Cannes Lions 2026 has awarded its Grand Prix trophies across seven categories — Brand Experience & Activation, Business Transformation, Commerce, Effectiveness, Strategy, Innovation, and Luxury — according to a roundup published by LBB - Little Black Book.

Grand Prix sits at the top of Cannes Lions' metal hierarchy. Each track awards one Grand Prix per year, alongside an unlimited slate of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Lions for entries that pass the jury threshold.

Which categories got their Grand Prix in this batch?

Seven tracks delivered their top metal together:

• Brand Experience & Activation — physical, environmental, and participative work that built brand equity
• Business Transformation — campaigns credited with measurable operating-model or revenue change
• Commerce — retail media, marketplace, and shopper-creative campaigns
• Effectiveness — the most data-led track, requiring documented commercial return
• Strategy — strategic platforms behind creative work
• Innovation — emerging tech, AI, and platform-native campaigns
• Luxury — premium-brand communications held apart from the main Creative field

These seven tracks cover a substantial share of the festival's specialist categories outside the core craft tracks (Film, Digital, Outdoor, Print, Design, and the Creative field itself).

How does the jury decide on a Grand Prix?

Each track runs its own jury under a rotating jury president. Juries convene during the festival week in Cannes, working through shortlisted entries submitted in advance via the festival's entry portal.

The metal flow runs from Gold down to Bronze based on jury scoring. Grand Prix sits above Gold, reserved for the entry the jury identifies as the category's standout.

Why these tracks carry weight

Effectiveness has historically drawn the closest scrutiny from procurement teams and chief financial officers, since winners must document commercial or behavioural change rather than creative metrics alone. Business Transformation extends that scrutiny further by crediting work that reshaped how a company goes to market.

Commerce covers the rise of retail media networks, marketplaces, and closed-loop measurement. Innovation and Strategy sit at the edges of the festival's traditional craft categories, capturing work that does not fit the Film or Digital tracks cleanly.

Luxury runs as its own vertical at the festival.

What changes in the race?

Grand Prix wins feed the network-of-the-year and agency-of-the-year tallies that close out the festival. Each metal typically carries a weighted point score; a Grand Prix scores higher than multiple Golds in the same category.

The seven-track Grand Prix haul therefore reshuffles holding-company standings ahead of the closing ceremony.

What's still to come?

The seven tracks above represent one tranche of Grand Prix announcements during the festival week. Cannes Lions typically awards additional Grand Prix across the craft tracks and the Creative category. Health, Pharma, and PR Lions maintain separate jury pools.

At the closing ceremony, the festival names Agency of the Year, Network of the Year, and Independent Agency of the Year from the weighted metal scores. A single Grand Prix can move those standings more than several Gold Lions combined.

Full winner credits and entry titles appear in the LBB roundup.