Oprah Winfrey will be honored as the 2026 Cannes LionHeart, an award that celebrates an industry luminary who has driven positive and lasting change throughout their career. 

Winfrey will deliver a talk at this year’s Festival of Creativity on June 23 and accept the award that evening.   

The Lions organization credits Winfrey with shaping culture and connecting audiences over her decades-long career from redefining daytime television to building platforms that amplify underrepresented voices.   

Philip Thomas, Chair, Lions, stated: “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.”  

The Lions organization also unveiled the content lineup for the festival in June, featuring six steams:  
 
Insights & Trends, which explores the cultural and strategic shifts redefining the industry. Speakers include Alex Weller, Patagonia, eBay CEO Jamie Iannone and designer Stella McCartney.   

Innovation Unwrapped, focusing on the technologies and transformations shaping the future. Speakers include Aude Gandon, The Estée Lauder Companies, and Nicola Mendelsohn, Meta. Also, R/GA leaders Tiffany Rolfe and Nick Pringle will share a playbook for creating in the intelligence age.   

The Creativity Toolbox will focus on tools, techniques and processes behind  creativity. Speakers include Marc Pritchard, P&G, who will explore the evolving role of creativity in brand building in an AI-driven world. 
 
Talent & Culture is centered on people and creative leadership, and examines how organizations cultivate talent and culture. Among the highlights: newly anointed Dentsu CEO Takeshi Sano will speak about 125 years of innovation and impact at the company.   

Creative Impact, which is co-curated with WARC, focuses on effectiveness and measurable impact. Mark Ritson, founder of MiniMBA, and  Byron Sharp, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, will present five fundamental marketing truths. Also featured are CMOs  Zena Arnold, Sephora US, and Jill Kramer from Mastercard on how creativity drives business growth. 
 
Cannes Lions Deconstructed will review of the biggest trends and  talking points emerging from the Festival.  

Beyond the main streams, other sessions explore industry wide issues. The full program can be accessed here.