Stagwell deliberately chose not to call Sport Beach ‘Stagwell Beach’ to build the experience around “what the audience cared about,” Sidhu said. Regardless, it serves as a unifying presence for the holding company and its agencies, which used to show up at Cannes individually, and can now choose to participate in Sport Beach.
This year, Sport Beach continues to elevate its star power. The 2025 lineup includes Noah Lyles, Candace Parker, Jordan Chiles, Oscar Piastri, Ilona Maher, Billie Jean King, and Alex Morgan, as well as the return of the Kelce brothers.
In addition to five new programming tracks, the event will introduce a Swim Club, an invite-only speakeasy honoring Carmelo Anthony and Sue Bird, and European product launches from partners like PepsiCo.
Though attendance will be curbed at 5,000 people as Stagwell looks to be more “intentional about who’s there,” per a spokesperson, content will be available for free via live stream.
Less of a ‘party mentality’
While Sport Beach muscles up, Stagwell’s competitors are moving further behind the scenes as they focus on business and look to prove value to clients amid industry upheaval.
“You need to be aware—at a time when there’s a lot of budget tightening going on across the industry—you don’t want to look like you’re being too extravagant,” said an IPG spokesperson.
For its part, WPP, which saw a 2.7% dip in first-quarter revenue and recently laid off staff at its media division GroupM, is approaching Cannes this year with “much less of a ‘party’ mentality,” said CMO Laurent Ezekiel. He described WPP’s approach as “very scheduled” and “focused on our clients and partners.”
Chief creative officer Rob Reilly added that Cannes is about “the Palais and the work. “WPP’s focus is to show up in a big way creatively,” he said.
Last week, Publicis Groupe announced that it will host vertical-specific AI workshops for clients in Cannes this year. “Celebrating creativity for its own sake is not enough in a moment like this one,” CEO Arthur Sadoun told ADWEEK.
Meanwhile, IPG, which is preparing to be acquired by rival Omnicom, will host its Inclusion Breakfast for the 12th year as its main programming. “We’re focused on the competition happening in the Palais, not on Yacht Row or the beaches,” a spokesperson said.
