Barbra Streisand skips Cannes closing ceremony

Barbra Streisand said on May 17 that she will not travel to Cannes for the festival’s closing ceremony after a knee injury, forcing organizers to present an honorary Palme d’Or without her in the room. The Festival de Cannes said the tribute to Streisand will still take place on Saturday, May 23, at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. Streisand said she was acting “on the advice of my doctors” as she continued recovering. The announcement came during the 79th edition of the festival, which has already handed honorary Palmes d’Or to Peter Jackson and John Travolta. ### What exactly did Streisand say about missing Cannes? Barbra Streisand told the festival she was “sadly unable to attend the Festival de Cannes this year” because she was recovering from a knee injury, according to the festival’s May 17 statement. She added that she was “deeply honored” to receive the honorary Palme d’Or and had been looking forward to celebrating the films in this year’s lineup. (festival-cannes.com) The Festival de Cannes said it had been informed that Streisand would be unable to attend the ceremony in person in Cannes. Iris Knobloch, Thierry Frémaux and the festival team said in the same statement that they would proceed with the planned tribute and wished her a prompt recovery. ### Will Cannes still present the honorary Palme d’Or on May 23? (festival-cannes.com) The festival said the tribute to Streisand will go ahead during the closing ceremony on Saturday, May 23. The official statement described her as the third recipient of an Honorary Palme d’Or at the 79th festival, following earlier honors for Peter Jackson and John Travolta. (festival-cannes.com) Saturday’s ceremony is scheduled to be broadcast live by France Télévisions from the Palais des Festivals at 8:15 p.m., according to the festival. Actress Eye Haïdara is set to host the awards ceremony. ### How does this fit into this year’s honorary awards at Cannes? John Travolta received a surprise honorary Palme d’Or on May 15 before the screening of his directorial debut, “Propeller One-Way Night Coach,” according to Deadline and other festival coverage. (festival-cannes.com) Travolta said on stage that the honor was “beyond the Oscar,” Deadline reported. Deadline reported that Peter Jackson and Travolta had already been honored before Streisand’s planned closing-night tribute. The festival’s own announcement on Streisand also referred to her as the third honorary Palme recipient of this year’s edition. ### What else was happening at Cannes as the news broke? Festival coverage on May 17 showed competition titles from László Nemes and Jeanne Herry moving through the Cannes schedule as Streisand’s absence was announced. (deadline.com) The festival’s live page listed “Moulin” by Nemes and “Garance” by Herry among the day’s red-carpet events, with related photocalls and press activity extending into May 18. (deadline.com) The official Cannes live schedule listed “Moulin” on the red steps at 15:49 on May 17 and “Garance” at 19:27 the same day. On May 18, the schedule showed a “Moulin” press conference and photocall, along with a “Garance” photocall. ### What happens next at the festival? May 23 is the next key date in this story, when Cannes plans to hold its closing ceremony and present Streisand’s honorary Palme d’Or tribute despite her absence. (festival-cannes.com) The event is set for the Grand Théâtre Lumière in Cannes, with Eye Haïdara hosting and France Télévisions carrying the ceremony live, according to the festival. (festival-cannes.com)