Photo: Facebook Festival Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo
As part of the 2017 Printemps des Arts Festival, Monaco celebrates the weekend with sounds of the piano.
After a conference at 6:30 pm dedicated to “the pianistic torture instruments”, as chaired by musicologist David Christoffel, two recitals will take place at the Opera Garnier starting at 8:30 pm, played by Ivo Kahanek and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Tickets: €30 (Series 1) or €25 (Series 2).
On Saturday, March 25th, at Auditorium Rainier III, a conference on “The Concerto Whistlers”, chaired by historian Etienne Jardin, takes place at 7 pm, followed by a concert programming pieces from Mozart to Ligeti featuring the piano.
At 4:30 pm Sunday, at the Monaco Yacht Club, a round table bringing together composer Michel Decoust, professors Pierre Chépélov and Frédéric Faupin, and Christian Tourniaire, Director of the Musical Academy Rainier III, will discuss the “teaching music today”. Entrance is free based on seating availability.
Monaco’s piano weekend will close with a Beethoven concert, played by pianist Bruno Leonardo Gelber at 6 pm. Tickets also €30 (Series 1) or €25 (Series 2).
For more on programme information, see the 2017 Printemps des Arts Festival website.
A reminder clocks spring forward from 3 am Sunday March 26, 2017.
Article first published March 24, 2017.
Monaco unplugs for an hour Saturday evening despite day’s events
His Serene Highness Prince Albert has once again shown his support for “One Hour for the Planet” and “Operation Earth Hour” through personal commitment.
The 2017 edition will be held on Saturday, March 25, and the Prince’s Palace and all public buildings in the Principality will be immersed in darkness between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm.
This initiative of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has been increasingly successful since 2008. For this 10th edition, the theme will be climate change.
Prince Albert II invites all Monegasques, residents, professionals and friends of the Principality to join him in this initiative by turning off the lights and unplugging non-essential electrical appliances for an hour to show their commitment to protecting and safeguarding the environment.
Around Monaco, Stars’n’Bars will switch off all lights and screens. At lunch and dinner, there will be a discussion on climate change with ecological workshops and awareness-raising colouring for children.
The Méridien Beach Plaza Hotel will also switch off all lights in the lobby, restaurant and congress centre in favour of candlelight.
The Columbus Monaco will shut off lights on the façade of the hotel, in the lobby and in the reception area. Hotel guests will be invited switch off their lights and small electrical appliances.
The Novotel Monte-Carlo, the Monte-Carlo Bay and the Métropole Monte-Carlo are taking part in the activities in Monaco, and the Monte-Carlo Beach will also turn off its lights and offer a candlelit dinner in the restaurant.
The Fairmont Monte-Carlo will switch off or reduce public lighting, as well as in some of the hotel rooms. Guests will be given a candle to encourage them to take part in Earth Hour.
Candles will also be lit at the Saphir24 Bistro, Lounge & Bar, where a “live cooking” event will take place on the day, using no electricity, and there will be live “unplugged” music.
A reminder that clocks go forward one hour Sunday at 3 am.
Children and adolescents will soon be able to participate in a clothing design project organised by the Terres méditerranéennes association, in collaboration with stylist Mihaela Stoica, creator in 2011 of the responsible clothing brand “Shtoica”.
Through a module of four creative workshops, young particpants will be sensitised to the idea of sustainable development since the theme is the transformation and recycling of jeans.
The budding designers, from the age of eight and up, will be welcomed on Saturday mornings from 10 am to 12:30 pm at the association’s “U mazaghìn” interior courtyard workshop at 18 rue Grimaldi.
The concept is to create a product through discussion, creation of a mood board, design and basic sewing, to produce the final product.
In parallel with the creative process, this series of workshops, which can accommodate up to six people, works on personal development so that the participants can learn to manage expectations and communicate with others about responsibilities.
The cost is €150/€135 for members and the workshops will take place March 25, April 1 and 29, and May 21. Email to register: termedmonaco@gmail.com
Jean-Luc Nguyen, Director of the Mission for Energy Transition Photo: Manuel Vitali/Direction de la Communication
Thursday evening at the Yacht Club, Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Minister of Public Works, Environment and Urban Development, and Jean-Luc Nguyen, Director of the Mission for Energy Transition, presented the “White Paper” (Le Livre Blanc) on “The Energy Transition of the Principality of Monaco”, in the presence of HSH Prince Albert.
Concluding the presentation, attended by some 100 people at the Yacht Club, HSH stressed the importance he attaches to the Principality’s energy transition, with regard to commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: -50% in 2030, compared to 1990, and carbon neutrality by 2050.
Touching upon the development of solar panels, banning fuel oil for heating, and perhaps a car-free day initiative, the Prince said, “Be assured of my determination that our community will evolve in a progressive but irreversible way towards this energetic transition.”
To achieve these ambitious aims, the approach of the White Paper on Energy Transition is to collect and bring together the views, actions and expectations of key players in Monaco – 59 organisations and almost 90 people were interviewed – in order to define the shared roadmap that will lead towards the goals of 2050.
These carbon neutral objectives imply a reduction rate four times faster than that which has been monitored so far and require the commitment and action of the entire Monegasque community. A policy carried out by the Government on three priority axes: mobility, waste management and energy efficiency of buildings.
Therefore, incentives and a regulatory framework will be implemented in order to encourage the behavioural changes that are essential to driving Monaco towards decarbonisation.
The issues and lines of action identified by the White Paper participants are presented in the document published on March 23, 2017, which can be downloaded from the Government’s website.
