A Reception That Felt Like Cannes for Convergence's Lions Week

Racing the Rest of Lions Week

Eventflare's Cannes specialist had been working the town's venues all season and knew exactly what the client was up against: full privatisation during Lions week usually starts far above his budget, and the few characterful spaces left were being circled by other groups.

The search moved at festival speed. Within days, availability requests went out to a shortlist of hidden gems around the old town and the Croisette, from secret garden venues to Provencal restaurants. Two of the best options were technically on hold for other clients, and Eventflare tracked both, ready to pounce the moment a date was released.

The winner was Hotel Le Suquet, a boutique address in the old Le Suquet quarter, a few minutes from the Palais des Festivals and a short stroll from the port. Even better, Eventflare negotiated the terms so that one rental fee covered both the restaurant and the courtyard patio, giving the reception an indoor and outdoor life for the price of one space.

Small Venue, Full Service

A forty person reception sounds simple until Lions week logistics arrive. In the final stretch, Eventflare coordinated with the hotel on every practical detail:

1. Doubling the snack order from 40 to 80 as the guest picture grew, with extras to be settled after the event rather than guessed in advance
2. Parasols for the courtyard so the reception could live outside in the June sun
3. AV equipment hired in through the hotel's supplier
4. The client's own drinks deliveries, received and stored by the venue ahead of the day
5. Flexibility on menu selections when the guest list would not settle in advance, exactly the reality of festival week

Payment worked the same way: Eventflare validated the quote directly with the venue and handled the payment itself, keeping the client's to-do list at zero while Lions week raged on.

Results and Impact

On the day, the reception had what the founder had asked for from the first email: a private venue with genuine Cannes character, an old town address, a shaded courtyard, and room for the guest list to grow. The accounts were settled with the venue in the weeks after, closing out a project that went from first enquiry to delivered event in under two months, in the most competitive event market of the year.

Wrapping Up

Everyone wants a venue that feels like Cannes during Cannes Lions. Almost nobody can find one eight weeks out. This project shows what tips the balance: a local specialist already inside the market, a willingness to track venues on hold until they drop, and the negotiating instinct to turn one rental fee into two spaces. Fast client, faster partner.

Hosting during a major festival week? Browse Eventflare's Cannes venue collection to see what's available.

Managed by Fabiana Miguel

Event Manager, Eventflare

Fabiana has spent the season deep in the Cannes venue market, and ran this project end to end: shortlisting old town gems, tracking held dates, negotiating the two-space rental, and coordinating snacks, parasols, AV, and payments with the hotel.