As we draw closer to the 73rd Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, the festival has announced Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services and Health, Eddy Cue, as its 2026 Entertainment Person of the Year.
The award comes in light of Cannes Lions’ recognition of the vital role that entertainment plays in the marketing and communications landscape. The award acknowledges the creativity that inspires others to produce entertaining and meaningful content.
Eddy Cue began at Apple in 1989, starting in Software Engineering and Customer Support before rising to the role of Senior Vice President of Services. Cue has been instrumental in building Apple’s global entertainment ecosystem, overseeing Apple TV, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud, to name a few.
While under his leadership, Apple TV, which launched over six years ago, has become one of the industry’s most well-known and defining services, holding the top position for the highest critically rated slate for original programming for five consecutive years.
Featuring critically acclaimed series such as the Emmy-award-winning drama series Severance and the highest-grossing sports film and Academy Award-winning blockbuster F1, Apple TV continues to set new industry standards and benchmarks.
Under Cue’s leadership, Apple’s commitment to premium storytelling has earned the brand more than 800 award wins and more than 3500 nominations to date, further cementing Apple’s impact on storytelling and culture across the entertainment industry.
Other areas of Apple under Cue consist of Apple Music, which has reached all-time highs in listenership and new subscribers, Apple’s growing sports business, such as the brand’s broadcast partnership with F1, as well as Major League Soccer and Friday Night Baseball.
Speaking on Cue’s win of the award, Cannes Lions CEO, Simon Cook, stated,
“Eddy Cue has consistently pushed the boundaries of entertainment and storytelling, building platforms and experiences that have redefined how audiences engage with culture. Under his leadership, Apple has not only produced world-class content but has also shaped the future of entertainment through innovation, creativity and an unwavering commitment to quality. We’re delighted to honour Eddy as our 2026 Entertainment Person of the Year.”
Apple’s continued cultural relevance and dominance within the industry are shown through its previous Cannes Lions wins. In 2025, Apple was named Cannes Lions’ Creative Marketer of the year, as well as winning the Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix for its iconic “Shot on iPhone” campaign.
At the festival itself, Cue will deliver a keynote seminar on Monday, 22nd June at the Lumière Theatre alongside producer Jerry Bruckheimer before collecting his award at the evening Cannes Lions Awards Show.
Visit Cannes Lions for more information, including the breadth of passes available.
