The festival has received 4,577 entries from around the world for 2003, compared with 5,059 in 2002.
Overall, entry levels are down by 5% on last year, with film the hardest hit, down 9.5%, followed by Cyber Lions, down 7.4% to 1,339 entries.
The strongest climber was the Media Lions, up 9% from 716 in 2002 to 779 in 2003. Lions Direct, a new set of awards introduced last year for the direct marketing industry, also showed a strong increase in entries, up by 5.6% to 1,123.
Roger Hatchuel, chairman of the festival, said: "These results demonstrate the strength and importance of the festival even through difficult times."
The festival will go ahead on June 15 this year, with advertising agencies set to cut back on the extravagant corporate hospitality that characterised previous festivals.
The US led the way for the highest number of entries at 2,382. Germany led the UK with 1,485 entries, compared with the UK's 1,466. Brazil entered 1,197 pieces of work and the fifth highest number of entries came from Spain, with 1,089.
A delegation of 90 members from the Chinese Advertising Association recently withdrew from the festival over concerns about SARS.
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