The Cannes Film Festival in figures

PARIS: Here is a statistical snapshot of the May 15-26 Cannes Film Festival:

- 80: The number of feature-length films, comprising 52 in the festival’s official selection (of which 20 are in the competition for the Palme d’Or); 18 in the category of Directors’ Fortnight; and 10 in the Critics’ Week.

- 60: The length in metres of Cannes’ fabled red carpet, which ascends 24 steps at the Palais des Festivals. The red carpet gets used three times a day, ahead of films that are shown in competition or for out-of-competition screening.

- 4,000: The number of movies that will be hawked at the International Film Market. The market is a major part of the festival, bringing together more than 10,000 buyers and sellers in the world film industry.

- 73,324: That’s Cannes’ year-round population, which soars to more than 200,000 during the festival. Visitors will notch up a total of 85,000 nights in hotels. The 12-day event accounts for 15 percent of the local hotel industry’s annual turnover.

- 20,000: The number of petunias that have been brought in to provide floral decoration for the festival.

- 4,800: The tally of accredited journalists, including 300 TV crews, making Cannes one of the biggest scheduled media events in the world.