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Day: 3 June 2021

Day trips to Italy are back on the agenda

by: Cassandra Tanti
03/06/2021

Visitors are once again allowed to enter Italy for day trips without the need to present a negative Covid test, provided they live within 60 kilometres of the Italian city. It means that quick shopping trips or restaurant visits to the Italian Riviera are back on the agenda for Monaco residents.
Situated close to the Monegasque border, the Italian Riviera is a popular spot for visitors looking to stock up on their favourite Italian produce or enjoy some traditional local cuisine and hospitality.
It is for that reason that the mayor of Ventimiglia, Gaetano Scullino, made a special request to the country’s health ministry to lift restrictions placed on the country’s close foreign neighbours.
As of Wednesday 2nd June, visitors “can come safely for 24 hours, shop in and visit Ventimiglia, as long as they live within 60 kilometres of the border town,” the mayor happily announced on Wednesday.
The new ordinance states that foreigners entering Italy are no longer required to present a negative Covid or antigen test, or undertake quarantine, if their visit lasts less than 24 hours and they are no more than 60 kilometres from their place of residence.
It means that people from as far as Nice can also take advantage of day trips to Italy as it is located 40 kilometres from the border city.
 
 
 
 

The Odyssey returns just in time for warm summer nights

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/06/2021

The Metropole Hotel has announced the reopening date of its rooftop hotspot, Odyssey Lounge Bar and Restaurant, where guests can enjoy everything from a relaxing after work apero to a Mediterranean dinner under the stars.
Located next to a swimming pool, the Odyssey was forced to stay closed due to health restrictions despite the reopening of the Metropole Hotel in April. But not for much longer.
From Thursday 10th June, the Odyssey Lounge Bar and Restaurant returns, ready to host guests for cocktails and dinner.

Photo of the Karl Lagerfeld-designed rooftop by C. Larit

Situated in Monte-Carlo, the beating heart of Monaco, this peaceful locale, imagined and designed by the late, great Karl Lagerfeld, is a place to relax and enjoy the best of Monaco’s summer.
It will feature music curated by the hotel’s sound designer, Beatrice Ardisson, and from 7pm onwards, Odyssey will offer aperos and gourmet tapas including a cocktail bar menu.
When the sun goes down, the full impact of the Lagerfeld mural depicting the voyage of Ulysses will be played up using artistic and tasteful lights twinkling off the pool to create a stunning overall effect.
To top it all off, Executive Chef Christophe Cussac will be serving up Mediterranean-style fare using fresh, seasonal products, offering the best the Côte d’Azur has to offer from his newly renovated kitchens.
Photo of the Odysee Restaurant by C. Larit

“People do not see what has been done in the back of house, but it is a revolution for our teams, it is so exciting,” Chef Cussac told Monaco Life during April’s hotel reopening.
For a taste of Monaco elegance, check out the Odyssey, open for dinner from 7:30pm Thursday to Monday all summer.
 
READ ALSO:
The ‘blossoming’ Metropole Hotel
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

WHO Assembly looks at ways to manage future pandemics

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/06/2021

Monaco has contributed to the 74th World Health Assembly and its focus on Covid, agreeing on the prospect of creating an international legal tool for future pandemics.
The World Health Assembly (WHA) organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) took place from 24th to 31st May, where the pertinent topic of the pandemic took front and centre stage.
The theme of the general debate was ‘Ending this pandemic and preventing the next one: building a healthier, safer and fairer world together’. To that end, the discussions were heavily skewed toward strengthening the WHO by creating new systems and protocols for responding and preventing future global health emergencies such as the Covid pandemic.
The Monegasque delegation, led by Carole Lanteri, Ambassador of Monaco to the UN in Geneva, joined other Member States in adopting a resolution on this subject, which was passed by consensus vote. The resolution establishes, amongst other things, a Working Group of Member States who will be in charge of taking closer looks at the recommendations made by various independent review committees on how best to improve preparedness by the WHO to emergencies. The first special session meeting, to be held in late 2021, will include talks on the possibility of creating an international legal tool relating to pandemics.
The WHA is the decision-making body of the WHO, responsible for determining the organisation’s policies as well as approving its budget.
In addition to being part of the pandemic talks, Monaco co-sponsored several resolutions which are priorities for the country, including one that will aim to put an end to violence against children and another intended to help intensify measures to combat malaria.
 
