Two-day annual AI festival held at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. The 2027 edition runs 10–11 February. From 2027, the event is delivered by Informa PLC under The AI Summit Series brand, alongside editions in London, New York, Las Vegas, Melbourne and Singapore.
The World AI Cannes Festival (WAICF) is an annual international AI gathering held in Cannes, France. It was originally conceived in 2021 at Institut EuropIA and launched in 2022 with the backing of the Alpes-Maritimes Department, the Mayor of Cannes, and the Palais des Festivals. From 2027, the event is delivered by Informa PLC, a London-registered global events and academic publishing group, which has integrated WAICF into its AI Summit Series alongside editions in London, New York, Las Vegas, Melbourne and Singapore. The event addresses AI across business, governance and healthcare, and has positioned itself as a point of connection between international industry leaders and the Sophia Antipolis technology and research community in the French Riviera. The Département des Alpes-Maritimes serves as the main event partner.
The 2027 edition is confirmed for 10–11 February at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes. This is the first edition under Informa's management, following the transfer of the event from its original French organisers. The 2027 programme had not been published at the time of writing. Registration interest can be submitted via the organiser's interest form (reg.theaisummit.com/register-your-interest-waicf). Among the speakers who participated in the 2026 edition (delivered under the previous organisation): Bijit Ghosh (Managing Director AI/ML/Data and Cloud, Wells Fargo), Dawn Baker (CTO, Back Market), Francesca Rossi (Fellow and AI Ethics Global Leader, IBM), Janine Chamberlin (Head of UK, LinkedIn), Kristina Kallas (Minister of Education and Research, Republic of Estonia), Oliver Patel (Head of Enterprise AI Governance, AstraZeneca), Pascale Fung (Chair Professor, HKUST), and Yann LeCun (Founder and Executive Chairman, AMI Labs). No 2027 speaker list is available.
WAICF occupies a February slot, making it one of the earliest significant AI events on the European annual calendar, alongside events such as the AI Action Summit (Paris, government track) and the AI Safety Summit series. Its winter-in-Cannes timing distinguishes it from the autumn cluster that dominates the European AI circuit. As part of the Informa AI Summit Series, WAICF benefits from cross-promotional reach with The AI Summit London (June) and New York editions. Within France, it is positioned as the most international AI gathering outside Paris, with the Sophia Antipolis technology park providing a local research and startup ecosystem for the event.
Specific format details for the 2027 edition, including stage count, masterclasses or workshop formats, had not been confirmed publicly at the verification date.
Informa, through its The AI Summit Series, became the event's delivery organisation from the 2027 edition onwards. The event retains the World AI Cannes Festival name and the Palais des Festivals venue. The original organising institution, Institut EuropIA, created the event in 2021 with backing from the Alpes-Maritimes Department and local authorities. Informa's involvement integrates WAICF into a global AI events network, which may affect programming breadth, international speaker access and sponsorship positioning. How much the format changes from previous editions will become apparent when the 2027 programme is published.
No. WAICF uses the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès as its venue because it is Cannes' main convention facility, not because of any formal connection to the film festival (which takes place in May). The name and location are chosen to evoke the international profile of Cannes as a destination; the events are distinct and unrelated.
Yes. The Health AI Summit is a dedicated track within the festival, explicitly addressing AI in diagnostics, hospital management, drug discovery and biotech breakthroughs. This makes the event relevant for healthcare executives, pharmaceutical researchers and digital health practitioners alongside the broader AI business audience.
The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès is Cannes' principal convention and events complex, located on the Boulevard de la Croisette overlooking the Mediterranean. The building spans approximately 70,000 square metres and includes multiple auditoriums, exhibition halls and conference rooms. It regularly hosts the Cannes Film Festival, MIPIM, MIDEM and other major international events. For WAICF, the Palais provides a setting recognisable to an international professional audience. Cannes is accessible by rail (TGV and TER services from Nice airport, approximately 30 minutes) and by road from Nice Côte d'Azur International Airport (NCE), the primary international gateway, approximately 30–45 minutes from the Palais.
Informa PLC is a London-registered global events, academic publishing and business intelligence company (Companies House number 3099067, registered office: 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG). Its events division operates The AI Summit Series, which includes editions in London, New York, Las Vegas, Melbourne and Singapore. WAICF sits alongside these editions from 2027 onwards. The AI Summit London is described by the organiser as "the longest-running international B2B AI event series." Informa also operates GITEX Global (through DWTC, a separate entity in which Informa has a relationship) and a large portfolio of B2B trade events. The WAICF page is hosted within the AI Summit London website domain (london.theaisummit.com), indicating operational integration with the London edition. The Département des Alpes-Maritimes is listed as the Main Event Partner for the 2026 edition.
WAICF is a French Riviera AI festival now operating under Informa's AI Summit Series umbrella, giving it global commercial infrastructure while retaining its Palais des Festivals setting and European governance and health AI positioning.
Registration for the 2027 edition is at the interest-registration stage as of the verification date. Prospective attendees can register interest at reg.theaisummit.com/register-your-interest-waicf. Pricing, ticket categories and access conditions for WAICF 2027 had not been published at the time of writing. Previous editions operated a tiered delegate pricing model. Inquiries can be directed through the Informa / AI Summit contact infrastructure at london.theaisummit.com.
Nice Côte d'Azur International Airport (NCE) is the primary gateway, approximately 30–45 minutes from the Palais des Festivals by road or taxi. Train services run from Nice Airport station to Cannes (approximately 30 minutes on TER). Cannes is also accessible from Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) by TGV or road, approximately 2 hours.
The Palais des Festivals is on the Croisette, Cannes' main seafront boulevard, lined with major international hotels. The proximity of accommodation to the venue is one of the logistical advantages of the Cannes location. No official hotel block agreements for WAICF 2027 were listed on the organiser's site at the time of verification.
The organiser describes the festival as fostering "high value connections." Whether a structured advance-booking meeting system is offered is not confirmed in publicly available 2027 materials. The 2026 edition's format, managed by the previous organising team, is not a reliable indicator of how Informa will structure the 2027 networking programme.
| Official website | https://london.theaisummit.com/world-ai-cannes-festival/ |
| Previous organiser website | https://www.worldaicannes.com/ |
| Register interest | https://reg.theaisummit.com/register-your-interest-waicf |
| Programme | not yet published |
| The AI Summit Series | https://london.theaisummit.com/ |