‘Monaco for you, at last!’ is the catchphrase of a new Europe-wide tourism campaign aimed at drawing visitors back to the Principality after a year put on hold by Covid.
The world is slowly returning to normal, the desire to travel is no longer considered a taboo, and Monaco has strict health measures in place to protect the population and visitors.
Therefore, it’s time for the Monaco Tourism Board to help revive the local economy by drawing back visitors. It is doing this by sending a message that marks both the end of a long wait and the beginning of hope.
The words “at last!” (Enfin) has been added to the tourism campaign that was conceived before Covid struck the planet, to now read: “Monaco FOR YOU. At last!”
Through photographs and videos, the campaign focuses on 10 themes that embody Monaco’s tourism offer: wellbeing, gastronomy, culture, family, romance, sport, responsible tourism, games and casinos, weekend getaways, and shopping.
The summer campaign will target the French – primarily Paris and regional capitals – and European markets, and will be featured on television ads, in travel magazines and other professional media both print and digital, as well as social networks. https://youtu.be/fEaHGtz3ahM
After travel restrictions are eased internationally, the campaign will go global and be broadcast on the American, Asian and Oceania continents from the second half of 2021.
Like all major destinations in the world, Monaco has suffered significantly from the loss of tourists since March 2020, the extent of which will be revealed on Friday when Jean-Luc Biamonti, CEO of Monaco’s largest employer Société des Bains de Mer, delivers the company’s annual financial report.
Nod to South Africa at this year's Television Festival
South African drama Reyka will open the 60th Monte-Carlo Television Festival this June, while organisers have also revealed who will be judging this year’s top international series.
As the Monte-Carlo Television Festival approaches, the organisers are gradually revealing the details of this anniversary edition, including the World Premiere Opening Screening and the jury members who will meet in Monaco to decide the winners of the Golden Nymph Awards 2021.
The glamorous red carpet opening ceremony for the festival takes place on 18th June at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco. A glittering array of acting and creative talent from around the world and this year’s eminent jury members will join H.S.H. Prince Albert II, Honorary President of the Festival, who will officially declare the commencement of the five-day event.
The two juries, made up of leading exponents from the worlds of television drama and news, will be officially presented during the opening ceremony, before starting to screen together all of the nominated fiction and news content from across the globe.
Fiction Jury President is Swedish writer, director and producer Måns Mårlind (The Bridge, Midnight Sun, Shadowplay) who will preside over fellow award-winning jury members, French actor Arnaud Ducret (Parents mode d’emploi, Mensonges), German producer Moritz Polter (Das Boot, Freud), iconic French actor and singer, Joey Starr (Polisse, Mafiosa, Le Remplaçant), British screenwriter and Direcror Kay Mellor (The Syndicate, Band of Gold) and Norwegian producer Anders Tangen (Lilyhammer, Home for Christmas).
Meanwhile, President of the News Jury, independent filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky (Winter On Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom, Cries From Syria) will be joined by the following jury members: Monegasque journalist Leila Ghandi, Italian producer Gisella Marengo, Editor of France Télévisions Hugo Plagnard and Spanish RTVE international & investigative TV reporter Pilar Requena.
The 60th Opening Ceremony of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival will conclude with the worldwide premiere of South African drama Reyka, a crime thriller starring Kim Engelbrecht (Dominion, The Flash), Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey) and Thando Thabethe (How to Ruin Christmas: The Wedding). The series’ director is Zwelesizwe Ntuli (Hard to Get) and the producer Serena Cullen (Lady Chatterley’s Lover).
The story: haunted by her past, a flawed but brilliant criminal profiler returns to her hometown to solve a string of brutal murders committed by a serial killer amongst the sugarcane fields of Kwa-Zulu-Natal. Having been abducted as a child, Reyka is traumatised by the experience but this also helps her enter the minds of Africa’s most notorious criminals and turn them inside out. Being mixed race in a country where one is expected to choose, her refusal to pick a side gives her the ability to see what others cannot, but her gift has consequences for her and those she loves.
“We are very pleased to welcome such an eminent line-up of jury members who will screen all competing programmes in Monaco during the festival, with the very difficult task to select the ultimate winners, to be awarded on 22nd June during the Golden Nymph Awards Ceremony,” said Festival CEO Laurent Puons. “It is also my greatest pleasure to open this 60th anniversary with the series Reyka. Beginning the festival with a South African production has a very special touch, especially in light of the close ties that exist between South Africa and the Principality of Monaco. This dynamic drama looks set to be a global hit and we’re thrilled to be able to kick off our festival with this worldwide launch.”
