A DIFFERENT KIND
of CANNES:
SPORT BEACH 2023

June 19 – 22, 2023
At the ​Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

About Cannes

Every June, Cannes’ beaches fill with 15,000 ​of the world’s most influential brands and marketing executives. The week honors culture-moving creativity and sets the stage for the year to come.

About Sport Beach

We will create a magnetic experience that is the talk ​of Cannes by tapping into the ​cultural zeitgeist of sport, fandom and its massive global market.​ Sport Beach will make a splash with the world’s top brands, platforms and creative talent. 

 

Why Sport? Sport is a driving force in entertainment, culture, business, technology and so much more.

We are all fans – and fandom is the future.

Athletes​


Conrad Anker
(rock climbing)

An American rock climber, mountaineer, and author. He was the team leader of The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018. In 1999, he located George Mallory’s body on Everest as a member of a search team looking for the remains of the British climber.


Carmelo Anthony 
(basketball) 

An NBA All-Star who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Carmelo is also the founder of Seventh Estate (wine) and StayMe70 (clothing). 


Paolo Banchero
(basketball)

The no. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Paolo is a forward for the Orlando Magic and was named Rookie of the Year in 2023. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. 


Saquon Barkley
(football)

Top NFL running back currently playing for the New York Giants. AP offensive rookie of the year after his first season in the NFL. Barkley played college football at Penn State, where he set several all-time school records for his offensive production over three seasons before forgoing his senior year to enter the NFL. 


Scout Bassett 
(track and field) 

A decorated Paralympian, Scout is the fastest American of her classification ever to run the 100 meters. Today is an advocate and work with organizations including the Women’s Sports Foundation and brands like Gatorade and Nike. 


Kelvin Beachum
(football)

Currently an NFL offensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals, Kelvin is a 12-year veteran and has played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets. He is also a two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee… 


Sue Bird
(basketball) 

After a championed career spanning three decades regarded as the world’s premier point guard, Sue Bird has left her mark on the WNBA and the world of women’s sports. The league’s All-Time Leader in Assists retired in September of 2022 and has since tapped into her progressive entrepreneurial spirit. 


Marko Cheseto
(marathon)

A Kenyan All-American athlete in track and field and cross country running. In 2019 he set a world record for a marathon by a double amputee. 


Spencer Dinwiddie
(basketball) 

An NBA star, Dinwiddie serves as guard for the Brooklyn Nets. Spencer is co-founder of Calaxy, which is reimagining the creator-fan relationship. 


Patrice Evra
(soccer)

Former Manchester United and France National team Captain, Patrice is now a successful entrepreneur with his ‘I Love This Game’ brand, 


Allyson Felix
(track and field) 

Seven-time Olympic Gold Medalist and five-time Olympian, Felix is the most decorated Track & Field Olympian in history. 


Diana Flores
(flag football) 

Star quarterback and captain of Mexico’s National Team. A World Games Gold medalist, Diana also serves as the NFL & IFAF’s Flag Football global ambassador. 


Ashlyn Harris 
(soccer)

A former United States Women’s National Team & GothamFC goalkeeper and current Global Creative advisor for Gotham FC, made her debut in 2013 with the National Team. In 2019, she married former teammate Ali Krieger, making them one of sports’ most beloved couples 


Mack Hollins
(football)

NFL Wide receiver, Super Bowl Champ and activist. He has played for the Eagles Raiders, Dolphins (captain), and now the Falcons. Mack is a Special Olympics Global Ambassador. 


DK Kizer 
(football)

Former Quarterback for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and the Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish, Kizer is now the Founder & CEO of a Web3 start up called One of None. 


Vanita Krouch 
(flag football) 

quarterback of the US Women’s Flag Football team and 2016 National Flag and Touch Football Hall of Fame inductee.  


Matt Leinart 
(football)

Former quarterback at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy after an undefeated season. He went on to play for the Texans, Raiders and Cardinals. 


Nastia Liukin 
(gymnastics)

2008 Olympic all-around champion, a five-time Olympic medalist, the 2005 and 2007 World champion on the balance beam, and the 2005 World champion on the uneven bars. 


Brandon Marshall
(football)

former football player who played for 13 years in the NFL, where he hold the record for receiving yards and in-game receptions. He now runs a robust media ecosystem, including a podcast.  


Kyle Martino
(soccer)

Martino has played at all levels of U.S. Soccer from youth, to college, to Major League Soccer and the U.S. Men’s National Team. Kyle is founder of the Over Under Initiative. 


CJ McCollum
(basketball)

CJ McCollum is President of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the union for current professional basketball players in the National Basketball Association. A 10-year veteran of the NBA, McCollum currently plays for the New Orleans Pelicans and was originally drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the tenth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. 


DK Metcalf
(football)

A star wide receiver for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. He played college football at Ole Miss.


