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Day: 11 May 2021

‘Victory travels in Louis Vuitton’

by: Cassandra Tanti
11/05/2021

The winner of this year’s Monaco Grand Prix will be presented the victorious accolade in a Monaco-inspired Louis Vuitton trophy travel case, after a multi-year partnership was announced between the French fashion house and the ACM.
Hand-crafted in the house’s historic Asnières workshop on the outskirts of Paris, the trunk showcases Louis Vuitton’s traditional know-how while drawing inspiration from the heritage of the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, which is celebrating its 78th edition this year.
The iconic monogram canvas is adorned with the red shade of the Monaco flag while the red lines, tracing “V” for “Victory”, are rimmed with a white strip, reminiscent of the unique urban route of the track where driving excellence goes hand in hand with power and precision.
The tailor-made trunk, in the colours of the Principality, will hold the trophy depicting the 19 turns of the 3.337km track. The trophy will be awarded to the winner of the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix on 23rd May 2021.
The partnership marks the very first encounter between Louis Vuitton and the Automobile Club of Monaco (ACM), the organiser of the most legendary of all Formula 1 races.
“Whether it’s Fangio, Hill, Moss, Stewart, Senna, Prost, Schumacher, or more recently Alonso, Vettel, Rosberg, Ricciardo or Hamilton, the Monaco Grand Prix has celebrated the greatest champions,” said Michael Burke, Louis Vuitton Chairman and CEO. “At almost 300 km/h between the rails, it’s the Formula 1 Grand Prix that all drivers aspire to win one day. Today, we are proud to be associated with the race and together start writing a piece of history. The trophy trunk epitomises ‘Victory travels in Louis Vuitton’ – witnessing the next victories and continuing to carry legends.”
“Apart from being a major partnership with the famous brand of the LVMH Group, we are delighted that the trophy awarding the winner of the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco can now safely travel in first class,” added Michel Boeri, President of the ACM. “Louis Vuitton and the Automobile Club of Monaco are at once forerunners and project supervisors in their respective fields of expertise. Louis Vuitton is associated with the most coveted trophies in the world, and this emblematic partnership allows the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco Cup to benefit from this heritage, bringing unprecedented elegance into the world of mechanical sports.”
 
Photo: Louis Vuitton
 
 
 

Support local business, travel home for free

by: Cassandra Tanti
11/05/2021

Restaurateurs and retailers in Monaco can use the lure of free taxi vouchers to draw in customers under a government-funded scheme that is also designed to support local taxi drivers.

The Monaco government has launched the Ticket Taxis + scheme as part of the Red and White Fund to assist in economic recovery. The aim is to help hard hit taxi drivers get back on their feet by co-funding trips in the Principality and neighbouring villages, while helping other local businesses draw in customers.

The programme is based on a voucher system, whereby merchants and restauranteurs can purchase the taxi vouchers to give to their customers for a free trip home.  

Taxi drivers, merchants and restauranteurs are asked to contribute €5 to each voucher, and the government subsidises the other €10, based on Monaco’s flat €15 taxi rate.

The aim is not only to help struggling taxi drivers get back to work, but also to improve quality of life for residents. The system fits in with Monaco’s environmental philosophy, as the use of taxis will lessen the number of cars on the streets as well as reduce pollution expelled by individual car use. 

The vouchers are valid for people who live in and around Monaco and are using Monegasque services and establishments.

Local businesses can purchase the Ticket Taxis + booklet from the Welcome Office at a cost of €100 per book of 20 trips.

The scheme is based solely on participating taxis and businesses in the Principality.

 
 
By Cassandra Tanti and Stephanie Horsman
 
 

TV Festival announces competition line-up

by: Cassandra Tanti
11/05/2021

Productions about the storming of the US Capitol, Turkey’s gender-based violence, and the 1980s AIDS epidemic in London are among this year’s contenders for the Monte-Carlo Television Festival Awards. 
For the 60th time, the television industry and its fans from around the world will gather in Monaco in June for the annual Monte-Carlo Television Festival. The in-person festival is back from 18th to 22nd following a pause in 2020 due to the coronavirus, however the event will also take on a virtual aspect for those still impacted by travel restrictions.
27 programs from 14 countries have been officially selected to compete, across the Prince Rainier III Special Prize, the News and Fiction categories.
They include It’s a Sin from the United Kingdom, the latest masterpiece from the creator of Queer as Folkwhich chronicles young friends navigating the joys, heartbreak, and outlandish parties that await them amidst the AIDS epidemic in 1980s London.
There’s also HBO’s Made for Love in the fiction category, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alissa Nutting. The series follows Hazel Green, a thirtysomething woman on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to a tech billionaire who has implanted a revolutionary monitoring device in her brain.
https://youtu.be/lvWgNSLIULw
 
Those competing in the news category include France’s The Mysterious Origins of Covid-19, Germany’s Donald Trump’s First Attack on America and Sweden’s I am Greta.
Also up for contention in the news category is Dying to Divorce. Filmed over five years, the film takes viewers into the heart of Turkey’s gender-based violence crisis and the recent political events that have severely eroded democratic freedoms.

