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Day: 26 January 2022

Streets in new district to be named after Prince and Princesses

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/01/2022

During a Municipal Council meeting on Monday evening, the new street names for the Principality’s land extension project, Mareterra, were unanimously voted and agreed upon.

The Mareterra extension project, which was announced back in 2013, is adding an entire neighbourhood to the Monaco landscape in an engineering feat that will be fully realised by the end of 2024.

For years it has been a mere construction zone, a marvel, certainly, but not entirely part of the community yet.

On Monday evening, this changed, as the Municipal Council met and approved the proposed street names offered by the project leaders and the Prince’s Palace, giving people a real sense of the area being a part of Monaco and not just an endless building site.

On the eastern side, where the residential section is located, people will soon be able to amble through a pine forest valley and along the Promenade Prince Jacques.  At the centre of this block will be Avenue Mareterra.

Heading to the west side, where the port, aquatic centre and catering activities are, there will be the Quai du Petit Portier, the Esplanade Prince Jacques and the Place Princesse Gabriella, which is the neighbourhood’s future gateway.

The new swimming pool will be named after Monaco’s adopted Olympic swimmer becoming Piscine Princesse Charlène.

Finally, there will be a green space called La Pinède.

The extension is being built using sustainable construction techniques and is the heart of Monaco’s future growth. Once completed, the site will have 800 trees with 27,000m2 of total planted surface area, 19,000m2 of pedestrian walkways and 600m of cycling path.

Additionally, Mareterra is being built to be eco-friendly, including 9,000m2 of solar panels, 200 electric vehicle charging stations, smart electricity and water metres in every building, irrigation systems activated by humidity and rainfall, geothermal heating and cooling, and a 600m3 rainwater collection pond.

 

 

Image source: www.mareterra.com

 

 

 

Rose Ball 2022: new date

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/01/2022

This year’s Rose Ball has been pushed back a few months to July to increase the chances of it going ahead, after the high-profile event was cancelled last year due to Covid.

The Salle des Etoiles at the Sporting Monte-Carlo will again set the scene for one of the year’s most anticipated social events, the Rose Ball (Bal de la Rose). Created in 1954 by Princess Grace, it is usually held in March, but due to ongoing problems associated with the pandemic, organisers decided to postpone the event until 8th July to ensure guests will be in total comfort and safety. Due to Covid, last year’s Rose Ball was cancelled completely.

Each year, the Rose Ball brings together the social elite for a night of splendour and is currently presided by Prince Albert II and Princess Caroline of Hanover, but at the heart of the event is an internationally accepted charity event.

The auction prizes are legendary and include paintings and sculptures from renowned artists with all proceeds going to the Princess Grace Foundation, of whom Princess Caroline is president. Since 1964, the Foundation has taken steps to help children in need through philanthropic and humanitarian projects.

The theme of the Rose Ball changes every year and is decided upon by a big-name personage. This year, the chosen one is none other than high-end footwear maker Christian Louboutin, whose theme of “The Twenties, The Return” is sure to be one for the history books.

Guests will be asked to step back in time to the oh-so chic 1920’s, so expect intricately beaded dresses, smart black-tie suits and people dancing the Charleston. No doubt, many fashionista guests will also be sporting his gorgeously crafted shoes, made notable by their distinguishing red lacquered soles.

Louboutin has other reasons to be in Monaco in July, as his summer retrospective, L’Exhibition(niste), opens its doors the day after the ball on 9th July at the Grimaldi Forum. The exhibit will run through to 28th August.

The Rose Ball is already a sell-out, but there is a waiting list for those who are willing to attend last minute. For more information or to get on the wait list, call +377 98 06 63 41. 

 

Photo of 2019 Rose Ball by Eric Mathon, Prince’s Palace

 

 

 

Protecting the Med with new wastewater treatment plant

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/01/2022

After four years of work, the extension built to augment Monaco’s water treatment capabilities has been completed, increasing purification abilities by over 30% and making run-off cleaner than ever, thus protecting the Med. 

State-of-the-art technologies were used when building the extension of Monaco’s wastewater treatment plant, called UTER, located under the Triton building in a 10-story development in the heart of Fontvieille. It is part of the Principality’s commitment to the creation of a sustainable city and the goal to protect both the land and sea from unnecessary pollutants.

The project was initiated in 2108 by the government with the help of Smeaux, the country’s drinking water and water treatment plant concessionaire, and has proved to be a major modernisation project worth the investment.
The plant took four years of work and was undertaken to allow the current plant to continue normal operations. It has increased the purification capacities by over 30% while improving the rejection quality to a level 40% higher than the requirements of the European standard. This puts Monaco near the top of the list amongst countries in terms of protection of the Mediterranean.

Prince Albert II visited the site alongside Antoine Frérot, Chairman and CEO of the Veolia group, Minister of State Pierre Dartout, Bernard Fautrier, Minister Plenipotentiary, and Céline Caron-Dagioni, Minister of Equipment, Environment and Urbanism. The Prince expressed his pride in the nation’s biodiversity and resource protection standards.