Paul Rabil
(tennis)

Co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League and former pro player himself, Rabil is widely considered one of the best players of all time.


Maria Sharapova
(tennis)

A former world No. 1 tennis player, Sharapova is one of 10 women to achieve a career Grand Slam. 


Alan Shearer
(soccer)

A former professional football player and England captain. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, and one of the greatest players in Premier League history, he is the Premier League’s record goal-scorer with 260 goals. Since his retirement in 2006, Shearer has worked as a TV pundit for the BBC, Premier League Productions and Amazon Prime. He is also a lead columnist for The Athletic.


Annika Sörenstom
(golf)

Won 90 international tournaments as a professional, making her the female golfer with the most wins to her name.  


Faze Swagg
(esports)

A popular streamer, YouTuber, and content creator for Faze clan as well as a part of Nuke Squad, Swagg is a dedicated Call of Duty streamer. Before moving to YouTube, he became one of the top Warzone creators on Twitch. 


Sheryl Swoopes
(basketball)

An American former professional basketball player, she was the first player to be signed in the WNBA and is a WNBA Hall of Famer. Sheryl is a three-time WNBA MVP, was named one of the league’s Top 15 Players of All Time at the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game. She is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history. 


Aly Wagner
(soccer)

Two-time World Cup medalist, and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Aly now serves as co-chair of the new NWSL Bay Area Club and FOX Sport’s lead match analyst for Women’s World Cup.  


James Worthy
(basketball) 

An NBA All-Star, first-round draft pick, legendary Laker, and current commentator and host.  

Journalists and Commentators


TJ Adeshola

Internationally-recognized media executive TJ Adeshola is a leader at the intersection of tech, media, and culture. Most recently, he led the Global Media Partnerships team at Twitter. 


Erin Andrews

Journalist, creator and cancer survivor, FOX Sports veteran reporter Erin Andrews contributes exclusive interviews and sideline reports from FOX NFL’s top game each week as part of the network’s lead crew. 


Allison Barber

Barber, Ph.D., is the President and COO of the Indiana Fever, Indiana’s WNBA franchise. From grade school teacher to communications strategist in the White House and United States Department of Defense; and as the first chancellor and chief fundraiser for Western Governor’s University (WGU) Indiana, Allison has dedicated herself to creating pathways to help individuals reach their potential. Allison is a lifelong volunteer with the American Red Cross. 


Sara Fischer​

Axios senior media reporter, CNN media analyst, author of the must-read Axios Media Trends weekly newsletter, covering the most consequential news, companies and leaders in the media industry. 


Kerry Flynn

Kerry Flynn is a media deals reporter at Axios and co-author of the daily Axios Pro: Media Deals newsletter. She came to Axios from CNN where she covered the media business for CNN.com and the Reliable Sources newsletter. She also has written for Digiday, Mashable, IBTimes, HuffPost, Forbes and Money magazine. 


Channing Frye

World Champion and NBA draft lottery pick, Channing Frye, had an illustrious 14-year career in the National Basketball Association. Currently, Channing is an analyst for Turner Sports, where he hosts a multitude of shows including Handles and Emmy-nominated NBATwitterLive. He is also a co-host of the wildly popular podcast, Road Trippin’, and started his own wine label, Chosen Family Wines. 


Ben Lyons

Ben Lyons is a multi-platform Emmy Award winning On-Air Host, Correspondent, Producer, and Marketing Consultant working at the intersection of sports, storytelling, media, and culture. 


Selema Masekela

Commentator, journalist, host, and Emmy nominated host/producer and co-creator of AFROSURF. Best known for his work across X-Games & ESPN/ABC, NBC Olympics, E!, Nat Geo, Red Bull Media House. He is the co-founder of Stoked, a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring at risk youth through action sports. 


Taylor Rooks​

An Emmy nominated broadcaster, journalist, and cultural icon known most prominently for her work with Turner Sports/Bleacher Report and Amazon’s Thursday Night Football. For the success of her work, Taylor has been featured in Sports Illustrated: “100 Influential Black Women in Sports” and is considered one of the most influential figures in sports media today. 


Holly Rowe

An American sports telecaster working for the ESPN sports television network. Rowe is a sideline reporter for college football and basketball games which are telecast on ESPN.


Jay Williams

is an American former basketball player and television analyst. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team and professionally for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA. 

NEWS COVERAGE

Created in Partnership With 

We will bring together the world’s most inspirational creatives, brands, marketers, athletes, coaches and leagues to PLAY SPORT, discuss the FUTURE OF FANDOM, and celebrate how SPORT SHAPES GLOBAL CULTURE.

SPORT BEACH THEMES​

Global

How do you build a global fan base?

Diversity

Who is the Next Fan?

Creativity

Who Creates for Fans? 

Technology

How is Technology Changing Sport?

Fandom

What can Sport teach us about Brand Fandom?

Questions?

Connect with our team