Previous opening screenings and premieres at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival include, among others, Crossing Lines, Empire, Absentia, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and L.A’s Finest.
Monaco is inviting residents aged 35 to 44 to roll up their sleeves for the Covid vaccine from this week, further expanding the number of people protected on the road to normality.
Starting Tuesday 25th May, letters will be sent out to eligible residents and citizens of the Principality aged 35 to 44 to receive their first dose of the inoculation against Covid-19. Those now entitled are being asked, once the letter has been received, to make an appointment via the website, www.covid19.mc or by calling 92 05 55 00.
Availability of doses will dictate how quickly this new group will be able to obtain an appointment, though government authorities predict the first available appointments could be as soon as this weekend. The vaccine currently in use in the Principality is made by Pfizer BioNTech. Notably, it has been the only one administered in Monaco since the start of the crisis.
People have been quick to respond to the call to “get jabbed. In April, when the programme was opened to 45 to 55-year-olds, over 700 appointments were made in the first few hours alone.
According to the government’s latest figures as of 18th May, 15,700 people had received at least one vaccine dose in the Principality, equivalent to 41% of the population. Meanwhile, the number of people to have received both shots numbered 12,975.
In an encouraging sign, the incidence rate also sits at its lowest level for months – 21, while only threepeople, all non-residents, are currently being treated at Princess Grace Hospital.
The European Commission on Thursday signed a third contract with the pharmaceutical companies BioNTech and Pfizer, reserving an additional 1.8 billion doses on behalf of all EU Member States, between the of 2021 to 2023.
The deal will allow for the purchase of 900 million doses of the current vaccine and of a vaccine adapted to variants, with the option to purchase an additional 900 million doses.
The contract requires that the vaccine production is based in the EU and that essential components are sourced from the EU. It also stipulates that, from the start of the supply in 2022, the delivery to the EU is guaranteed.
“We need to be one step ahead of the virus. This means having access to adapted vaccines to protect us against the threat of variants, booster vaccines to prolong immunity, as well as protecting our younger population,” said Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. “Our focus is a priority on technologies that have proven their worth, like mRNA vaccines, but we keep our options open. The past months have clearly demonstrated the need to have access to a broad portfolio of vaccines and different technologies, as well as reliable partners. As the pace of vaccination increases every day and work on effective therapeutics intensifies, we can look ahead with more optimism and confidence.”
The possibility for Member States to resell or donate doses to countries in need outside the EU or through the COVAX Facility has been reinforced, contributing to a global and fair access to the vaccine across the world.
“With our signature, the new contract is now in force, which is good news for our long term fight to protect European citizens against the virus and its variants,” said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. “Production and delivery in the EU of up to 1.8 billion doses are guaranteed. Potential contracts with other manufacturers will follow the same model, to the benefit of all.”
Thursday’s contract with the BioNTech-Pfizer alliance builds upon the broad portfolio of vaccines to be produced in Europe, including the already signed contracts with AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Curevac and Moderna and BioNTech/Pfizer itself. The Commission has granted conditional marketing authorisation for the vaccines developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson.
According to the European Commission, this diversified vaccines portfolio ensures Europe has access to enough doses to immunise its whole population including for the variant viruses.
Monegasque association We Are Making Moments is putting on its first public event at the beautiful Fort Antoine featuring music by Dutch artists Mahfoud and Ensemble for a breakfast concert under the sky.
We Are Making Moments (WAMM), an organisation that was started during the darker days of the pandemic to “promote reconnection with oneself, with others and with the common good through art and culture” is putting on a live public breakfast concert featuring Mahmoud and Ensemble at Fort Antoine on 5th June from 10am to 12pm.
Mahmoud and Ensemble will be playing their entire album live for the first time in this lovely outdoor setting as the audience enjoys the sights of the sea and sounds of the music.
Mahfoud and Ensemble’s work can only be described as ethereal, using a blend of eastern and western sounds and instruments to create haunting music that almost blends with the environment.
WAMM was founded to curate moments using mediums such as urban art installations, creative online content, and now, a live event to promote creativity, sustainability and overall higher consciousness for members.
All guests and staff will be under strict health protocol rules and space is limited to 150 people.
Tickets are €10 and can be purchased by clicking here.
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