Drag queens, Burna Boy and Supermodels: Step inside Magnum’s magnificent Cannes beach party

Drag queens, Burna Boy, Irina Shayk in a Barbie pink Versace short suit and, yes, ice cream; Magnum’s annual Cannes beach party was well and truly serving. “This is a great party,” said Swedish actress Hedda Steirnstedt, matter-of-factly, as she stared in awe at the impeccable death drops of French queer nightclub collective Je T’aime Party.

The evening also marked the launch of a rather unexpected collaboration. American artist JVKE, who emerged as a TikTok darling with his sultry tracks during the pandemic (Nicole Scherzinger, also in attendance, is an unabashed fan), teamed up with the sun. Yes, that sun. With an assist from NASA and its library of interstellar sounds, the artist created a remix of his anthem ‘Golden Hour’ featuring the pulsing sounds of the sun. “It’s pretty insane,” JVKE admits. “I mean, it’s the biggest star – it outdoes me.” Though it sounds a bit, ahem, out there, the artist notes that the collaboration “just makes sense” given that “without the sun there would be no golden hour”. “Golden hour is my favourite time because it makes the skin look right,” he adds.

Meanwhile, in the VIP, Scherzinger held court, mingling with the likes of Eva Longoria and supermodels Stella Maxwell and Josefine Skriver. By the time the brand’s new flavours – Magnum Double Sunlover to commemorate the day and Magnum Double Starchaser to commemorate the night – came out on sparkler-spritzing trays to the tune of Empire of the Sun’s ‘Walking on a Dream’, it was well and truly evident that this was an evening of pure pleasure. At last, Burna Boy took the stage, the crowd gathered on the dance floor and a reveller knocked an entire sticky specialty cocktail onto my silk Acne Studios dress. The vibes were so strong that I didn’t care.

It was a full sensory experience, with the sweet notes of Magnum wafting through the air. For the occasion, the ice cream aficionados created two scents, one to reflect each new flavour. As Bob Sinclair took over the decks to close out the night, the party solidified itself as one of the wildest on the Croisette. See all the pictures below.