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Day: 5 October 2021

The first Christmas lights go up in Monaco

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/10/2021

It is a subject that begs the question every year: “Why is the Principality installing its festive lights so early?” Well, the answer is fairly straight forward.
On 22nd September, the first of Monaco’s festive installations shone to life – the flame at the Saint-Roman interchange. Since then, further installations have continued thanks to a collaboration between the electricians of the city’s Animation Department and those from Adage, a branch of Blachère Illumination, a company that has specialised in lighting for 45 years.
But why the need to erect the lights three months before Christmas?
Well, the Mairie this year is continuing its tradition of lighting up every single district in the Principality, and that is going to take 727 street decorations and 19 illuminated scenes projected on to walls, floors and ceilings.
Of course, the only way to achieve all of this on time is to start now.
Meanwhile, returning this year is the interactive Playmagic application, which allows people to interact with Santa Claus and other characters through augmented reality. It will be installed at the Condamine Market, on the Promenade Honoré II as well as at the Princess Antoinette Park.
And for the second year in a row, Christmas lights can also be enjoyed in the Princess Antoinette Park from 4pm to 6pm.
The official lighting of the city will take place on 22nd November at 6pm at the Place du Marché de la Condamine.
 
 
Photo source: Mairie de Monaco
 
 
 

Awards to celebrate 15th anniversary of Prince's Foundation

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/10/2021

To mark the 15th anniversary of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, this year’s Awards will be marked by a performance of ‘The Way of the Rain – Hope for Earth’ created by Sibylle Szaggars Redford and featuring Robert Redford.
The event will take place at the Grimaldi Forum, Friday 29th October, in the Salle des Princes.
Since 2008, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s Awards have paid tribute to leading individuals and organisations for their deep commitment to preserving our planet in each of the Foundation’s three priority areas: limiting the effects of climate change, preserving biodiversity, and managing water resources.
“I wanted to create these awards to show my support to exceptional men and women who are committed to saving our planet,” says H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Previous award winners include Dr Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough for their work in biodiversity, while Sting and Orlando Bloom are among previous Special Awards winners.
This year, in celebration of the Foundation’s 15th anniversary, the awards ceremony will be followed by a performance of ‘The Way of the Rain – Hope for Earth’, a multidisciplinary environmental performance created and directed by Sibylle Szaggars Redford, in collaboration with Music Composer Tim Janis, Performance Film Artist Floyd Thomas McBee, and with a special narration by Robert Redford. The performance interprets nature’s powerful beauty while calling attention to the Earth’s vulnerability brought on by climate change.
 
 

Monaco Business Expo returns for 9th edition

by: Stephanie Horsman
05/10/2021

Entrepreneurs who are looking at Monaco as a place to do business will come together under one roof for the Monaco Business Expo this Wednesday at the Meridian Beach Plaza Hotel.

It is the ninth annual Monaco Business Expo being organised in the Principality, a special B2B event that brings together businesspeople to network and learn about Monaco’s “economic specificities”. It will feature 50 exhibitors and six business success story conferences as well as round table discussions, speed-networking opportunities and a lounge for more private meetings. The event is expected to attract upward of a thousand visitors.

The meeting is set to analyse the current economic challenges the Principality faces, as well as the benefits of setting up shop in the country. It also gives companies a chance to discover the latest ways to improve, promote and develop their current businesses.

In addition, the expo will be the site of the 4th annual Digital Prize awarded to a person or business with a technologically innovative idea. The award will be presented by Monaco’s Interministerial Delegate in charge of Digital Transition, Frédéric Genta. Previous winners include Dr Thierry Desjardins for the Tamanoir probe in 2018, Frédéric Boukabza for an interactive video for e-commerce in 2019, and in 2020, it went to Vizua Entertainment, a recent start-up founded in Monaco which is developing a collaborative platform for the creation, distribution and monetisation of 3D content in real time and without a limit on the number of simultaneous users.

The Monaco Business Expo runs from 8am to 7:30pm. Admission to the event is free, but visitors are asked to register beforehand on www.monacobusinessexpo.com

 

Women urged to make screening a priority this October

by: Stephanie Horsman
05/10/2021

To mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, or Pink October, the Princess Grace Hospital has launched a campaign encouraging women to get screened for this potentially deadly disease, which claims 12,000 lives in France each year.
Breast cancer, the world’s most prevalent cancer according to the World Health Organisation, took the lives of 685,000 people worldwide last year, and a staggering one in eight women are at risk of being affected by this disease in their lifetime.
Whilst the statistics are frightening, the fact remains that with early detection, breast cancer is cured in 90% of cases.
In light of this, the Princess Grace Hospital Centre (CHPG) has mobilised for an awareness campaign, encouraging women to come in for a breast cancer screening in October, which coincides with Breast Cancer Awareness month.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has had a real negative impact on screening mammograms, the number of which has fallen since 2019, including -30% in 2020, leading to diagnostic delays. Once again this year, the message remains the same, more than ever: counter breast cancer and get tested!” the CHPG says in its communication.
The CHPG received a generous donation to coincide with the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Friday 1st October. Local businessman Nicolas Delrieu and his wife Cristiana Crociani Delrieu donated €100,000 to the Fondation des Amis du CHPG, money that will be used to purchase new equipment for the Senology Ultrasound Department, which specialises in breast problems, as well as covering the costs of patients’ procedures.
The CHPG is one of a number of institutions in Monaco to get behind the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On Friday, some of the Principality’s most famous buildings – including the Palace and the Oceanographic Museum – were illuminated bright pink for the cause.
 
 
Photo by Manuel Vitali, Government Communication Department
 
 
 

Shuttle bus to replace public lift from Monday

by: Stephanie Horsman
05/10/2021

As part of the ongoing modernisation of public elevators and escalators in the Principality, the lift between Jardin Exotique and Hector Otto will be closed for two months starting next week. But the government is offering an alternative.
From 11th October, the heavily used public elevator between Avenue Hector Otto and Boulevard du Jardin Exotique will be closed for upgrades to “make it more reliable”, according to a government press statement on Monday.
To lessen the strain on residents who rely on this lift, there will be a new shuttle service that will stop at three locations along the route: Boulevard du Jardin Exotique in front of the Les Révoires building, Avenue Hector Otto in front of Ecole des Révoires, and Boulevard du Jardin Exotique in front of the entrance to the Princess Antoinette Park.
The shuttle bus will transport passengers from 7:30am to 7pm Monday to Friday, and from 9am to 5pm on weekends. A full round is estimated to take about 10 minutes, meaning the wait times for passengers will be quite short.
The government has plans to replace six escalators and nine lifts this year. It’s also working to transform two escalators in a lift during this period. This is all part of a five-year plan to upgrade several elevators and escalators to make them more usable and modern. Other lifts that will be upgraded include two public ones at Agaves, the three at Parking de la Costa, and two on the north side of the Saint-Charles complex.
Four of the six escalators situated in the underground passage of the Carrefour de la Madone will be switched and the remaining two will be swapped out for a glass elevator, allowing those with reduced mobility to safely access the shops located sub-ground level. Additionally, two escalators at 17 Rue Grimaldi have been replaced.
The work on the Hector Otto-Jardin Exotique elevator is estimated to end on Friday 3rd December.