In the Prince Rainier III Special Prize, which recognises excellence in sustainability-focussed productions, the contenders are A World Without Meat, Amazonia: The Front Line, and Now, a film about youth and climate action.
The laureates will be revealed at a red-carpet event on the final evening of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, the Golden Nymph Awards Ceremony, on Tuesday 22nd June at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco, in the presence of the Festival’s Honorary President, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.
The Official Selection of Golden Nymph Awards can be found here.
Meanwhile, this year’s Festival also includes a new international expanded business track called Pass Pro for industry executives, with in-depth panel discussions on timely topics, and keynote conversations with both in person and virtual global television leaders.
Topics include ‘Migration from Movie Theatre to Streaming’, ‘The Explosive Growth of Unscripted Content in a Streaming World’ and ‘Producing a Worldwide Phenomenon’.
“The Monte-Carlo Television Festival attracts many of the most influential executives and inspirational creatives in global entertainment today,” said Monte-Carlo Television Festival CEO Laurent Puons. “It is our intention, through the unparalleled access offered by the Pass Pro, to enable those in the industry seeking insight and guidance to learn from these exceptional leaders and propel their companies and careers up to the next level.”
 
 

Perks for Leclerc fans in dedicated GP stand

by: Stephanie Horsman
11/05/2021

Fans of Charles Leclerc will this year be able to cheer the Monegasque driver on from their own dedicated stand, after its inauguration was postponed last year with the cancellation of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Simply dubbed the Charles Leclerc Grandstand, supporters can enjoy a two-day, Saturday and Sunday package located in grandstand K where they will be offered an official signed cap and t-shirt, a Ferrari bag, the race programme and two live Zoom videoconferences from the garage or Ferrari hospitality area, where the pilot speaks directly to his fans. The cost of the package is €800.

The structure has a thousand seats, but due to health restrictions only 500 seats will be up for grabs. It is ideally situated near Turn 12, colloquially known as Tabac, which has an excellent harbour view on the track from the exit of the port to the first chicane of the swimming pool.

Leclerc isn’t the first to offer such a treat to his fans. Dutch driver Max Verstappen has a stand for his local fans as well.

But the recent successes that Leclerc has enjoyed will make this homecoming race even more special for him and his fans. He came in fourth on Sunday at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona and has been having a good season overall. The new car design that Ferrari launched this year has given the team a much-needed boost and is working out far better than last year’s extremely mixed showing.

The Monaco Grand Prix will take place on Sunday 23rd May, with race time at 2pm.

 
READ ALSO: Leclerc: “We were the standout”
 
Photo of Charles Leclerc during the Spanish Grand Prix by @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
 
 

Workers protected in new remote working agreement

by: Stephanie Horsman
11/05/2021

Teleworking between Monaco and Italy has become clearer and easier thanks to a new agreement signed between the two countries.

On Monday 10th May, Monaco’s Minister of State Pierre Dartout and Italian Minister of Labour and Social Policies Andrea Orlando signed Amendment n°1 to the General Convention on Social Security between the Principality of Monaco and the Italian Republic with regard to telecommuters who live in one country and work in the other.

This step defines what teleworking is and offers a framework for telecommuters residing in Italy and working in Monaco to be subject to Monegasque social laws for the time they work on behalf of a company located within the borders of the Principality. The agreement runs both ways, giving residents of Monaco the same set of rules and protections if they work in Italy.

The signature was regarded as a breakthrough in Italian-Monegasque relations, having taken over five years to craft. The discussions were made more difficult by the restrictions caused by the global pandemic but were deemed to be far more pressing due to the regularising and necessity of telecommuting brought on by the crisis.

The hope is that teleworking will create jobs in the future, reduce road traffic, and protect the environment. The more human side is that employees could see a marked improvement in quality of life, primarily due to less time spent commuting, allowing more time and flexibility within private life.

The agreement is seen to be a positive for both parties. For Monaco, it will allow business development which generates new tax revenue and social contributions. For the Italians, this give them a broader pool of potential employees to choose from.

 
Photo: Andrea Orlando, Italian Minister of Labour and Social Policies (seated on the left), Pierre Dartout, Minister of State (seated on the right), Giulio Alaimo, Ambassador of Italy in Monaco (standing on the left), Didier Gamerdinger, Minister of Social Affairs and Health (behind the Minister of State) and Laurent Anselmi, Minister of External Relations and Cooperation (standing, right). Source: Government Communication Department / Manuel Vitali