 
Photo source: World Health Organisation
 
 

Anyone for a movie?

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/06/2021

Both the Cinema des Beaux Arts and the Open Air Cinema are reopening in June, giving movie lovers plenty of chances to make up for lost time.
The Beaux-Arts located in the Théâtre Princesse Grace is the first to welcome guests back. Since Wednesday, it has resumed screenings with a programme that takes place between 2pm and 8:50pm.
On the bill are Nobody by Ilya Naishuller, Envole-moi by Christophe Barratier with Gérard Lanvin and Victor Belmondo, Chacun chez soi by and with Michèle Laroque, The Father by Florian Zeller, and finally Tom & Jerry by Tim Story.
The Beaux-Arts has two screens showing the latest blockbusters, mostly in ‘original version’ with subtitles.
Then on 20th June, Europe’s largest outdoor movie screen, the Monaco Open Air Cinema, returns offering a great line-up of classic favourites and new releases along with the best sea view of any cinema in the world.
Symbolic as an event marking the start of summer, the opening of the Open Air Cinema has an even more special meaning this year in light of the rough year that has passed.
There is no programme available yet, but it will be coming in the next weeks.
The cinema boasts comfortable chairs and a massive 200m2 screen in addition to the magnificent views. Doors open at 8:30pm and the shows start at 9pm. All films are in the original version with French subtitles.
 
 
 

The Monte-Carlo Film Festival is in full swing

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/06/2021

The 18th instalment of the Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival has begun with a press conference outlining the schedule as well as introducing some key players.

If ever there was year when people needed a laugh, this one is it, and from 31st May to 5th June, it is not only possible but probable with the 18th Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival in full swing at the Grimaldi Forum.

“We are happy to have succeeded in bringing this edition to a successful conclusion in a difficult context,” said the event’s organiser Ezio Greggio. “As they say for the show, the comedy must also go on. ‘The comedy must go on’, because this is the genre that has always told our best stories.”

Despite being an event built to tickle the funny bone, this year’s line-up is tackling some of today’s more serious and relevant topics such as women’s empowerment, sex, and generational conflict.

The winners will be chosen by a jury comprised of Italian heartthrob, Chairman Raoul Bova, French actress Sara Forestier, actors Giacomo Ferrara and Mario de la Rosa, and director and film critic Mario Sesti who remarked on the current crisis by saying that “it was the most tragic moment that sparked the greatest comedies.” 

Two American stars were also present at the press conference – actor, director, screenwriter and producer Chazz Palminteri, who will receive the Movie Legend Award 2021 at a gala on Saturday 5th June, as well as Nick Vallelonga, two time Oscar winner for the film Green Book: on the roads of the South and president of the jury of last year’s Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival.

A closing award ceremony gala will take place on 5th June at the Grimaldi Forum to announce all the winners.

Of the awards already confirmed, presenter and writer Rocio Munos Morales will receive thee Palminteri’s Movie Legend Award 2021 for her exceptional role as a woman, mother, writer and model of empowerment, and the Career Award, which will go to Italian actress Micaela Ramazzotti.

The show’s presenter will be Giancarlo Magelli and a host of well-known and beloved personalities will be on hand. TV hostess Elisa Isoardi, fashion model Elisabetta Gregoraci, former footballer Claudio Marchisio,actress and model Brazilian Desirée Popper, and Antonia Truppo, Francesco Di Leva and Giovanni Esposito, protagonists of the new comedy Benvenuti a casa Esposito, which will have its world premiere at the Monte-Carlo Comedy Film Festival on Friday 4th June. 

A performance by X Factor teen idol Leo Gassmann will round out a star-studded event.

The main objective of the festival is to promote and disseminate different genres of comedy through previewing films in and out of competition. This is a true international showcase for a genre highly appreciated by the public but generally considered largely irrelevant by critics.

Thanks to the efforts made over the years by Ezio Greggio and the late Mario Monicelli, co-founders of the event, it has allowed other international festivals such as Cannes, Rome, Berlin and Venice to take comedy more seriously as a genre.

The event, in collaboration with EFG Bank Monaco and Marlù Gioielli, is also under the High Patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco and the Embassy of Italy.