Month: June 2019

The countdown is on for the 59th annual Monte Carlo Television Festival and there are a host of opportunities for the public to get involved and meet the stars.

Along with Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, other big name celebrities set to grace the red carpet include Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union (LA’s Finest), Ludwig Alexander (Vikings), Christina Chang and Nicholas Gonzalez (The Good Doctor), and Producer Dick Wolf with actors Missy Peregrym, Zeeko Zaki, Ebonée Noel and Jeremy Sisto (FBI).

There will be autograph signings with many French stars including cast members from perennial favourite Plus Belle La Vie and France 2’s most popular series Un Si Grand Soleil. Denise Richards, Scott Clifton and Annika Noelle (The Bold and the Beautiful) will also be available for autographs and a question and answer session.

There will be a Fan Zone set up on the esplanade of the Grimaldi Forum all week featuring selfie opportunities and autograph signings, allowing fans some contact with their favourite celebrities. Live entertainment will also picture heavily, making it a fun place to hang out all week.

The final evening award ceremony will be a black tie event, presenting the best TV programming for around the globe with the coveted Golden Nymph Award. Afterwards, a star-studded gala will be highlighted with a concert by singer Gloria Gaynor.

Originally created by Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and now under the Honorary Presidency of Prince Albert II of Monaco, the Monte-Carlo Television Festival has, for more than half a century, presented the very best of television from around the world. The 2019 edition runs from 14th to 18th June.

Restaurateur Riccardo Giraudi has been honoured for his exceptional career in hospitality at the annual Monaco Ambassadors Club gala.

The event, presented by MAC president Christian Moore, was held at the Salle Belle Epoque of the Hotel Hermitage of Monaco on Tuesday 4th June. The distinction was awarded by Monaco’s Minister of State Serge Telle, in the presence of Her Majesty Farah Pahlavi and around 200 club members and selected guests.

Riccardo Giraudi is the ultimate success story. Born into a thriving meat import/export business, Riccardo took the family enterprise to whole other level. It now knows success not only as a European leader in trading meat, but as a growing empire of restaurants and lifestyle products.

The company employs 340 people in the Principality, and more than 700 globally.

Riccardo’s first restaurant was the Beefbar in Monaco, and it now exists in eight locations across the globe including Hong Kong, where he gained his first Michelin star. Beefbar is set to open in another six locations including Malta and Riyad.

His other franchises have also known great success: the fast casual concept Grubers, which can be found in four cities, and the Beeftro bistro in Luxembourg and soon Cannes.

He has also been asked to create hospitality concepts for leading casinos and hotels and has even created a concept associating famous Pantone colour tones with food.

Prince Albert has taken part in a host of ceremonies in Normandy commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

On Thursday 6th June, the Prince made a private visit to The Grand Bunker, Atlantic Wall Museum. It follows a promise that Prince Albert reportedly made to Brigitte and Fabrice Corbin, the owners of the Grand Bunker Museum, during the summer of 2017. They had hosted an exhibition in Monaco titled ‘The extraordinary story of the landing, Normandy June 6, 1944’ and Prince Albert was so impressed that he promised to discover the Grand Bunker of Ouistreham (Calvados) for himself.

During Thursday’s visit, Prince Albert met the son of British Lieutenant Bob Orrell, a member of the Royal Engineers, 91 Field Company 3rd Beach Group, attached to the 3rd Canadian Division, which had obtained the surrender of the German garrison in 1944.

“I have been to the region several times,” the Prince told France 2. “I think we have to be present and understand the meaning of these commemorations, to remember those who have sacrificed their lives or lost family members.”

Prince Albert also took part in a memorial ceremony at the Renaud stele, where the Gold Star was awarded for the first time outside of the United States. The Gold Star is awarded to families who have lost a loved one during war and on Thursday, posthumously, Alexandre Renaud’s wife Simone was honoured for her devotion to the families of American soldiers.

On Friday 7th June, a Franco-American military ceremony was held in front of the war memorial in Saint-Lô. An international procession then marched through the streets of the city centre and ended at the Memorial Hospital, where a ceremony was held in the presence of Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Residents in Monaco will be asked to take part in a research project studying the effects of Ostreopsis ovata microalgae on the Mediterranean.

The three member states of the RAMOGE Agreement – Monaco, Italy and France – have joined the research project headed by European Co-Clime.

Two students from Nantes University, who are the scientific partners in the project, will be in Monaco from 16th June to 15th September asking residents of the Principality to answer a series of questions, such as how often they go to the beach and their thoughts on global warming.

The roughly 30-minute interview will be conducted at various locations around town including Larvotto Beach, the public gardens, Albert 1er wharf, and the Fisherman’s Beach.

The goal of the study is to ascertain the effects of toxic algae growth on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. It also will attempt to determine the habits and behaviours of residents and tourist on high traffic beach areas, such as Monaco, Nice and Marseille, specifically regarding leisure activities along the coast.

All data collected will be anonymous and is being used solely for scientific purposes. For more information, contact contact@ramoge.org.

Several high-ranking law enforcement officials from Monaco travelled to Poland to be part of the 47th European Regional Conference of the International Criminal Police Organisation (IOOP) INTERPOL. Monaco has been an active INTERPOL member, known and appreciated for the rapid execution of cross-border arrests in the past.

The main purpose of these meetings was to invite each member state to comment on ways to improve information gathering and dispersing procedures and to modernise and streamline information sharing.

 Proposals were directed toward more efficient ways to fight terrorist threats, by increasing the distribution of biometric data, fingerprints and DNA samples for persons of interest in current cases, and persons known or believed to be risks.

They also addressed how to fight international drug trafficking by focusing on the main culprits, the organised crime syndicates, and ways to lessen their presence. Additionally, the meeting introduced cybercrime experts who are now being used to combat criminal acts committed through the internet, the darknet and social media networks.

Staff at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre spent 5th June, World Environment Day, reinforcing their commitment to sustainable development and ecologically sound practices.

The hospital is in the process of becoming a pro-environmental institution with the creation of a vegetable garden on site, recycling projects and the purchase of a fleet of electric vehicles among the initiatives. 

Benoîte de Sevelinges, Director of CHPG, used the occasion to announce the new annual bonus plan created to encourage staff to use eco-friendly modes of transportation for getting to and from work to cut emissions. The scheme supplements current measures already in place that promote carpooling and public transportation as alternatives to driving.  

The day included a bit of fun as well from street artist Anthony Alberti, who decorated home-made bicycle garages fashioned from recycled pallets.