Goodbye mispronouncing Cannes in Cairns and hello Cairns Crocodiles. Save the date for 2025 revealed too!
Hot off the heels of a killer Cannes in Cairns 2024, we are pleased to reveal the festival dates for 2025, and for those that missed it, the landmark event’s new name.
Yes, that’s right, Cannes in Cairns is transforming to become Cairns Crocodiles.
The legendary industry extravaganza, which is just three years into its APAC domination, encompasses the three-day conference content, as well as the newly launched Crocodile Awards.
“This is more than just a name change, it’s a reinvigoration of the festival with its new awards program and with a focus on the best work, brands, and agencies from across the whole of APAC – not just Australia and New Zealand,” said David Hovenden, CEO & co-founder The Misfits Media Company.
Next year’s Cairns Crocodiles takes place from Tuesday May 13th to Thursday May 15th, so don’t despair, save the date, and snap up your early bird tickets now.
Taking place in the Cairns Convention Centre, as well as the nearby Hemingway’s Brewery, more than 1,800 people attended Cannes in Cairns earlier this month.
Drawing phenomenal feedback and record-breaking delegate numbers, the event, which was presented by Pinterest, attracted big-name sponsors, brands, agencies, creatives, entrepreneurs and more.
With the majority of attendees made up of brands and marketers, more than 160 speakers from not just APAC, but also globally, took to the stage across three content tracks and more than 50 sessions.
From keynote lures such as multi-award winning journalist and TV host Lisa Wilkinson, adventurer, writer, and rewilding facilitator Gina Chick, actor, writer, and producer Richard Roxburgh, and ex-NBA star Luc Longley AM, to global marketing advisor, Ex-Burger King, NotCo & Activision Blizzard global CMO Fernando Machado, CMO advisor & inclusive marketing strategist Lola Bakare and ex-TV producer now Keynote speaker Maz Farrelly – crowds were left enthralled and captivated.
Other big-name attractions included author, social commentator, Walkley Winner, speaker and broadcaster Jane Caro AM, radio stars Will & Woody, former artistic director Bangarra Dance Stephen Page AO, and KICPOD founders Laura Henshaw, and Steph Claire Smith.
NZ director and cinematographer Ray Edwards, senior vice president of global partnerships system Andrew Tindall, ECD Campaign Edge Dee Madigan, Filmmakers Zoë McIntosh and Gabriel Gasparinatos and bestselling author, award-winning filmmaker, Australian of the Year in 2023 Taryn Brumfitt, also evoked creative sparks and left delegates inspired and excited about the future of creativity and business.
New for 2024, Cannes in Cairns introduced the Hemingway’s Brewery content track which saw a stage installed into the popular and iconic wharfside watering hole. High-end and highly talked about sessions from partners such as News Corp Australia, GumGum, and Montu, were interspersed with curated sessions from the likes of PepsiCo, Wieden + Kennedy Japan, UberEats, Debate Club, The Village, and more.
The Cairns Extras slate, which included VIP and exclusive dinners, cocktail parties, lunch and learns, and the iconic reef trip, also swelled to a record amount of extra functions taking place around the festival.
“Almost two weeks post-Cannes in Cairns and so much positive feedback is still coming in thick and fast – with many already asking how they can pitch sessions and be part of next year’s event,” said Pippa Chambers, Cairns Crocodiles content director.
“While this year’s event is over, there’s no rest as we continue to look at how we can take the Cairns Crocodiles to new heights in 2025,” added Chambers.
Buy your early bird tickets for Cairns Crocodiles 2025
Keep an eye out for the Topics in Tropics session submission form which goes live in September and for more content from this year’s event see here.