Cannes Lions presents the Entertainment Person of the Year Award 2023 to Kevin Hart

Cannes Lions has announced Kevin Hart - Entertainer, Entrepreneur and Founder & Chairman of Hartbeat, the global media company creating entertainment where comedy meets culture - as the 2023 Entertainment Person of the Year.

Presented in recognition of the vital role that entertainment plays in the marketing and communications landscape, the award celebrates the creativity that inspires others to produce truly compelling, meaningful and entertaining content.

About the award, Philip Thomas, Chairman, LIONS, said, “We’re delighted to honour Kevin Hart with this year’s Entertainment Person of the Year accolade. He is a trailblazing entrepreneur and through his creation of Hartbeat he has shown an unwavering commitment to building the most innovative and inclusive comedic storytelling company. This is the kind of creativity that acts as an inspiration to others and we’re pleased to recognise the important role that Kevin is playing in the entertainment space.”

Kevin Hart commented, “I am so honored to receive this award and be recognized for my work in the entertainment and advertising space. It’s been incredible to work with Hartbeat’s branded entertainment studio and marketing consultancy, along with my brand partners, to take comedy in advertising to the next level and craft culturally relevant campaigns that unite people through laughter. My team and I are just getting started and we will continue to raise the bar and make an impact in advertising.” 

On Tuesday, 20 June, Hart will speak on stage at Cannes Lions for the first time as part of the Entertainment Person of the Year seminar, and will be presented with the award during that evening’s Cannes Lions Awards Show.

The 70th edition of Cannes Lions will see a curated program of world-class experts, challengers and disruptors from across the spectrum of creativity take to the stages. The full programme for Cannes Lions is now available to view at www.canneslions.com.