The French Riviera resort plans to digitize eleven of its iconic sites as NFTs. Cannes thus becomes the first French city to officially invest the metaverse.
The city of Cannes appears as the first in France to officially invest the metaverse. In partnership with a Cannes company, Pertimm, specialized in artificial intelligence, the seaside resort will digitize 11 of its emblematic sites in the form of NFT. The sites concerned are the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes, Boulevard de la Croisette, Port Canto, Île Sainte-Marguerite (including Fort Royal), the Jason Decaires Taylor marine eco-museum, the art center Malmaison, the Old Port, the Forville market, the Suquet and Pointe Croisette districts and the Georges Méliès Campus.
The entire project, and the tokens, will be presented in April during the World Artificial Intelligence Cannes Festival before being auctioned at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which will take place from June 20 to 24, 2022. Once acquired, NFTs can be implemented in any digital universe.
Real investment or announcement effect?
“With this innovative technology, each place in Cannes will be digitized and then sold at auction. Part of the sums collected will be donated to the Cannes Foundation and will be used to develop projects for the protection of the environment. Proactive, the municipality is thus positioning itself on an innovative market in full expansion, a source of attractiveness, influence and wealth.“, explains David Lisnard, Mayor of Cannes. To mitigate the environmental criticism linked to these new technologies, 10% of the proceeds from the sale of NFTs will be donated to the Cannes endowment fund for the realization of positive environmental actions.
But metaverse lately rhymes a lot with announcement effects. For companies in particular, this new virtual world is used as a means of communication to show their investment in the most trendy technologies. Should we see this as perlimpipin powder or a real long-term project?