A yacht as your Cannes Lions base
Cannes Lions runs from Monday 21 to Friday 25 June 2027 at the Palais des Festivals, bringing the advertising and creative industry to the Croisette for a week. Yacht hospitality is already an established part of this show. Brands, agencies and platforms take yachts on Yacht Row as a base for client meetings through the day and entertaining at night, a few minutes from the Palais. This is the one Cannes show that falls in high season, which changes the planning completely. You are competing with the summer charter market as well as with everyone else at the festival.Why charter a yacht at Cannes Lions?
- An established part of the festival. Yacht hospitality at Cannes Lions is expected rather than unusual, and clients know what an invitation aboard means.
- Client meetings away from the noise. A private deck for the conversations the Palais and the beach activations make impossible.
- Evening entertaining you control. Your own venue, chef and crew, rather than competing for a table during the busiest week of the Cannes year.
- Branding on Yacht Row. The most visible commercial position in Cannes during the one week your entire industry is walking past it.
- Accommodation at a fixed price. Cabins for your senior team, agreed months before hotel rates peak.
Where the yacht sits, and why it decides everything
Berth position matters more at Cannes Lions than the yacht itself. There are two realistic options and they suit different budgets.
Vieux Port, Yacht Row
Jetee Albert Edouard sits directly beside the Palais des Festivals. Delegates walk past on the way in and out of the show, which makes your yacht a visible part of your presence rather than somewhere guests have to be taken. It is the most limited and most expensive position in Cannes, and the first to be committed.
Port Canto
About 20 minutes on foot along the Croisette, or a short taxi. Noticeably better value, and a sensible choice when the yacht is a working base for meetings and dinners rather than a branded shop window.
If your reason for chartering is visibility, Yacht Row is the only answer and you need to book early. If it is space and privacy, Port Canto does the same job for less.
How many guests you can actually host
This is the detail first-time corporate charterers get wrong, and it changes which yacht you need. There are two formats with very different limits.
Cruising charter: 12 guests
A crewed yacht operating under a commercial charter license caps cruising guests at 12, however large the yacht is. A 50 meter yacht with room for 40 at a dockside reception still cannot take more than 12 people out to sea. Best for a small executive group, a working lunch on the water, or private accommodation during the show.
Static charter: far more
Alongside the quay, the yacht is an event venue rather than a vessel under way, and the numbers change completely. Depending on the yacht and the port permit, that runs from roughly 15 to 20 guests up to several hundred. Best for a client party, a brand activation, or an evening for your award shortlist.
Decide your guest count and format before you start shortlisting yachts. The two lead to different boats.
What a Cannes Lions charter costs
The honest answer is that it depends on format and size more than on the week itself. A useful anchor: static hospitality yachts of around 40 meters commonly run about EUR 150,000 for a week.
The real range is wider. A smaller yacht used mainly for meetings can start near EUR 20,000 for the week. The largest static superyachts on Yacht Row run into the millions. What moves the number most is size, static versus cruising, the berth, and how much of the budget goes to full hospitality and catering rather than a simple meeting setup.
On top of the charter fee, budget for VAT and an Advance Provisioning Allowance covering catering, drinks and event specific costs. Our French Riviera charter cost guide sets out how those work.
Why this show books earliest
Unlike MIPIM, MIPCOM and ILTM, Cannes Lions sits in the middle of the Riviera summer season. Every yacht you want is also wanted by a holiday charter paying peak rates, and Yacht Row is contested by the largest advertising budgets in the industry. Expect to pay peak season prices, and to commit far earlier than for any other show in Cannes.
When to start
For Cannes Lions we recommend starting 5 to 8 months out, which is earlier than any other Cannes show. By spring the best static positions beside the Palais are largely committed.
Two things are competing for the same boats: the festival, and the ordinary summer charter market at its peak. That combination is why late enquiries for Cannes Lions are the hardest of the four shows to fill, and why the yachts still free in May are rarely the ones you would have chosen in January.
More events on the French Riviera.
The same yacht, a different week. Each page carries that show’s dates, berths and costs.
MIPCOM
12 to 15 October 2026. Television and streaming, and off season so rates are soft.
Read the guideMIPIM
16 to 19 March 2027. Property and real estate, the biggest of the Cannes shows.
Read the guideILTM Cannes
30 November to 3 December 2026. Luxury travel, and the cheapest of the four.
Read the guideCannes Lions charter questions.
When is Cannes Lions 2027?
Monday 21 to Friday 25 June 2027, at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.
Can we charter a yacht for just one night of Cannes Lions?
Yes, single evening charters are common for a client party. They are harder to secure at this show than at the others, because owners can fill the whole week at peak summer rates and are less willing to break it up.
How many guests can we host on a yacht during Cannes Lions?
Twelve if the yacht is cruising, however large it is. Alongside the quay as a static event, the same yacht can host roughly 15 to 20 guests up to several hundred, depending on the yacht and its port permit.
Where do yachts moor during Cannes Lions?
Vieux Port, and specifically Yacht Row beside the Palais des Festivals. It is the most contested berth in Cannes during this week. Port Canto is around 20 minutes on foot and considerably better value.
Why is Cannes Lions more expensive than the other Cannes shows?
Because it falls in high summer. MIPIM, MIPCOM and ILTM all sit outside the Riviera season, when owners want shoulder season work. In late June the same yacht can earn peak holiday charter rates, so you are bidding against that as well as against other festival guests.