Chivas Regal 25 and the world’s most famous film festival are both known worldwide as icons of glamour, legend and luxury and for the sixth consecutive year Chivas Regal 25 were proud sponsors of the legendary Cannes Film Festival.
“You’re in Cannes darling, it doesn’t matter how you feel, it’s how you look that matters!”
First held in 1946, the festival (which needs little introduction) brings the crème de la crème of world cinema to one of France’s most glamorous resorts, with over a thousand films being screened across the twelve star-studded days. Aside from the a-listers, Cannes also plays host to around 4,000 journalists and endless TV crews, all competing to catch a sighting of said A-Lister, and this year, one of those 4,000 journalists was me.
I was lucky enough to be invited by Chivas Regal Whisky (official sponsors of the festival) to the 67th Annual Film Festival in Cannes. Initially I was, as one might expect, somewhat excited – after all, who wouldn’t want to be wined and dinned by Chivas Regal for a luxurious 24 hours? The comprehensive itinerary that was sent to us looked incredible; flying out on a Thursday morning to spend an action packed and utterly glamorous 24 hours in the iconic Cannes with Chivas Regal 25 was sure to be the trip of a lifetime. Well, such excitement was swiftly diminished as a hand-full of friends and colleagues seemed to be less than impressed by my excitement. As one described it as ‘under-whelming’ and another, ‘a little disappointing’, I made sure to lower my expectations. Well, clearly they had never had the pleasure of joining Chivas Regal 25 for a whirlwind 24 hours whilst they were in Cannes, as underwhelming and disappointing? It most certainly was not.
Despite a 3 hour delay at Heathrow, and Nice greeting us with a less than desirable scene of grey clouds and endless drizzle, this did nothing to diminish the instant glamour that hit us upon arrival in Cannes. As our car made its way slowly through the endless crowds of people, we finally drew up to the grand sight of our hotel, the famous Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez. The barriers surrounding the entrance were swamped with people and paparazzi, all vying for the inevitable glimpse of a star coming through the revolving doors. If there is one thing I will take away from my 24 hours, it’s that there is nothing quite like the disappointed face of a paparazzi as they realise that despite the grand entrance, and the blacked out windows, you are but a nobody stepping out of said car – honestly, it doesn’t half shrink an inflated ego! Having suitably disgruntled the eager paparazzi and celeb-spotters that flanked the hotel around the clock, we were rushed through the doors, bundled into a lift and taken to our next stop, the Chivas Regal Salon on the 2nd floor.
As the men on our trip were treated to a pampering wet shave and hair styling, the women were able to indulge in the racks of designer gowns, shelves of stilettos and take full advantage of the glittering table of jewellery and clutches, for the magpie eyed like myself, this really was a cinderella moment!
After a delicious Chivas cocktail on the beautiful roof terrace of the Martinez and a quick photo of our group outside the hotel (cue: more deeply disappointed paparazzi), I was beginning to relax into the luxury of the whole experience. Next stop? The red carpet. Of all the things I’ve done in life, this goes straight to the top of surreal experiences. Standing in the pushing line of people waiting for their moment, adrenaline rushing, I imagined my own stint in the limelight to be very Jennifer Lawrence-esq. In my head I would be laughing and smiling as I glided up the red carpet, stopping to pose with a perfectly placed hand on hip, even photo bombing another star, because you know, I’m a fun kind of girl like that. In reality, it was petrifying. Swarms of cameras pointing in your face. Constant flashing of bulbs. Shouting of names to turn to the camera (certainly not my own). So what I thought would be the perfect red carpet debut was more of a blurred hurry down the walkway, permanently panic stricken face at the thought that I might walk into someone else’s line or worse – trip up the stairs, which I think we all know would bare no resemblance to J-Laws own stumble upon collecting her Oscar.
After the stress of my less than glamorous red carpet debut it was time to settle into the premiere of the evening – Jimmy’s Hall directed by the legendary Ken Loach – which was, thankfully, one of his more upbeat directional endeavours; a moving and inspiring portrayal of Irish activist and communist Jimmy Gralton. As anyone who has been to Cannes Film Festival will know, the actual film part of it is but a mere excuse for the decadence and over indulgence that comes with it. With this in mind, it was on to dinner in the 2 Michelin starred Palme d’Or restaurant. A truly unforgetable experience, each course was more delicious than the previous and perfectly accompanied by a unique cocktail especially created by Max Warner. Warner, who joined Chivas Brothers in 2004 as Chivas Regal Brand Ambassador, clearly knew what he was talking about as he personally introduced each cocktail. Now, eating at an acclaimed french restaurant and not having a single bottle of wine on the table might seem sacrilegious, but the thing you need to know about Chivas, is that they don’t do things the ‘normal’ way, and why not when abnormal can taste so good? Equally, when I say cocktails, forget everything you know about your usual colourful affair with an olive or umbrella thrown in – these were like no other. Think foies gras infused Chivas cocktails consumed through glassware resembling a crack-pipe, or dry ice covered tables to accompany a plum Sake ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ cocktail.
After copious amounts of whisky, and indulgent french cuisine it was time to do as the stars do and head to the first of the legendary after parties that Cannes is so famed for. First stop David Lynch’s Silencio, where the champagne refused to stop flowing, and we enjoyed the music and star-spotting from the luxury of our own Chivas Regal private tables. Because this was, of course, only a precursor to the rest of our night, we polished off the contents of our glasses and jumped into cars in the direction of where the real fun was going on, the infamous Le Baron. Low lighting and flowing drinks simply beg for a decadent night, and that it certainly was – dancing the night away, drinks in hand, until the sun came up seemed like the only right thing to do – when in Cannes after all!
The following morning, after a mere 2 hours of sleep, with painful feet and an even more painful head, I made my way to the sunshine filled terrace to join the other members of press for a rather quiet and caffeine orientated breakfast. Dark sunglasses were clearly the name of the game here as the journalist opposite told me I looked well I nearly choked on my Americano, “but I feel terrible” I laughed, upon which she retorted – “You’re in Cannes darling, it doesn’t matter how you feel, it’s how you look that matters!” And she certainly had a point, as we all descended down the Hotel’s Beach Pier for our transfer to Chivas 25 motor yacht, ALEXANDRA V to be greeted with, yes – you guessed it – a tiki themed Chivas cocktail. Nursing our heads and regaling each other with tales of our night we watched the Cannes skyline diminish from the best viewing spot there is, as we sailed around the azure bay in the stunning sunshine, feeling just like the stars we were invited to feel like.
Because we all know that time flies when you’re having fun, within a few decadent hours of seafood, music and ice cold rose, our time aboard the Chivas yacht was over, and we were instead flying low over the billboards and tented city of Cannes, in a helicopter (of course), back to Nice and sadly back to reality.
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