Image credit: WIBA Awards

The seventh annual World Influencers and Bloggers Association (WIBA) Awards ceremony honored content creators making a global impact during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

Panda Boi, a YouTuber with over 71 million social media followers, received the 2025 Grand Prix WIBA title at the May 23 event held at Hôtel Martinez. The ceremony brought together hundreds of leading content creators responsible for the year’s most viral moments.

Other notable winners include Jasmin Gassmann (Influential Actress in social media), Zarina Yeva (Fashion Socialite), Patricia Bright (Video Most Successful Britain’s Social Media Personality), and Abi Marquez (Food Influencer).

Creator Economy’s Growing Prominence

The WIBA Awards, overseen by the Monaco-based World Influencers Association, positions itself as the first and only international award honoring social media personalities across multiple categories.

“The event highlights the most followed social causes, empowers diverse influencers’ voices, encourages collaboration, and fosters a sense of a global community of peers,” the organization stated in a press release.

It featured a cocktail reception, gala dinner, awards ceremony, and special performance by Panjabi MC, establishing the event as a networking opportunity for marketing professionals operating in the creator space.

The ceremony occurred against a backdrop of increasing creator recognition in the advertising industry. The upcoming Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (June 16-20) officially rebranded its “Social & Influencer Lions” as “Social & Creator Lions” for 2025.