Follow the yellow lines safely to the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival

Every May, movie stars, film directors, producers, fans and influencers flock to the renowned international ‘Festival de Cannes’. The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès plays host to this prestigious event, located at the entrance to the Croisette promenade.

Due to the massive crowds coming to the festival, both in cars and on foot, a temporary change to the existing road design is needed to keep the traffic flowing and allow pedestrians to walk safely along the Croisette promenade.

The challenge

For the Mairie de Cannes (the city council), the main logistical challenge of the festival is managing the massive flow of festival attendees and the public walking around the Palais, as well as keeping the traffic moving to prevent congestion building up on the Croisette.

The solution

During the festival, two out of four lanes adjacent to the sea are closed to cars so that pedestrians can stroll safely on the Croisette to experience the festival. The other two lanes are kept open to vehicles moving in both directions.

3M^™ Stamark^™ removable road marking solutions are used by the council to create temporary new lanes to manage the flow of traffic, with clearly visible markings to direct traffic and safely separate those on foot.

The temporary lanes are created using different markings, including continuous and broken lines as well as directional arrows, to clearly indicate which lane vehicles must use. Additional and wider crossings are also created to safely direct pedestrians from the centre of Cannes to the Palais des Festivals.

All the markings are temporary and can be removed quickly, to allow the roads to return to their original configuration after the festival.

Safety first

All visitors – ranging from the stars on the red carpet to those who come to enjoy the festival atmosphere at night – are kept safe as the retroreflective markings are clearly visible day and night, in all conditions, including rain.

Minimising disruption

Temporary road markings and directional signage are used to keep the usual traffic route in place, minimising disruption. This means that people travelling by car to the city of Antibes, for example, will still take the same route, although there will be more traffic than usual.

Specific signage relating to the film festival is also used to guide visitors to the parking spaces and to encourage them to come either by public transport or on foot to the Palais des Festivals.

Temporary signs help to make the traffic flow more smoothly, giving drivers the chance to avoid the congested festival area if they choose to.

Why were 3M Stamark removable road markings selected?

Cannes City Council has been using 3M Stamark A711 yellow removable road marking tapes for several years as they adhere well to the road, have high durability performances (T2 for Yellow version and P6 for white version according to French certification) and provide effective guidance day and night. However, the main advantage of the product is that it is prefabricated, ready to use, quick and easy to install and to remove when the festival ends.

This means that traffic disruption is kept to a minimum and the streets are returned to their original markings very rapidly. As an example, a pedestrian crossing with seven stripes is achieved in 30 minutes. No drying time is required, and the streets can be reopened to traffic right away. Using removable road markings can help limit traffic congestion and this has a positive impact on air quality in cities.

3M Stamark removable tapes also ensure safety as they have good skid resistance, are highly reflective at night and in the rain. These tapes can be removed by hand, leaving no lasting traces – which could confuse drivers as to which lane they should choose.

SUMP tool

3M Stamark removable road markings tapes also help implement your Sustainable Urban Management Plan (SUMP).

These high-performance removable marking tapes have also been used throughout the city of Cannes to create effective temporary road markings for road construction and road work zones.

Since COVID-19, active mobility has increased even faster. The need to redesign urban space is high on the agenda. These temporary road marking tapes are a key tool to try out the SUMP on infrastructure in a non-destructive way. Keeping every road user safe and satisfied is not an easy task

Removable 3M Stamark markings, which can be cut out as arrows and symbols, have also been used to create bicycle lanes in cities. The solution is particularly well suited to temporary applications and when trial phases are needed before deciding on new road marking layouts.

• For more information on our solutions, visit our website
• To start a 3M pilot in your city, contact our road safety experts
• In France, visit our website or email us.