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Day: 11 February 2021

Close your eyes, cross your fingers, it's time to play

by: Stephanie Horsman
11/02/2021
WORK IN MONACO

“What if this year, Monte-Carlo SBM made your wishes come true?” That’s the concept of a new marketing campaign by the group behind the Monte-Carlo Casino and the Principality’s most luxurious hotels.
The latest initiative by Monaco’s largest group, Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), is a competition asking people to submit their wishes for a chance to make them come true.
The wish must be associated to an experience at one of the Monte-Carlo SBM establishments, which include the world-famous Casino, the iconic Hôtel de Paris, the grand Hôtel Hermitage and the sprawling Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort.
From 1st February to 31st March, contestants are invited to describe their most desired experience either by questionnaire, which can be deposited at Mada One, in the atrium of the Casino de Monte-Carlo or in the hall at the Café de Paris, or by posting online. After the wish is validated, it will be hung on the wishing tree that is located in the atrium of the Casino.
The winner will be selected by a jury made up of SBM employees on 15th April and they will be informed by email.
Whilst the sky is the limit on the number of wishes people can make, they must be “reasonable on a financial and human level. Wishes in connection with gambling offered by our Casinos will not be accepted,” states the game conditions.
Wishes must also have something to do with an experience the SBM Group can provide, such as a well-being option, hotel stay or restaurant event.
Online wishes can be made on the designated site at https://shakr.cc/3kuuo
Happy wish-making and best of luck!
 
Photo of Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort by Monaco Life, all rights reserved
 
 

Preventing cetacean bycatches in the Med

by: Cassandra Tanti
11/02/2021

Monaco is taking part in an international meeting of experts who are examining ways to monitor and reduce accidental catches of whales, dolphins and porpoises in fishing gear.
Bycatch, or accidental catches in fishing gear, remains the leading cause of human-influenced mortality affecting cetaceans in all European waters,  from the Baltic Sea, through the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Cetaceans are aquatic mammals that include whales, dolphins and porpoises.
ACCOBAMS – the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area – and ASCOBANS – the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas – are both international treaties created under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). Both agreements are aimed at achieving and maintaining a favourable conservation status for cetaceans with respect to the areas and species covered by the agreements.
Aware about the need to address the incidental catch of cetaceans as a priority conservation issue, the Parties to ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS decided in 2019 to establish a Joint Bycatch Working Group in order to generate the best possible advice for supporting their efforts to better monitor and mitigate bycatch.
The first meeting of the Joint Bycatch Working Group is being held from 10th to 12th February 2021. Taking advantage of an online format, the meeting is open to interested experts and observers in addition to the working group members. It is attended by more than 150 participants from European, Mediterranean and Black Sea countries, gathering scientists, managers, decision-makers and representatives of the fishery sector.
During the first two days experts are sharing their experience in monitoring and mitigating cetacean bycatch in different areas and for different fishing gears. The last day will be dedicated to the Working Group Members to discuss and decide on the priorities to be addressed during the next years.
 
(Monaco Life with ACCOBAMS press release)
 
 

Prince’s Foundation backs TV festival sustainability award

by: Stephanie Horsman
11/02/2021

The Monte-Carlo Television Festival has gained the support of the Prince’s Foundation for its Prince Rainier III Special Prize, which recognises the best environmental documentary of the year.
After the 2020 edition was cancelled due to Covid, the Monte-Carlo Television Festival is celebrating its 60thyear in 2021 with the backing of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
A partnership between the two entities means that the Prince’s Foundation will offer a €10,000 award to the writer of the winning documentary in the Prince Rainier III Special Prize, which recognises the best documentary that deals with environmental issues.
The Special Prize was created by Prince Albert II of Monaco and is given to a programme selected by the Prince himself. Under this new partnership, his Foundation will also be involved in the selection process, nominating the top contenders.
Entries are now open for the Golden Nymph Awards Competition. Documentaries wishing to be considered for the Prince Rainier III Special Prize must submit by the 19th March deadline.
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 festival has also been at the forefront in showcasing the highly talented professionals associated with many of the most successful programs in the history of the medium. Actors, producers, directors, writers and heads of studios, networks and streaming platforms gather in June every year to attend series launches, premiere screenings, conferences, press activities, public events, VIP meetings and signing sessions.
The event honours fiction, news, current affairs and now environmental programming.
The 60th anniversary of the festival runs from 18th to 22nd June 2021.
 
