Cannes Lions has unveiled its 2026 program, which will bring together a diverse community of global creative leaders and changemakers across five days this June.
During this year’s Festival, Oprah Winfrey will be honored as the 2026 Cannes LionHeart–one of the Festival’s highest honors, celebrating an individual who has used their platform to drive meaningful and lasting positive change. Winfrey will deliver a talk on the Lumière Theatre stage at 10am, Tuesday, June 23, ahead of being presented the LionHeart Award at the Awards Show that evening.
A global media leader, producer, philanthropist, actress and author, Winfrey has spent decades shaping culture and connecting audiences. From redefining daytime television with The Oprah Winfrey Show to building platforms that amplify underrepresented voices, her work continues to bridge storytelling and impact.
Philip Thomas, chair, Lions, said, “Oprah Winfrey’s influence extends far beyond media. She has consistently used her platform to elevate others, challenge perspectives and inspire change. Her sustained commitment to using influence responsibly has helped create opportunities for others while broadening understanding on a global scale–embodying the true spirit of the LionHeart Award.”
Spanning multiple content streams, including the new Cannes Lions Deconstructed stream, this year’s Festival program reflects the breadth of today’s creative landscape – from innovation and technology to culture, talent and impact.
Natasha Woodwal, director of content, Lions, said, “The 2026 program has been designed to reflect how our industry really works today. We’ve expanded the breadth of formats to encourage deeper participation, from debates and roundtables to interactive workshops and networking opportunities. With the launch of Lions Sport and the continued growth of Lions Creators, we’re creating space for new voices, new communities and new conversations that are shaping the future of creativity.”
The content program’s six streams are:
Insights & Trends:
Co-curated with Contagious, this stream explores the cultural and strategic shifts redefining the industry. Speakers including Alex Weller, Patagonia, will examine the tension between values and scale, while CEO for eBay Jamie Iannone and Stella McCartney will explore how circular commerce is reshaping creative industries. A fast-paced session led by Amy Daroukakis of Culture Connectors and RADAR’s Sarah Owen along with a collective of global creatives will spotlight emerging cultural signals driving change.
Innovation Unwrapped:
Focusing on the technologies and transformations shaping the future, this stream brings together pioneers from across tech and creativity spheres. Aude Gandon, The Estée Lauder Companies, and Nicola Mendelsohn, Meta, will explore using AI to decode why certain ideas endure, while Demis Hassabis from Google DeepMind will join a fireside chat on the future of creativity. R/GA leaders Tiffany Rolfe and Nick Pringle will share a playbook for creating in the intelligence age, as well as the Future Gazers daily sessions, focusing on what’s coming next for the industry, featuring Dentsu Creative’s Pats McDonald, Sphere’s Ned McNeilage and Nell Daly from Revenge Capital.
The Creativity Toolbox:
This stream focuses on the tools, techniques and processes behind world-class creativity. Sessions include a hands-on workshop from NOSSA™’s Victor Britto challenging traditional brainstorming, and a live debate featuring Orchard Creative’s David Kolbusz, Lynsey Atkin from Baby Teeth, Richard Brim from Ace of Hearts and TBWA\Worldwide’s Chaka Sobhani on whether creative taste can be objective. Marc Pritchard, P&G, will explore the evolving role of creativity in brand building in an AI-driven world.
Talent & Culture:
Centered on people and creative leadership, this stream examines how organizations cultivate talent and culture. Takeshi Sano from dentsu reflects on 125 years of innovation and impact. A series of global roundtables featuring industry voices such as Adams Fan of F5 Shanghai, Quiet Storm’s Trevor Robinson and Joana Mendes from Jungle Kid will bring together perspectives on the current creative landscapes for independent networks across Asia and LATAM.
Creative Impact:
Co-curated with WARC, this stream focuses on effectiveness and measurable impact. Mark Ritson, founder of MiniMBA, and Byron Sharp, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, will present five fundamental marketing truths, while the CMOs in the Spotlight series will bring together leaders including Zena Arnold, Sephora US, and Jill Kramer from Mastercard to discuss how creativity drives business growth.
Cannes Lions Deconstructed:
As part of this new stream, a live wrap-up of the Festival will be taking place on Friday, June 26. An early-access, onstage version of the yearly Cannes Lions Wrap-Up Report, it will deliver a review of the biggest trends and hottest talking points that emerged from the Festival–from the Palais stages to the results from the Jury rooms–as well as analysis of the biggest winners and actionable learnings from Jury presidents.
Lions Sport, Lions Creators & Lions B2B
Beyond the main streams, dedicated programs explore key growth areas across the industry.
The inaugural Lions Sport program, in partnership with SPORT BEACH, will explore what’s driving growth in the rapidly evolving sports marketing ecosystem. Tennis Australia’s Britt Wickes and Roddy Campbell will analyze how the Australian Open is using entertainment and culture to pull younger audiences, while Brandon Snow, from RedBird Capital Partners, will reveal who’s scoring the biggest sports marketing deals–and how. Lions Creators, in partnership with Adobe, now in its third year, blends networking with content, featuring Mel Robbins on turning ideas into movements and Dhar Mann alongside Shopify’s Jessica Williams and Gap’s Fabiola Tores on building billion-view content ecosystems. Lions B2B, in partnership with LinkedIn, explores the evolving landscape of business marketing, with LinkedIn’s CMO, Jessica Jensen, JLL’s CMO, Siddharth Taparia and ServiceNow CMO Colin Fleming discussing how they connect creativity and business growth in the boardroom, while Tom Stein, Stein and Monique Elliott, Schneider Electric and Jennifer Chase, SAS, dissect enterprising creativity.
The Festival will run from June 22-26 in Cannes, France, offering delegates more than 150 hours of content featuring around 500 speakers from across the spectrum of creativity. More names will be announced in the coming weeks.