The new extension facility is the first to be built entirely underground, thus eliminating noise and odour-related issues for the neighbourhood. It treats water not only from the Principality but also from Beausoleil, part of Cap d’Ail and La Turbie, before depositing the run-off 800m off the coast at a depth of 100m.

The extension has been designed to raise treatment capacity from a population of 100 to 130,000, meeting Monaco’s sanitation needs today and well in to the future.

 

 

Photo by Michael Alesi, Government Communication Department

 

 

 

ASM transfer round-up: Pellegri, Badiashile, Eriksen

by: Luke Entwistle
26/01/2022
AS Monaco's Performance Centre, La Turbie

It has been far from a revolving door at Monaco in this January window with only one incoming and one outgoing. With just days left, the focus is seemingly on player retention.

Vanderson’s arrival on the opening day of the window has not been built upon. Instead, Paul Mitchell, in collaboration with new manager Philippe Clement, have decided to trust in their current squad. Wilson Isidor has been the only player to depart thus far, but with vultures hovering, the Principality club will be looking to avoid losing their star assets in the closing stages.

Benoit Badiashile – linked by L’Equipe to Monaco. Since the Geordie club’s takeover, they have been looking to splash the cash, already bringing in Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood. They are, however, still looking for defensive reinforcements and have been in intense discussions with the Principality club about bringing Badiashile to Tyneside. L’Equipe, amongst others, reported that Monaco rejected a €40 million offer from Newcastle for their promising young centre-back earlier in the window. They remain undeterred. Discussions have continued and the centre-back’s future at the club will likely remain in-limbo until the window shuts.

Pietro Pellegri – linked by Gianluca Di Marzio to Torino. Pellegri’s departure is more planned and would prove much less disruptive than if Badiashile were to leave. The Italian striker is in the middle of a not so fruitful spell on loan to AC Milan. He has yet to score since his arrival in the summer, yet talks initially revolved around the Italian side securing a permanent deal for the Italian before loaning him out. Those talks seemingly broke down.

The most likely scenario is now a severance of ties with AC Milan, and another loan to Italian rivals Torino. It is currently unclear as to whether there will be a purchase option in the contract. This is one of the more likely deals to be concluded before the end of the window.

Christian Eriksen – linked by Nicolo Schiara to AS Monaco. In terms of incomings at the Principality club, it has been a quiet window. They got an excellent bit of business wrapped up early with the purchase of Vanderson, but have been seemingly reluctant to delve back into the market. Very few players have even been linked with a move to Monaco, and it remains the case that Monaco’s policy regarding incomings is likely to be based on outgoings. One spectacular rumour that has emerged is the potential arrival of Christian Eriksen.

The Danish midfielder, who suffered an on-pitch cardiac arrest in this summer’s European Championships, has been without a club since Serie A regulation meant it wouldn’t be possible to honour his contract with Inter Milan. He is therefore available on a free, and so the transfer is not obliged to go through before the deadline. A deal, although a possibility, does seem unlikely. The Athletic have recently reported that English club Brentford have offered the Dane a contract, and an agreement could be wrapped up in the coming days.

Monaco will be hoping for a quiet end to the window, in which retaining their young talents has been the priority. The retention of Badiashile, as well as the much coveted Aurelien Tchouameni, would therefore likely constitute a successful window.

 

Photo of AS Monaco training stadium in La Turbie by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life

 

 

Isidor departs Monaco for Russia

by: Luke Entwistle
26/01/2022

Monaco striker Wilson Isidor departed for Lokomotiv Moscow on Saturday for a fee believed to be in the region of €3.5 million, having made 12 appearances for the Principality club.

The French striker, who joined in the summer of 2018 from Rennes II, failed to register for AS Monaco, but did make nine appearances for the side this season spread across all competitions.

A press release from the club wished him all the best in his career. Although not a first-choice pick in his position, his departure is however untimely. With the injury to Myron Boadu, and the absence of Kevin Volland in Sunday’s match against Montpellier, Isidor would have provided depth that Monaco are currently lacking in the position.

The French striker is the first to leave the club in the current transfer window. Monaco signed Vanderson on the opening day of the window, but have not dipped back into the market since. It remains to be seen whether Isidor’s departure will tempt Paul Mitchell and the Monaco hierarchy into strengthening their current squad.

Given Philippe Clement’s deployment of a two-striker partnership during the early days of his reign, the three options at his disposal do seem insufficient, especially given the injury to Boadu.

Mitchell told Monaco Life earlier this month that he was willing to be patient during the window, placing his trust in the new manager to get more out of the current squad.

Should Mitchell look for reinforcements in the attacking area, he will have to act quickly with only a week of the transfer window remaining.

 

 

Photo source: AS Monaco