Cannes is a vibrant city and it obviously has several attractions. The foremost attraction is the Cannes Film Festival established in 1946 and is a private festival that focuses on mostly novel and little known films from new producers. These films are screened in large numbers usually within a single venue. The festival is an annual event and the films screened here are either international or domestic. The films either focus on a particular genre, a particular producer or are limited in terms of the time allocated to them. The festival is held at the Palais des festival des Congress. The old building was constructed in 1949 while the new one opened in December of 1982. It was further expanded in 1999. It has an overall space capacity of 25,000 square meters and an additional 8 auditoriums.
At the film festival, the highest award is the Golden Palm. This was introduced in 1955 and is given to the best film of the day in their different categories. It was introduced by the committee organizing the festival and was replaced by the Grand Prix Du festival for the ten years of 1964-1974. This film festival acts as a showcase for producers to market their films to both viewers and distributors. Another attraction in this city is the fireworks display held at the Cannes bay. Other than the Cannes film festival there is the Pan African film festival that focuses on films made in Africa. For boating enthusiasts there is an event just for them in September. It is the Festival de la Palaisancse held on the Vieux port.
In 2008, 9,093 delegates attended the world’s largest music industry fair for trade. It was established in 1967 and the aim of the festival is to bring together journalists, musicians, businessmen, and women in the music industry. New artists get to show their work and most of the visitors tend to be from North America and Europe. A two-day festival that focuses on music and the digital age and how this can be converted into monetary terms precedes it. Theaters like Alexandre hold small productions and international performance festivals for actors. Carnival on the Riviera marks 21 days prior to Ash Wednesday, the first day of the month of Lent where Catholics fast and pray. It is an annual parade through the streets of Cannes. There are numerous attractions in Cannes to keep the tourist busy.