I attended a Cannes Lions party in virtual reality. This is what it was like.

Swaying palms, soaring seagulls, a glistening blue sea. 

I’m on the beach in Cannes, France, but here’s the twist – I’m actually in my home.The tech responsible for this feat is the Oculus Quest 2 – Facebook’s latest virtual reality headset.As part of Facebook’s presence at Cannes Lions, we’ve invited a group of clients to join us on the Croisette via virtual reality. This involves putting on a Quest 2, picking an avatar, and mingling with other guest’s avatars under the palms.  

Now, I know what you might be thinking. You’re asking your clients to do what!? What if they can’t work the headset? What if it’s awkward? How do you even move around in VR? If you’ve never tried an Oculus headset before, it sounds like... a lot. And I’ll admit that I too felt a bit nervous at the idea. Would it all work out? Would our guests have fun? Well, I’m happy to report it was, in fact, an absolute blast. Compared with the alternative – a screen full of tiled faces – going to the beach in VR was a revelation.

The event began last Thursday evening. Once all the guests were geared up in their Quest headsets, we were transported to a bar area where we could choose our avatars – and try on different accessories. (I picked a wide-brimmed hat – it was sunny in virtual Cannes, after all.) Next up, we headed to a virtual selfie booth where we could take shots for later posting on social media. 

At this point, we moved to the Cannes beach. There were activities galore: We had a quiz. We toasted marshmallows. We played with basketballs. We even set off fireworks. And I gave a speech on a stage by the beach, as seagulls called in the distance. Afterwards, guests mingled and it felt like you were next to people – like a normal conversation. 

So what did I take away from this experience? Well, VR is amazing fun (and I recommend you all try it for your events and offsites). But there’s also something more than that. 

In today’s world, it’s not always possible to travel long distances to be in each other’s company. The Quest 2 provides a way to overcome those limitations. And you can do things together in VR that you could never do in real-life – from holding a meeting in Machu Picchu to building a virtual pirate ship (yes, an innovative company called Loom actually did that for its offsite).      

Will it replace video calls? Maybe not – particularly for those meetings that, as the saying goes, could have been an email. But we are physical beings. And being in the same space as someone – via virtual reality – it changes everything. I have no doubt that in 10 years, I’ll look back on how far VR has advanced, and remember this soirée fondly. In the meantime, I can’t wait for my next invite to a VR event. So if you’re there, come say hello. I may be wearing a wide-brimmed hat.