Jellyfish alerts in Cannes and Nice

Jellyfish - a recurring problem in every Mediterranean country - have been causing problems along the Côte d'Azur. It is reported that in one day, the emergency services received 500 calls for the stretch between Cannes and Nice alone. Local authorities have reacted by installing nets and in some cases "jellyfish hoovers", boats equipped to remove them from the sea.

Jellyfish used to be a problem every eight years or so. However changes in the Mediterranean mean that they are now an almost annual fixture. Scientists are not sure why, claiming changes in the biosystem or an increase in the sea's average temperature are responsible.

For people visiting the Mediterranean, remember to check for flags or signs on the beach before entering the water.

UK film centre posts Cannes events

The UK film centre is always a hive of activities during the film festival. This year's events include a wide range of conference and talks. These include talks about micro-budgets, distribution and the Internet, secrets of co-production and a screenwriter's workshop (from EON, no less. If you have to ask who they are, maybe you shouldn't come).

There is also wi-fi access, a bar and a busy beach terrace.

For details, click on UK Film.

Cannes amongst Forbes' "Top 10 Topless Beaches"

Forbes has just published their Top 10 choice of topless beaches, which includes Cannes. As they say themselves, "Call us old-fashioned, but we tend to favor topless beaches rather than nude ones. Nearly all European beaches are topless, and sunbathers there have a blasé attitude towards nudity, which means no gawking or cameras". The fact that they recommend staying during the film festival is not very helpful as 1) there are more cameras per square meter than at a Nikon factory and 2) it's almost impossible to book a hotel. So their suggestion of the Carlton is a bit optimistic. You might want to book now for next May.

Other beaches on the hotlist include Santorini (Greece), Bora Bora (Polypenesia) and St Martin (West Indies). Funnily enough, Cannes is amongst the cheapest of the bunch.

The Cannes greeting card

We just received a card from the Immosol property agency in Cannes with the image (right). Needless to say, it's a joke. But while we're getting all seasonal, you might want to know that until January 7, Cannes is hosting a Christmas village on the Espace Pantiero with special events on December 24 and 31 - including a firework show. For something a bit warmer, there is a showing of "Carmen" in the Palais on December 31.

Everyone else is slowly getting things together for Midem, January 21-25. We'll be posting news of the conference and concert line-ups over the coming days.

Man wins Lion, drinks, loses Lion on beach

I'm trying not to laugh, because this is serious (snigger). Following on the previous post about bad behaviour in Cannes comes this heartfelt cry: "Imagine yourself waking up the morning after you buried your employer’s Cannes Lion on some beach in Cannes. Sounds like a lot of fun until you realize you don’t remember where it was."

Let me see... No, I can't imagine myself doing anything as stupid as that. But it seems that's what Tom Eriksen of Farfar in Sweden did. He got tired of carrying it around at the parties and buried the thing in the sand. But he never found it again. You can even check the video of him digging right here.

Tom's a sport though. He's offering $1000 to anyone that finds the thing. No questions asked. It's embarassing enough as it is.

While we're talking about Farfar, here's the campaign that got the award: Stockholm, the Musical.