George Frederic Handel’s renowned work Messiah will be performed by the Vocal and Instrumental group Ristretto at St Paul’s Anglican Church just in time for the holidays.
First performed in 1742, Messiah is a large-scale narrative musical work for choir, vocal soloists and an orchestra that is considered to be one of the most outstanding musical masterpieces ever produced and has stood the test of time.
The work is in English and is typically performed during Advent in the run-up to Christmas. It is comprised of beautifully arranged choruses, dramatic arias and well-recognised melodies that combined make for a truly poignant performance. As popular today as it was more than 250 years ago, this rendition by Ristretto has come to be an essential date of the Christmas season in the Principality.
Conducted by Errol Girdlestone, the performance will feature soprano Elenor Bowers-Jolley, violist Laura Margaret Smith, tenor Gavan Ring and bassist Simon Bailey.
The concert takes place on Saturday, 14th December at 7pm at St Paul’s at 22 Avenue de Grande Bretagne. Tickets are €30 and can be found at FNAC or online.
Princess Charlene spent a day in Abu Dhabi to support Monegasque race car driver Charles Leclerc for the last race of the Formula 1 season.
The Princess and the driver met briefly before the race, which was held at the YAs Marina Circuit, where she was able to convey her admiration for his achievements and his excellent season.
She also took advantage of her time there to meet with Jean Todt, President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) regarding future actions pertaining to road safety, specifically under the framework of the FIA High Level Road Safety Panel, which the Princess has been a member of since 2018.
Leclerc came in third place that day, and fourth in the season standings overall, surpassing his Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Smartly decked out in a charcoal grey one piece suit with gold necklaces adorned with her nearly-five-year-old twins’ names, she looked stunning and quite relaxed, despite her hectic schedule.
In a rare interview, the former Olympian turned Princess recently opened up to French publication Point de Vue explaining that she was quite a hands-on type of parent, which leaves her often exhausted and fulfilled in equal measure. She also expressed her pride in the way they very supportively behave with one another, the fact that they speak fluently in both French and English and their flexibility with regard to travel and time spent abroad with both their parents.
After the race, Princess Charlene returned home to the Principality.
HSH Prince Albert II addressed the opening day of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid by urging member states to take leading roles in the protection of our environment.
The Sovereign Prince took part in high-level meetings with Heads of State and Government from 1st to 3rdDecember at the conference, where he was given the chance to outline steps the Principality is taking at home and abroad in the name of the environment.
“My country has set, as many states or large communities, a clear goal of reducing our gas emissions to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050,” said the Prince.
He also reiterated how Monaco has set lofty goals such as the intention to reduce carbon emissions by 50% in 2030, the banning of single use plastics, and the ban on fuel oil to heat buildings in 2022.
“At the same time, and even if our energy mix is already very little carbon, we will develop the use of renewable energies, especially solar, as well as that of networks of hot and cold from sea water heat pump, which already satisfies nearly 20% of our global energy balance,” he further stated.
The Prince reminded those present of his commitment to assist others outside the borders of the Principality, through both his foundation and through financial support from the government. Recently, for example, Monaco pledged €3.75 million to the Green Climate Fund, which helps developing nations adopt practices to counter climate change.
He also spoke at the meeting hosted by the Chilean President on the state of the oceans, a topic dear to him.
“As world leaders convene at COP25, it’s critical we commit to taking immediate action to address the crisis facing our global Ocean,” he said to the gathering.
Prince Albert has been a leading voice in the need to protect our oceans for well over a decade, dedicating 60% of his foundation’s initiatives to their protection. He played a key role in contracting the IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere as well as the Because the Ocean Initiative’s Ocean for Climate Report.
After the meetings, the Prince was invited to a reception held by the King and Queen of Spain at the Royal Palace in the Spanish capital.
For the first time, Monte Carlo will play host to the World Top Model final, set to take place on 14th December at the Fairmont Hotel.
Now in its 29th edition, the World Top Model has been held in over 50 cities across the globe and hosted by celebrities including Claudia Schiffer, Marianne Faithfull, Grace Jones and Nina Moric.
Each year, event organisers select models that they think best represent the values of modeling and the fashion industry. Winners receive a 200,000€ job contract offered by Major Model Management.
This year, there will be 50 participants from five continents. Models will represent countries including Australia, New Zealand, Tanzania, Namibia, Nepal, Kazakhstan and China. All have previously competed and won in their country’s national contests.
World Top Model was founded by Fiore Tondi and its jury is made up of experts and icons in the fashion industry.
While the final is held on 14th December, the event actually begins on the 11th, with videos and photoshoots, parties and events held throughout the Principality.
Top photo: Jiaquin Xiao from China won the title of World Top Model in 2017. Photo: WTM
Interview: Justin Highman on the success of the China expo
The Monaco Economic Board, together with 12 Monegasque entities, recently headed to Shanghai for the China International Import Expo. Two deals were signed and the foundation was laid for further possible collaborations.
Monaco Life spoke to Monaco Invest Director Justin Highman about the mission and how China is fast becoming a viable business option for the Principality.
Monaco Life: Can you tell us how the Monaco Economic Board became interested in theChina International Import Expo?
Justin Highman: The expo we attended was the 2nd edition, held in Shanghai at the initiative of President Xi Jinping himself, who wanted an exhibition in China that regroups all of the foreign entities that wish to trade into China. There are already many expos all over the country, but he thought to bring them all into one major annual event.
