Lions, the company behind the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, said today it is establishing permanent regional platforms in North America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, giving the company a year-round operating presence in those markets while keeping Cannes Lions as its flagship global event. 

A spokesperson characterized the moves as part of the continuing evolution of the group’s global model which has already established teams and resources across these regions.  

In North America it is debuting a new event next month called Insight to Impact that will take place in Denver, moving to Nashville in 2027. The event combines existing Informa marketing conferences with input from Lions, including Warc and Effie.  

Starting in 2027, VidCon will become part of the event as VidCon x LIONS Creators, reflecting the growing influence of the creator economy in marketing and advertising. VidCon and Lions share the same parent, UK-based Informa, which acquired Lions parent Ascential in 2024 for approximately $1.5 billion.   

The announcement also stated that advertising awards festival Spikes Asia is being renamed Lions Asia next year, expanding the event to include Lions’ research, training and networking.  

Lions Riyadh will launch in Saudi Arabia late next year and will include locally-focused Lions content and other resources and activities.  This new event will be orchestrated by events and exhibitions company Tahaluf, a joint venture between Informa and several Saudi entities in partnership with the Kingdom’s Ministry of Media. 

Lions CEO Simon Cook said the goal is to make the organization's knowledge and resources available to more people where they live and work, while also bringing more regional talent and ideas onto the global Cannes stage.