The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès (Palace of Festivals and Conferences) is a convention centre in Cannes, France. It is the primary venue for the annual Cannes Film Festival, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and the NRJ Music Awards. The building, as known today, was unveiled in 1982.
The first Palais des Festivals et des Congrès was built in 1949 to host the Cannes Film Festival. The original building was located on the boulevard of Promenade de la Croisette, on the present site of the JW Marriott Cannes.
The Palais des Festivals is located at the top of Blvd. de la Croisette, east of the port. The venue proper has an overall area of 35,000 square metres, primarily for exhibitions, as well as numerous rooms plus an additional 18 auditoriums (the largest of which has a capacity of 2,300). It is the venue for the annual international Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes), and possesses “modern and high-tech facilities” for housing conferences throughout the year.
