This is the Young Lions “Team Germany” 2026
GERMANY’S REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE YOUNG LIONS COMPETITION 2026 HAVE BEEN SELECTED: Twelve top talents from the agencies Jung von Matt, Jung von Matt HAVEL, Saint Elmo’s, Bernbach, PION3ERS and Leo Burnett were chosen by a high-calibre jury in the national pre-selection hosted by Weischer. They will now compete against international peers this June at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
Emerging communications talents were able to apply in the categories Film, Print, Design, Digital, Media and PR. The best teams were invited to Weischer’s headquarters in Hamburg, where they were tasked with responding—under Cannes competition conditions—to an undisclosed brief within 24 hours for clients such as Vodafone, Primark, Penny, Kellanova, Carlsberg and SNOCKS. The concepts were then presented to the expert jury, which selected the participants to join “Team Germany.”
Now, the Young Lions face their next challenge: in Cannes, they will need to develop a campaign for a non-profit organization within just 24 hours and present it to an international jury.
THE YOUNG LIONS “TEAM GERMANY” 2026
- Design: Burcu Biyikli and Andreas Scholl (Saint Elmo’s)
- Film: Jonas Perkmann (Leo Burnett) and Emil Schwärzler (Jung von Matt HAVEL)
- Print: Nicole Schneewind and Andrés Felipe Rincón (Bernbach)
- Media: Fabienne Krüger and Nadine Haake (PION3ERS)
- PR: Chiara Huber and Simon Waldner (Jung von Matt)
- Digital: Jule Gerlach and Finn Mangels (Jung von Matt)
Category Film, Print, Design | Category PR | Category Media | Category Digital |
|---|---|---|---|
Larissa Pohl (WPP) | Susan Hölling (Burson) | Maximilian Florian | Dora Osinde (Yeah |
Thorsten Langemeier | Nina Kirst (Campaign | Andrea Schroeder | Nina Louisa Matzat |
Sascha Hanke (häppy) | Kirsten Leinert (MSL | Anja Jeremias (pilot) | Alissa Rabe |
Melis Adigüzel-Tripp (Jung | Luise Lück (Ketchum | Karin Ross (Publicis Media | Jenne Genser |
Thomas Knüwer | Eugenia Lagemann | Isabell Müller | Peter Gocht |
Florian Weischer | Ilan Schäfer (Weber | Kathrin Franssen | Burkhard Müller |
Katrin Oeding (Studio | Florian Weischer | Dimitri Herber | |
Kerstin Heffels | |||
Aisha Blackwell | |||
Marjorieth Sanmartin | |||
Alexander Muesgens |
The Young Lions contenders have big shoes to fill. In recent years, Germany’s Young Lions have won multiple medals in Cannes:
Year | Winners & Category |
|---|---|
2022 | Gold forRafael Quintal and Willian Cega; Category Print |
Silver for Fabian Lange and Joaquin Aubele; Category Film | |
Bronze for Katharina Kiriakou and Alexander Walter; Category PR | |
2023 | Silver for Juan Andrés Kebork and Alejandro Gabarda; Category Print |
Bronze for Odile Breffa and Rowan El-Goweiny; Category PR | |
2024 | Silver for Inna Tabachenko and Lisa Glonti; Category Film |
Silver for Timo Zwiesigk and Diogo Brandao; Category PR |
The international Young Lions Competition takes place during the festival week in Cannes. Travel and accommodation costs for the German Young Lions are covered by the official German festival representative, Weischer.
The national Young Lions Competition is once again supported by long-standing partners. Getty Images continues to back the overall competition, while BLUT supports the young creatives in the audio category.
Press Contact Weischer
Arian Vöhringer
Director Brand & Communications
