Nobody will even try to pretend that Cannes Lions, the international festival of creativity that takes over the Croisette every year, isn’t the hottest ticket in town for all sorts of industries – from advertising, media and entertainment, as well as talent agencies, music and culture, to technology of all sorts.

But Monday’s opening day of the 2026 edition raised the temperature in more ways than one. Not only were excited fans sharing news that they had spotted such stars as Alan Cumming around the Croisette soon after Eddy Cue, Apple‘s senior VP of services and the Cannes Lions Entertainment Person of the Year 2026, and Hollywood power producer Jerry Bruckheimer shared the stage at the Lumière Theatre in the Cannes Palais des Festival for a well-attended keynote seminar.

No, the heat was also literal amid a heatwave currently hitting large parts of France. The temperature handily topped the 30 degrees Celsius mark, hitting around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The result was that every Cannes Lions indoor session you went to on Monday was full of folks expressing their relief to have found – at least temporary – refuge in the air-conditioned event spaces of the Palais. “I may stay in here for a few more sessions,” one attendee quipped after a midday discussion in a cooled-down room at the Palasi.

Meanwhile, people meeting up outdoors could often be seen congregating around big fans that some companies had put up outside their pavilions to the delight of passersby – with many folks sipping iced coffees or putting them on their foreheads to keep, well, a cool head. And among the particularly popular swag handed out by various brands around the Croisette were sun lotion, as well as hand and electric fans.

UTA Beach, the talent and brand advisory powerhouse’s home for its biggest presence ever at Cannes Lions, even enticed people seeking to cool off with this slogan above its entrance: “Come in. It’s cool in here.”

This was also where Paris Hilton proved that she still knows how to bring the cool and the fans. Literally. Hilton drew a huge crowd of fans who showed up for her Monday afternoon chat with UTA CEO David Kramer about her work as CEO of 11:11 Media. Kramer actually introduced her as a “multi-hyphenate and cultural icon,” with the screen behind the duo also calling her an entrepreneur and innovator. Kramer even described Hilton as a, maybe even the, pioneer among creators, those people previously known as influencers. “Paris Hilton, the Mother of Creators,” he summarized.

But Hilton also supplied fans and coolness in a literal sense. After all, before she arrived on the stage to a thunderous welcome, as people kept streaming into the venue, Hilton-branded handheld bladeless fans were handed out to the delight of the crowd. The Hollywood Reporter noticed at least three people grabbing more than one fan – whether to score bonus points with colleagues in attendance or loved ones back home wasn’t clear.

All in all, icebreakers weren’t needed as Cannes Lions kicked off. Instead, the heat proved to be a welcome conversation starter from the moment people entered the long line that formed early for the 8 a.m. opening of the Cannes Lions registration center, where people could pick up their badges. The line may have been long, but it moved quickly, with friendly staff, including staffers handing out water to people standing in line, drawing positive responses.

It was this morning line where some attendees also discussed news that a heatwave across France had started wreaking havoc on events in some regions of the country. Amid red heat warnings, the highest level in the country, some outdoor sports events were canceled over the weekend. What was more, the heatwave led to restrictions on alcohol consumption at the nationwide Fête de la Musique event. That meant that drinking alcohol was banned in the streets and public spaces in areas on red alert, and no alcohol was on sale at municipally organized events.

Some Cannes Lions may have worried, but there was no need for that, at least on Monday. It may have been hot in Cannes and the region that is a part of, but not so hot that an orange weather alert would have warranted a change to a red warning. So, rosé, which people could be heard mentioning during the day, aperol spritz and other beverage where flowing as a walk through town in the early evening proved.

“The city of Cannes is not currently subject to any heatwave-related restrictions,” Cannes Lions said in a statement shared with THR on Monday. “We do advise everyone to stay hydrated and top up sun cream regularly. There are water coolers throughout the Palais, and unless marked otherwise, Cannes tap water is safe to drink, so we advise that everyone carries a bottle to fill up as they go. If any new restrictions impact Cannes during the week of the festival, we’ll communicate those accordingly.”

During a mid-morning Monday appearance at the Tubi stage and cabana, Known agency president Ross Martin had no worries about any weather-related booze limitations, sharing this prediction with Cannes Lions newbies in the audience, in what he said is his 13th annual trip to the event: “No way you are not going to be sleeping at this time tomorrow. This is the last sober moment for you.”