How to reach APEX in Cannes
Cannes runs on the calendar of the Palais des Festivals, and our pace follows the same timetable. The APEX manager is on Telegram @Apex_concierge or WhatsApp on the same number, the shift runs around the clock, and the reply comes in 1-3 minutes. In quiet weeks the matching goes without rush: a table at Da Laura, a terrace at La Môme, a slot with the maître d' at Le Park 45 — all of it closed in one chat. In trade-show weeks the tempo is different: requests come in parallel from dozens of clients, and "tonight" turns into "let's see what's left". Don't call — communication runs through encrypted messengers only. And don't come to 12 Rue Bivouac Napoléon: it is a coordination point behind the Palais des Festivals, not a reception.
Time zone and hours
Cannes lives on Europe/Paris: CET (GMT+1) in winter and CEST (GMT+2) from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. The APEX manager is reachable 24/7 local time. Peak runs Tuesday to Friday in trade-show weeks and Friday to Saturday the rest of the year, from 19:00 to 03:00. In an ordinary week, matching for the same evening takes 30-60 minutes. For MIPIM and the Film Festival, book a month ahead, two weeks at the very least; for Cannes Lions, the Yachting Festival and MIPCOM, two to three weeks. For guests from London (GMT), Cannes is an hour ahead year-round: 21:00 in London is 22:00 in Cannes.
Languages
The APEX manager handles correspondence in English and Russian at the same level: you can send voice notes, screenshots of a booking or the whole event programme — we'll work it out. French runs at the level of working correspondence with restaurants and hotel services: confirming a table, checking the dress code with the maître d', arranging a car to the quay — the manager does all of that himself rather than passing it back to the client.
Contact channels
- Telegram @Apex_concierge — the main channel, reply within 3 minutes, 24/7.
- WhatsApp — the same number, for those who don't use Telegram.
- No calls, no SMS, no email — end-to-end encrypted messengers only. In a business town where half the room at a trade show knows the other half, this is basic hygiene: the correspondence stays on record, with no trace at a carrier or on a mail server.
- The coordination point is APEX Liaison, 12 Rue Bivouac Napoléon, Cannes. No meetings are held there — it is a working space for manager handovers.
What to put in your first message
The more precise the brief, the faster the match. Ideally the first message carries: the format of the meeting (a business dinner with partners, a dining evening at La Palme d'Or, a reception at a Croisette hotel, dinner on board in the Vieux Port or Port Canto, a day on the Lérins islands, an evening moving on to Bâoli), the date and time, the district, the duration and any preferences on type. For a trade-show week — which event and which part of it: a partner's reception, a delegation dinner, an afterparty. For a meeting on board — the vessel's name, the port and the arrival time. For a business dinner — who is at the table and how formal it is: that is what actually drives the match. Without those details, another thirty to sixty minutes goes on clarifying questions.
