Tanya König: Behind the scenes at Cannes Lions 2021

Advertisingweek.chTanya König, you are on your way to London. There you will be on duty as a data presenter for the live broadcast of Cannes Lions. How did it come about?

Tanya König: The organizers of Cannes Lions usually work with presenters who are well-known in the English-speaking world. But for this year, they wanted to open up the field and engage a European talent. So they started looking and came across me. I am very honored to be working for such a prestigious festival.

How exactly can we imagine your assignment?

The Cannes Lions Festival annually honors the international advertising industry and creative scene. The awards presented are also considered the Oscars of the advertising industry. This year, however, there will again be no physical event. Instead, the organizers will broadcast a daily award show from Cannes from June 21 to 25, followed by a live program from a studio in London. Juan Señor will host the daily award show in Cannes, BBC presenter Tina Daheley will lead the show from London, and I will be the data presenter for "The Debrief" segment - also live from London. You have to imagine it like an election broadcast: I stand next to a screen and will present facts and figures about each Lion.

You are a moderation professional. What do you enjoy most about your job?

I just feel alive when I present on stage or live in front of the camera. I am then completely there and enjoy this moment.

Multilingual as you are, moderation in English is no problem. Are you still a little excited?

At the moment, I'm rather joyfully excited. I only get nervous before we go live on air. But most of the time, that nervousness fades after a few seconds. I don't strive for perfection, because that's not human. Things are allowed to go wrong sometimes. It's more important for me to be able to deal with the unpredictable and to be spontaneous.

You're going to do a kind of Cannes Lions diary for us. How exactly will you let us share your stay in London?

I will shoot short videos with my smartphone and give a glimpse behind the scenes. The first video is from my quarantine, as I have to spend a few days in a hotel before the assignment. After that, I'll report from rehearsals, from a live assignment and summarize the highlights of the different categories. And finally, I'm sure I'll do a short summary of the week.

If you already have details: What does your daily routine look like? How often do you broadcast, who can see and hear you where?

I will be on air four to seven times a day for five minutes each. In one show, I'll focus on one of the 28 Lions - or categories - and tell stories about it: How long has that Lion been around? How many entries did the festival get for that category? Who has won this Lion before? In the process, I show graphics and animations on a screen. The Lions Live program is broadcast daily from noon via Youtube streamed and as an on-demand segment on the Cannes Lions platform shared. You can sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss the info.

Tanya king is a TV presenter and video producer.