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History

410 St Honorat settles on the isle of LÉrins
427 Isle of LÉrins expands to become an important monastery
11th C Monks of St Honorat build a tower-keep on Le Suquet hill to defend themselves against the Saracen pirates
11th C First appearance of the name 'Cannes'
1356 Fishermen from Cannes defend their rights to fish in the bay of La Napoule
1441-53 Lord Abbot's statutes regulate Cannes' fishing
1635 Spaniards take control of St Honorat for two years and expel the monks
1687-98 Imprisonment of the 'Man in the Iron Mask' in the Fort prison on Ile Ste Marguerite
1787 Monastery on St Honorat is dissolved
1793 Fishermen of Cannes found the Fisheries Court of Cannes
1834 Lord Henry Brougham, Chancellor of Great Britain, discovers Cannes, heralding the birth of winter tourism here
1838 Construction of the Vieux Port (Old Port)
1838 French aristocracy discover Cannes
1846
AllÉes de la Marine are planted with date palms, acacias, elms and micocouliers. This is the first mention of palm trees in Cannes
1859 Creation of the yachting club
1859 Cistercian community of SÉnanque refounds a community on St Honorat
1865 Foundation of the SociÉtÉ de l'Avenir de Cannes (Association for the Future of Cannes) to defend winter residents and promote tourism
1865 Prosper MÉrimÉe begins to visit Cannes to cure his asthma
1868 La Croisette is built
1878
Cannes becomes a 'Health Resort' as physicians declare its climate beneficial
1880 The first mimosa plants arrive from Australia
1883 Dr Buttura publishes Winter in Cannes and Le Cannet advocating the city's restorative qualities
1887 Writer/poet Stephen LiÉgard invents the term 'Côte d'Azur'
1907 Construction of the winter casino (present location of the Palais des Festivals)
1910-30 Period of major hotel construction
1929 Construction of the Palm Beach (summer casino)
1930 Beginning of the summer season in Cannes
1931 Managers of leading hotels in Cannes make the joint decision to stay open in the summer
1939 First Film Festival planned but annulled by outbreak of World War II
1960s Cannes becomes a leading centre of business tourism
1982 Opening of the present Palais des Festivals et des Congrès
1989 Palais Croisette is destroyed
1992
Opening of Noga Hilton on La Croisette
1992 Vladimir Gaudrat is elected Abbot of LÉrins
1998 Construction of the extension to the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès: the Espace Riviera

Cannes Film Festival History

1939
First Cannes Film Festival is scheduled for 1 September - postponed due to World War II
20 Sep 1946 First Cannes Film Festival takes place; 18 countries are represented
12 Sep 1947 Second Film Festival begins in the purpose-built Palais. Occasionally it rains inside
1948 & 1950 No festival due to lack of funding
1952 Palais is completed and inaugurated on 23 April
1953 Brigitte Bardot charms all at the festival
1955 The Grand Prix International is renamed the Palme d'Or
1956 François Mitterand inaugurates the 10th Anniversary Festival on 23 April
1962 La Croisette is doubled in size by extending the beach
1963 Marcel Pagnol, author of Jean de Florette, exclaims, 'Cinema is dead; long live television'
1965 Olivia de Havilland is the first woman to preside over the jury
1968 Festival is closed due to May 1968 uprising
1978 Gilles Jacob creates an official non-competitive section called Un Certain Regard and the Camera d'Or, an award for a first feature film
1984 Stars are asked to leave handprints in the clay outside the Palais
1986 The ship from Roman Polanski's film, Pirates, anchors in Cannes bay
1997 50th anniversary of the Film Festival
1998 Standing ovation for Erick Zonka, director of the hugely successful film The Dream Life of Angels





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