While Nice-Côte d’Azur Airport has been adding numerous destinations within France and Europe in recent months, a much more significant development has been announced that will greatly facilitate travel between the Middle East and the Riviera.
From July 1, Emirates Airlines will add a daily A380 service. While Nice currently has a daily flight from Dubai operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, the addition of the A380 represents a capacity increase of 44 percent on the route.
Emirates said that with 3,633 weekly capacity it will offer more seats to the Middle East and beyond than any other international airline. Nice is now an important part of the airline‘s global network, the airline said.
“Emirates started flying to Nice on July 15, 1994, almost 23 years ago,” Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice-President and CCO said at a press conference Thursday. “Since then, almost two million passengers have travelled with us on the route, with over 200,000 last year alone.
“We’re excited to see the city join the other 46 destinations Emirates currently serves with the A380 and look forward to being the first airline to fly this iconic aircraft to Nice. We expect the A380 service to further grow the number of leisure and business travellers that visit the South of France throughout the year.”
Flight EK77 will be operated by an A380 leaving Dubai at 8:45 am arriving in Nice at 1:40 pm. Flight EK78 will depart Nice at 3:40 pm, arriving in Dubai at 00:10 am the following day.
Since Dubai is such an important hub, passengers will enjoy optimal A380 to A380 connections in Dubai to Aukland, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo, and more.
Dominique Thillaud, President, Cote d’Azur Airports, commented: “I am thrilled to welcome the A380, a prestigious and iconic aircraft. Nice will be the only city in France, other than Paris, to boast a scheduled A380 service.
“The team at Nice-Côte d’Azur Airport worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth arrival, from runway optimisation to boarding bridge modernisation. Emirates’ decision to upgrade its daily service to Nice confirms the appeal of our region, important enough to sustain a year-round long-haul flight.”
Emirates has also said it is working with Monacair to offer helicopter transfers between Nice airport and Monaco, including a limousine service from Monaco’s heliport to their final destination. The service will be complimentary to First Class passengers, €79 per passenger for Business Class and €109 per passenger for Economy Class.
Jan E. Frydman, Head of Delegation of the Swedish Bar Association to the Council of European Bars and Law Societies
The Swedish Bar Association’s annual conference will hold its Gala at the Monaco Yacht Club on Saturday, March 25. The dinner will be held in the presence of HE Veronika Wand-Danielsson, Ambassador of Sweden to France and Monaco, Patricia Husson, Consul General of Sweden to Monaco, Alexis Marquet, Batonnier de Monaco, and Jan E. Frydman, Head of Delegation of the Swedish Bar Association to the Council of European Bars and Law Societies.
The evening will conclude a two-day international congress in Nice and Monaco. Mr Frydman, who is also Special Adviser to the European Commissioner for Trade, has been in charge of organising of the prestigious event. “Every year, and for the past 20 some years now, the International Chapter holds an annual meeting somewhere in the world, as it is supposed to cover all Members practicing outside of Sweden,” Mr Frydman told Monaco Life. “And in connection with that, the Chapter also organises the annual ‘International Days’, available to all Members of the Swedish Bar. We have been in London, Paris, Istanbul, Barcelona, Lisbon and elsewhere.”
Wanting to offer participants an opportunity to learn more about his favourite location, Mr Frydman chose Monaco, which he finds a fascinating country “that has so much more to offer than low taxes and glamour”. Of course, he added, “Monaco is an unusually well functioning society with a genuine life behind the beautiful facade that is interesting to explore and is less known. And Monaco can offer the highest quality in terms of accessibility, service, safety, gastronomy and cultural events, and has some of the world’s most outstanding venues.”
The Côte d’Azur is one of the most popular regions for Swedes living abroad and the Swedish club, Rivieraklubben, counts 2,000 members, unusually high for a local association. “The latest figures I have is that some 30,000 Swedes live permanently in France, of which, in the PACA region, 10,000 reside full-time with 10,000 owning a second home. I also understand there are some 300 Swedes living in Monaco,” the lawyer commented.
This week’s conference in Nice and Monaco will be attended by more 100 Swedish lawyers practicing in Sweden and around the world, and it will include International Days, covering two days of seminars and speeches to update participants on the activities of the Bar, and on current legal issues of particular relevance.
The Swedish Bar Association – Le Barreau de Suède – is divided into several regional chapters, and each Member of the Bar also belongs to such a local chapter, depending on where in Sweden she or he practices law. The close to 100 Members who practice Swedish law outside of Sweden belong to the International Chapter.
“This year we will cover the legal systems in France and Monaco, how to do business in France and Monaco, and how to buy real estate in the region,” Mr Frydman, who’s been a Member of the Bar since 2001, said. “We will also discuss current legal issues such as the impact of Brexit on the legal profession, issues related to the Swedish constitution and the rule of law. The seminars satisfy part of the annual continuing education requirement for Members.”
Founded in 1887, the Swedish Bar Association has approximately 5,700 Members and organises all formally practicing lawyers in Sweden; only Members of the Bar may use the professional title “advokat”.
“I have served as a Director of the International Chapter, and as a Member of the Board of Governors. I am currently the Bar’s Head of Delegation to the Council of European Bars and Law Societies, Mr Frydman detailed. “In that capacity, I represent the Bar in front of all European Bar Associations on topics involving the international and cross-border practice of law, and broader issues such as democracy, rule of law and human rights.”
Unrelated to the Bar, Mr Frydman has an official function serving as the Conseiller to the European Commissioner for Trade – or the European Trade Minister – work in Brussels.
The Swedish Bar Association’s annual conference runs from March 24-25, 2017 in Nice and Monaco.
