Festivals shows a 70% drop in its turnover -

F. Binacchi / ANP / 20 Minutes

  • In 2020, the cancellation of congresses at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes cut the city of economic benefits estimated at 700 million euros.

  • The palace is currently investing "several million euros" to "digitalize".

  • The organizers of the Cannes Film Festival are waiting until next week to decide on the next edition.

Seventeen major events slipped by the wayside, including the film festival, and the whole economy has seized up.

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cascading cancellation of congresses did not only damage the palace's balance sheet (-70% in turnover and six job cuts): “The consequence is is also 300,000 fewer visitors to the city and 700 million fewer benefits for all socio-professionals ”, points out Jean-Michel Arnaud, the president of the“ economic locomotive ”of Cannes.

“With this crisis, we have seen it clearly, the Palais des Festivals which stops, it is the destination which stops.

»January 2021: it still has not restarted.

Currently, only a handful of hotels, mainly two and three stars, are not closed.

Professionals are waiting as the epidemic and variants of the new coronavirus continue to lead to coercive measures across the world, despite the launch of the vaccination.

"We need visibility to be able to set up on reopening, impatiently Christine Welter, president of the Cannes hoteliers union.

And it's complicated for the organizers too!

"

CanneSeries in April as a test

For the Cannes Film Festival in particular.

Traditionally open in May, the star event is not yet certain of not having to move “between the end of June and the end of July”.

The organizers, who have left a little time "to assess the situation", could rule next week.

In the meantime, after a first quarter “white” in the screening rooms and exhibition spaces, it is with CanneSeries, postponed to October last year, that the palace could resume colors from April 9 to 14.

Except new hazard.

For the rest of the program, the congress center does not prefer to move forward because “things can change depending on the health situation”.

"We are adapting the machine and we are preparing to relaunch it as soon as possible"

But the congresses are not dead on the Croisett, which still counts on them, we assure in chorus on the side of the town hall and the Palais des Festivals, where the actors of tourism met Wednesday and Thursday in as part of a stimulus program called “Cannes resilience”.

“We are adapting the machine and we are preparing to restart it as soon as possible.

The organizers are also waiting, ”notes tourism deputy Thomas de Pariente.

The palace is currently investing "several million euros" to "digitalize".

"While waiting to be able to resume face-to-face work at full speed, it is important to be able to offer technological solutions that will allow accredited members to follow a conference remotely as if they were there," explains Jean-Michel Arnaud.

Solutions that will allow congress organizers to also expand their clientele once the situation returns to normal.

It only remains to know when.

Economy

Behind the scenes of the first congress of the “Covid-19” era in Cannes

Nice

The 2020 edition of Mipcom canceled, the CanneSeries festival is maintained

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