It went ahead under the guidance of Monaco’s Ambassador to China H.E. Catherine Fautrier, who also happened to be the chief instigator of President Xi’s state visit in March and the very successful trade mission in September 2019.
The previous trade missions in China we did were good but the response was not as positive as in September when we accompanied HSH Prince Albert’s state visit to Beijing and we had a number of MEB members sign contracts. It was then that we felt that something was happening with our Chinese counterparts, the national Chamber of Commerce, and even more so when President Xi Jinping visited Monaco in March this year. So, the Ambassador said we simply must try our hardest to do this show as the Chinese were very willing for us to be there and give us a lot of support.
H.E. Catherine Fautrier, Monaco’s Ambassador to China, and Justin Highman, Monaco Invest Director, with some participants from the Monegasque delegation in the Monaco Pavilion. Credit DR
What did Monaco’s participation look like?
We had a great delegation representing many sectors of the diversified Monegasque economy with 12 different entities – Aton Green Energy, AS Monaco, Cosmetics and Capillaries Monaco, GPS Monaco, l’Orangerie, Mazza Real Estate, Monacobor, Therascience, Carthage Heritage, ABTS & Partners, and Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer and us – in a well-designed area of 136 m² to present the Principality’s know-how and economic assets.
We showed promotional films of HSH Prince Albert, of the economy, of tourism, of SBM’s hotels, of Monaco under different angles… which really attracted people. Each company from Monaco also had their own booth within our pavilion with a screen to show their corporate film as well as an area for meetings, then at the centre we had a larger meeting area for more significant delegations.
We had a number of visits from Chinese buyers, distribution agents and traders who were looking to buy foreign quality goods and who were very attracted to the ‘Monaco’ brand. The two cosmetics companies, in particular, did very well.
This exhibition is enormous, we are talking over 400,000 square metres, with a total of 181 countries, regions and international organisations represented, and 3,800 companies taking part in the exhibition. The number of registered buyers and other professional visitors exceeded 500,000.
Monaco Invest Director Justin Highman promoting the Principality’s advantages to a Chinese audience. Credit DR
So how did you make Monaco stand out?
We were in the ‘Country Pavilion’ with about 90 pavilions of roughly the same size and everyone walked through the different countries to learn more about them and their products. We were bordered with Brazil, Costa Rica, Portugal, and France was not too far away. But everyone was attracted to the Monaco stand – we had a picture of the meeting between HSH Prince Albert II and President Xi Jinping that they all wanted to see. And surprisingly football was also a huge attraction, so we were lucky to have AS Monaco Football Club with us. In fact, many stands were using football as a drawcard – Spain had football shirts and Portugal had a goal where you could kick a football into it.
That’s when you know of the significance of the new initiatives of MEB’s CEO Guillaume Rose. His idea of going beyond economy and selling the attractiveness of other aspects like sports, science or culture – the Opera de Monte-Carlo, the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, the Scientific Centre of Monaco – it makes sense. All the other countries are doing it because it brings you the right kind of prospects, the right kind of people – and that is the heads of companies. They are attracted by a more holistic view, by other things rather than just the economy.
We also represented Monaco’s interests in ecology and the environment with a renewable energy company named Aton Green Energy. By the way, Beijing and Shanghai are very much already down the green energy route with electric taxis, buses and bikes so the renewable energy sector is a concrete opportunity in Asia.
Monaco Economic Board Members Rendez-Vous. Credit MEB/ CARTE BLANCE
What was the response from the businesses who participated?
While there were some issues, notably accessibility to the site because there were so many people coming in every day, as well as the language barrier, our latest satisfaction survey from participants indicates that everyone was very positive about the experience.
They felt that they really gauged the size of the market and the potential of Chinese buyers. When you consider that you could meet people who represent a network of 350 spas or 350 opticians for example, suffice to say that just one out of the hundreds of people we saw over the five days represents so much business, compared to anywhere else in the world.
Clearly, the potential is huge – 1.4 four billion is just the internal market of China, meanwhile many Chinese companies have assets and subsidiaries all over Asia. So, if you find a long-term and reliable partner at this expo, you could potentially thrive in China but also Asia.
Signature of an agreement between Frimo and Baiyang, witnessed by H.E. Catherine Fautrier, Monaco’s Ambassador to China. Credit DR
Two companies in particular signed deals during the trip, can you tell us about that?
Mirco Albisetti, CEO of the meat export-import company Frimo, sold part of his company to a Chinese entity, Baiyang. He likened this as the second significant signature with a Chinese company after the Monaco Telecom – Huawei deal. Meanwhile, Therascience Comestics signed an agreement with China Comfort Group Chong Qing & Slow Loo, an entity in Chongqingto to distribute its products within the city, which represents over 10 million people.
That’s why participants were so happy with the trip. They were so thankful that the Ambassador and the MEB wanted to do this because they wouldn’t have done it on their own. China is just so big, and many companies feel out of their depth.
The aim of the MEB is to help generate business for our members locally, with our neighbours and internationally. Because at the end of the day, the more businesses that is generated, the more that is invested into the Monaco economy. And if we can help in any way, shape or form, then we have done the job and we are happy!
Read more about the MEB in our Part 2 interview with Justin Highman coming soon.
Top photo: Justin Highman, Director of Monaco Invest
