UNESCO has just included Cannes in the world network of “Creative Cities” in the cinema category, a first for a French town. Cannes is thus recognised as a major place for the development of creative industries, particularly in the audiovisual sector. This ambition, supported by David Lisnard since 2014, is reflected in an exemplary municipal policy in the field of Artistic and Cultural Education (EAC) and in the deployment of the “Cannes On Air” programme. Moreover, this international distinction reinforces the municipal actions of education to the image and the implementation of major structuring projects such as the creation of a university campus dedicated to the writing professions or the future International Museum of Cinema and the Cannes Festival. The integration of Cannes in this network allows it to share its know-how and to learn from the experiences of the 295 UNESCO Creative Cities and constitutes a real lever for cultural and economic growth.

A historic award in the cinema category in France

Now listed among the International Creative Cities recognised by UNESCO, Cannes joins the 295 territories1 that have the common objective of promoting creativity as a factor of development in the world. This prize awarded to Cannes in the cinema category on 8 November 2021 by UNESCO is a historic first in France.

Thanks to this new distinction, Cannes is positioned on an international scale in the film sector alongside other emblematic creative cities such as Sydney, Mumbai, Busan, Rome, Qingdao and Santos.

This achievement is the result of a long and fruitful process driven by David Lisnard, Mayor of Cannes, since 2014 and in partnership with numerous public and private operators, experts in the fields of cinema, audiovisual and communication. Cannes’ candidacy has highlighted its remarkable cultural policy and its dynamic ecosystem around the development project of creative industries, particularly in the audiovisual sector.

A pioneering and exemplary cultural approach

Cannes City Council is pursuing a proactive policy to bring culture closer to everyone, devoting 16% of its operating budget to it, i.e. 30.2 million euros, in order to support creation, dissemination, promotion and transmission. This virtuous approach is a source of emancipation, inclusion and learning about citizenship and human dignity. This is why the Municipality has made Artistic and Cultural Education (EAC) a priority, by offering the young people of Cannes special times at school for encounters with works of art, places, art and culture professionals, debates and artistic practice.

Thus, since 2017, under the impetus of David Lisnard, Mayor of Cannes, all the schools in Cannes have been involved in the implementation of EAC projects.

With these convincing results, Cannes is a model and a reference in France in cultural matters. Its designation as a UNESCO Creative City bears witness to this recognition and enables the municipality to share and disseminate the tools developed with the other territories in the network. It also marks the deployment of a concrete strategy to promote the development of the creative economy in Cannes.

This ambition is based on the “Cannes On Air” programme, initiated by David Lisnard, which aims to provide the town with all the links in the audiovisual content chain.

This approach is taking shape on the Bastide Rouge site located to the west of the territory, in Cannes-La Bocca, with an investment of 80.2 million euros from the public and private sectors through

• the development of the Georges Méliès University Campus (open since 1 September), which offers an exceptional range of 35 courses, mainly devoted to writing and audiovisual professions; a business centre located in the same building promotes exchanges between higher education and the business world;
• the construction of a 2,400-seat “Cineum Cannes” multiplex cinema, open to the public since July 2021 and equipped with the largest screen on the Côte d’Azur;
• the creation of a free car park with 276 spaces (1,000 spaces in the long term) and a student residence (to be delivered in 2022).

In addition, highly structuring projects will complete this dynamic in the coming years and include

• the installation of equipment and film studios, television sets, a hotel, offices, premises for tertiary and craft activities on the 5.7 hectare “Ansaldobreda” wasteland in Cannes-La Bocca;
• the construction, by 2028, of an International Museum of Cinema and the Cannes Film Festival to provide the city with a large-scale cultural and tourist structure in keeping with its reputation as the world capital of cinema.

Through the construction of innovative infrastructures and the creation of partnerships (public, private, institutional…), the Municipality is making Cannes a land of excellence for audiovisual creation in France and in Europe. Furthermore, the objective is to allow greater visibility for the cultural professions and the cinema in particular.

Thanks to an international cooperation made up of 295 territories with varied expertise, the UNESCO Creative Cities network is a real opportunity to support the City Council and its partners in structuring and promoting the audiovisual sector.

International cooperation projects and opportunities

By joining the UNESCO Creative Cities, Cannes is committed to developing international partnerships to promote creativity and cultural industries and to share its best practices with other territories. Indeed, many international and federative events encourage the exchange of know-how.

In order to contribute to the development of this network, Cannes City Council and its partners are already proposing actions to support cinematographic creation, in particular with the Asian and African continents.