 

Who was Vinteuil? by Jérôme Bastianelli

by: Cassandra Tanti
11/02/2021

The Prince Pierre Foundation is organising a literary conference with Jérôme Bastianelli, music critic and renowned Marcel Proust specialist.
On Monday 15th February at the Théâtre des Variétés, Jérôme Bastianelli has been invited to talk about one of the writer’s most famous intrigues surrounding the character of Vinteuil. Bastianelli will “attempt to write a biography of this imaginary and obscure musician who still arouses so much curiosity,” say organisers. “Based on the little that Proust tells, and, even more, what he does not tell, Jérôme Bastianelli invites you to a delicious critical interpretation of one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.”
Marcel Proust might not even give him a first name, but the composer Vinteuil nevertheless occupies an important place in A la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time). In particular, it allows the writer to illustrate two themes that are dear to him: through his daring works, Vinteuil shows that an artist’s characteristic is to take a new look at the world; through the contrast between his shy and tidy life and the bewitching charm of his art, he confirms that the life of an artist has little to do with genius.
But which musicians was Proust thinking of when he imagined this character? Using clues that Proust gave in his correspondence, enriched by the testimonies of those who knew him or by research on the role of music in his texts, Jérôme Bastianelli will review all the possible “candidates”, even the most unexpected. Each portrait will be illustrated with a short musical extract to help imagine what Vinteuil’s famous Sonata could have looked like.
The conference will be broadcast live on the Youtube channel and the Facebook page of the Prince Pierre Foundation.
Jérôme Bastianelli is the Deputy Managing Director of the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, in Paris. As a writer and music critic, he edited the two Ruskinian translations of Proust (‘Bouquins’ collection, Robert Laffont, 2015) and published a Proust-Ruskin Dictionary (Garnier, 2017). He is also the author of biographies of Federico Mompou, Félix Mendelssohn, Piotr Ilitch Tchaikovsky and Georges Bizet. His novel La vraie vie de Vinteuil (The Real Life of Vinteuil) was published by Grasset in 2019. Since January 2018, he has chaired the Society of Friends of Marcel Proust and Friends of Combray.
 
Photo of Jérôme Bastianelli by Thibaut Chapotot for the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac 
 
 

Monaco defeat Grenoble in French Cup match

by: Stephanie Horsman
11/02/2021

AS Monaco went up against Grenoble Foot 38 on Wednesday afternoon in a French Cup match that saw them beat their opponent 0-1 at Stade des Alpes.
It was another victory for the Red and Whites after they took on Ligue 2’s third place contender Grenoble Foot 38.
Coach Niko Kovac used this game to rotate players not much seen this season, giving them a chance to show their stuff on the pitch. They did not disappoint. Monaco was up against Grenoble goalkeeper, Esteban Salles, who made some excellent blocks, keeping the score low.
“The Coupe de France is another competition, but I like this kind of match because in the past in Germany I reached the final three times, winning twice,” said Coach Kovac. “It’s a competition I care about. It’s also a good opportunity to get the team rotated and for the players who usually play a little less to show me their qualities. I have said it in the past, we are lucky to have a very good team and quality on the bench. We want to give everyone the opportunity to play — that’s normal.”
Monaco, who is undefeated since 18th December, can say without sounding boastful that they are on a roll. Despite the nail-biting finish to the Grenoble game, they played well as a team and must now keep up the momentum as they face Lorient at home at Stade Louis II this weekend.
 
Photo by AS Monaco