WAICF Cannes: A Brand Activation Guide for the World AI Cannes Festival
The World AI Cannes Festival, known as WAICF, takes place on 12 and 13 February 2026 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. Now in its fifth edition, it has established itself as the leading European event dedicated to artificial intelligence in a business context. The 2025 edition attracted 12,000 participants, 320 speakers, and 250 exhibitors. The 2026 edition is expected to bring together over 10,000 professional visitors, 320 international speakers, and 220 exhibitors for two dense days of strategic discussions, technology demonstrations, and business meetings.
The event was created by the EuropIA Institute in partnership with the City of Cannes, the Palais des Festivals, and the Alpes-Maritimes Department. Its thematic structure in 2026 covers AI for business strategy and implementation, generative AI and large language models, AI in healthcare, intelligent agents, AI governance and regulation, and deep tech. Among the confirmed participating organisations are Meta FAIR, Google, IBM, SAP, Accenture, and JPMorgan Chase. The Cannes Neurons Awards recognise the most promising AI startups across multiple categories at the close of the event.
Who attends WAICF ?
The audience is senior and commercially motivated. Chief executives, chief technology officers, chief information officers, heads of digital transformation, and the investors and advisors serving them. The event is structured around business applications of AI rather than academic research, which means the conversations are focused on implementation, ROI, and competitive advantage. For technology companies, consulting firms, and enterprise software providers working in the AI space, the concentration of decision-makers at WAICF is one of the best in Europe for a two-day event.
What does brand activation look like at WAICF ?
Exhibition stands within the Palais des Festivals, which cover 220 exhibiting companies, are the primary physical presence format. The quality of the stand environment matters here because the audience is senior and the context is a premier European AI event held in a venue associated with global cultural prestige. A stand that communicates what a company actually does and why it matters to someone facing real decisions about AI implementation will outperform one that communicates size or aspiration alone.
Beyond the stand, conference and panel participation within the WAICF programme is an important amplification channel. The Alan Turing room, programmed by the EuropIA Institute, runs two full days of expert conferences, debates, and demonstrations. Official programme partnerships, sponsored sessions, and keynote opportunities are available for brands with something substantive to contribute to the AI conversation. Private dinners and events during the two evenings also work well given the concentration of senior participants in Cannes for the event.
What does it cost ?
A contained presence at WAICF, covering a well-designed exhibition stand of 12 to 20 square metres plus management for the two-day event, sits in the range of 25,000 to 40,000 euros, with stand space rental costs to the organisers additional. A mid-range programme involving a branded stand of 25 to 40 square metres, a sponsored session or speaking slot within the conference programme, and a private dinner for 30 to 50 senior contacts on one of the evenings runs from 55,000 to 90,000 euros. A significant presence covering a prominent stand, a named programme partnership, and a full evening hospitality programme for key targets sits above 110,000 euros. The full pass for attendees is priced at approximately 1,090 euros, which indicates the seniority of the professional audience and the quality standard expected of everything associated with the event.
When to start planning ?
WAICF is in mid-February. Stand space within the Palais des Festivals is allocated by the organisers and commitments need to be made in October or November. Private events in Cannes during the WAICF week can be planned from November, but the best venues close to the Palais are taken quickly by the various events that cluster in Cannes in February, which also includes MIDEM and Wine Paris in the same week or adjacent weeks.
Planning an activation at WAICF ? Send us your brief.