The 55th edition of the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival proved yet again that while rewarding great work is serious business indeed for judges and entrants alike, the celebrations surrounding the event also require equal amounts of stamina and resolve. With a staggering number of parties, dinners and cocktails, "Eat, drink and be merry" was the unofficial motto of the week, with perhaps an emphasis on the "drink" bit.

The week began with Wiredrive + Boards' Cannes Kickoff party, an event that's proven to be a truly spectacular way to prepare for the shenanigans in the week ahead, like Massive Music and Getty Images' annual extravaganza at the Noga Beach, branded as an evening at LaLa Land. Other full-on beach bashes of note included Y&R's extravaganza at the Carlton Beach with 2 Many DJs spinning, Publicis at the 3.14 beach with Dimitri from Paris playing sets and the now-legendary parties from Leo Burnett (at Le Palm Beach) and DDB (at the Martinez), two of the most sought-after tickets on the Croisette.

The hills were alive with plenty of villa events, including Stillking hosting their annual villa party, Hungry Man going poolside at Villa La Ramée, Fallon, London hosting a pool party in Mougins, Finger Music's fantastic poolside gathering (look for highlights on YouTube), and the ever-popular Rushes BBQ. There were classy soirees from Crispin Porter + Bogusky (at the Grand Hotel), Goodby, Silverstein & Partners' cocktail at the 3.14 rooftop terrace, Lowe Worldwide's bash at the Gray d'Albion featuring the piano stylings of Gonzales and Hakuhodo's Martinez mixer. Of course, absolute mayhem was in abundance any night of the week at the Gutter Bar, and Traktor's Saturday night throwdown capped the week off in sufficiently crazed style.

While there were brain cells to be lost, there was also plenty of knowledge to gain from a packed week of seminars and workshops. Saatchi & Saatchi's New Directors Showcase, Y&R's session with media magnate Rupert Murdoch, and the Tap Project seminar featuring droga5's David Droga and UNICEF's Stevan Miller were just a few of the standing-room-only highlights.

In summary, it was another one for the books, as these photos help to illustrate.