Visit Cannes for free for the festival

Stella Artois at Cannes

Headline news: most people would like to visit Cannes for free for the Cannes Film Festival ;-). Who would have thunk? Luckily, many brands like to associate themselves with the festival and organise competitions with a range of prizes that include hotels, red carpet events and the glamour of being in Cannes for the world’s foremost movie event.

We’ll be announcing competitions at they come up, so expect regular updates here. Remember, this is a worldwide event, so some of the competitions might be restricted to specific countries. Read the rules and regulations before taking part. If you hear of any competitions in your country, please drop a note in the comments section. You could be giving someone the journey of a lifetime!

• First up is the Stella Artois competition based on the fictional character Jacques d’Azur (photo). They are running an online casting call for someone to play his role in  a short to be shown at the festival. Deadline March 31, 2011.
• French singer Jean Roch (“My Love is Over”) is organising a competition for a weekend in Cannes through his Facebook page (in French).
• Delhi Duty Free is running a competition with Chivas until March 31. If you buy a certain number of bottles, you are entered into a  draw for a 24-hour luxury VIP experience with red carpet treatment, a helicopter shuttle and a night at the Martinez.
• Young advertising creatives might be interested in The Guardian’s competition that will see one person attend the Cannes Lions event and mix with the great and creative of the advertising world See The Guardian.
• Another Cannes Lions competition, this one from YouTube. Details on Good Work. I can’t see a deadline.
• If you’re between 18 and 25 and live in France, you might want to try and become a member of the jury for  the Prix de la Jeunesse (Youth Prize). Details in French.
• Australian bloggers can try their luck with Blockbuster SuperBlogger‘s prize of  5 VIP days in Cannes reporting on the event.  The idea is that you create a film-related blog and get lots of people to read it. Hang on, that’s competition for me! Good luck anyway.
• German visitors might want to try and win two nights in a four-star hotel with flights, courtesy of women’s magazine Laviva. As far I can see, you just have to send a postcard!
• Electrolux in the UK are running a competition with three nights of VIP treatment and a red carpet premiere (plus other goodies). Check here before April 12.
• Condé Nast has a weekend at the Marriott (formerly the Palais Stéphanie) for two people from the UK. Nice prize.
• UK visitors can enter the Cinémoi/Air France/Hotel Martinez competition. All you have to do is spot the stars that were there last year. Easy?
• Armenians might want to try their luck with Orange Armenia. Voice subscribers who will use the Orange Kino service until May 8, will get the chance to win a VIP guest package. Details here.
• Italian readers should head over to Vanity Fair Italia for a competition that finishes of May 3.

I de-activated all the dead links. Find some tips about attending Cannes.