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Day: 23 May 2022

Prince’s Foundation launches new Forests and Communities Initiative

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/05/2022

The latest initiative supported by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation will help indigenous peoples and local communities save their forests from decimation and, in turn, help restore the planet.

The forests are the world’s lungs, offering a vast array of ecological services, not least of which is converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. They are home to an enormous number of plant and animal life and are essential in the fight against desertification, climate change and soil erosion, as well as being a kind of ground zero for fresh water supplies.

Despite all of this, the forests are being decimated at an unprecedented rate, with the last decade seeing exponential destruction and pressure. To help combat and hopefully eventually even reverse the damage, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, the International Ranger Federation, and Global Forest Coalition are joining forces to support the people who can make a difference on the ground to protect forest ecosystems, namely the indigenous peoples and local communities living in these areas.

On International Biodiversity Day, 22nd May, they launched the Forests and Communities Initiative (FCI), which has a mission “to support conservation of forest ecosystems through the action of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) and through the development of a supporting network of actors providing a multi-disciplinary set of expertise,” according to the organisation.

It is currently targeting five geographic regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, where they will carry out a variety of tasks. These include conservation-driven efforts, particularly in primary forests and zones with low anthropic activities, taking a holistic approach to preserve these natural ecosystems, working with and respecting the knowledge of the IPLCs and using their knowledge to full effect, practicing and promoting science and evidence-based methodologies to ensure effective implementation, and fostering open dialogues, information-sharing and best practices exchanges to advance understanding.

 

 

Photo source: Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation

 

 

 

Blade takes over Monacair service

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/05/2022

Monacair is one of three regional helicopter companies to have its services taken over by US group Blade Air Mobility, which will begin operations with a seven-minute Nice to Monaco transfer during this week’s Monaco Grand Prix.

It was announced recently that the routes and heliports of Monacair, Héli Sécurité and another unnamed European operator have been bought out by US group Blade Air Mobility for a reported €48 million.

“These three acquisitions are core to our strategy of leveraging our asset-light model to aggregate the premier use cases for urban air mobility,” Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal said in a statement. “As a result, Blade has now amassed what we believe to be the most valuable routes in the world.

“Adding this formidable presence in Europe to our existing operations across the greater New York area, Vancouver, and India, is a critical step in our expansion.”

Monacair runs 50 scheduled flights daily between Nice Airport and Monaco, while Héli Sécurité has 16 flights that cover St. Tropez and the Swiss Alps. An industry source in Europe identified the third company as Cannes-based Azur Hélicoptère, whose investors include Oaktree Capital Management, but this has not yet been confirmed.

The local companies will keep their fleets, with Blade as their sole customer using an “asset light strategy”. This will allow the entities to transfer capabilities, such as people, processes and technology to new owners in order to allow existing businesses to transfer fixed costs to a variable cost structure.

Blade calls itself a “technology-powered, global urban air mobility platform committed to reducing travel friction by enabling cost-effective air transportation alternatives to some of the most congested ground routes in the U.S. and abroad”.

By-the-seat flights for the Monaco Grand Prix start at $220.

The group has secured prominent investors for the deal, including Cathie Wood from Ark Invest and Ferrari shareholder John Elkann.

“The whole business model behind Blade is to accumulate the best routes, infrastructure, and customers in the world who are currently traveling by helicopter . . . and then providing those businesses with a seamless transition for electric vertical aircraft,” CEO Rob Wiesenthal told Financial Times.

Blade has sought to put its brand on popular routes in advance of the arrival of a new generation of electric vertical aircraft, called eVOTLs or EVAs, and have contracted four EVA developers to start delivering new choppers in 2024.

 

 

 

Opportunist Verstappen wins as Leclerc’s machinery fails him

by: Luke Entwistle
23/05/2022

A mid-race mechanical failure ruined Charles Leclerc’s otherwise flawless weekend in Spain, as Max Verstappen took victory on Sunday and moved into pole position in the drivers’ standings.

Leclerc looked to be cruising to the chequered flag in Barcelona. Having taken pole, he also had the race pace to match as he cut off a Verstappen charge off the line, before growing a lead. Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz didn’t have such a serene run off the line as he immediately lost places to George Russell and Carlos Perez, who both collided at the first corner, without consequence for either driver.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, had a disastrous start, colliding with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, receiving a puncture, and limping back to the pits in 19th position. Sainz’s poor start was then compounded by a spin on lap seven, which demoted him to 11th.

Leclerc’s lead looked definitive on lap nine when Verstappen spun at the same corner as Sainz had just two laps earlier, which saw him fall behind Russell and team-mate Perez. With Verstappen out of the picture, Leclerc grew a lead of 30 seconds before coming into the pits.

It was looking like a comfortable victory for Leclerc, which would not only substantially grow his championship lead but also deal a psychological blow to his rivals before he heads to his home race in Monaco next week.

That all changed at the halfway mark, as Leclerc slowed on the track, the terminal words, “I have lost power” confirming his retirement – the face of the race, and of the championship, significantly altered by a moment of cruel misfortune.

Verstappen was now reinvigorated and smelt his chance. He immediately went for the undercut. Putting on the softs, he began his charge into the lead. He comfortably took Valterri Bottas to claim third, and following pit stops from Russell and Perez, he took the lead.

Verstappen still needed to make another stop, but came out ahead of Russell. Having closed in on Perez, his teammate let him breeze past to take the lead of the race; a leap which he never looked like relinquishing.

Perez held onto second and Russell onto third. The remarkable drive of the day belonged to Hamilton, whose charge from the back of the pack was rewarded with a fifth-place finish. He had temporarily passed Sainz, but due to a technical issue, had to ease off at the end of the race, allowing the Spaniard, competing in his home race, to re-take fourth.

Photo of Charles Leclerc waving to fans at the Spanish Grand Prix, source Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

Leclerc, for the first time this season, has now, through no fault of his own, ceded his championship lead. Verstappen now leads by six points from Leclerc, and the Dutch driver has four wins to Leclerc’s two.

However, post-race Leclerc was determined to stay positive. “So far this year, the team has been doing an incredible job in terms of reliability. Of course, this one hurts because we were in front all weekend and worked really well,” the Monégasque began. “I know that things like this can happen sometimes and in moments like these, it is important to look at the positives. Our pace was very strong in qualifying and in the race and the feeling in the car was really good,” said Leclerc.

But things aren’t all positive. Ferrari may have had pace here in Spain, but it is important to profit from it when the pendulum seems to swing between the Red Bull and Ferrari on a weekly basis. The Red Bull, as they have throughout the season thus far, will likely hit back in the next races, as they bring upgrades of their own. The Mercedes, meanwhile, looks like it may finally be joining the party. They may not be immediately in the hunt for race wins, but at the least, they are challengers for the podium positions. Russell in particular is only 30 points behind Leclerc, whilst you would expect the experience of Hamilton to allow him to close in on the leading pack.

To re-affirm himself as the title favourite, a solid showing on home turf is a must for Leclerc, and he is relishing the task, despite lacking luck at Monte-Carlo in recent times. “Next up is my home race in Monaco, so I’m really looking forward to it and I hope that it will be a good one,” concluded Leclerc.

Stay tuned to Monaco Life as we interview Charles Leclerc ahead of the weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix!

 

 

Photos source: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

 

 

 

 

 

Dmitry Rybolovlev reflects on ASM’s success

by: Luke Entwistle
23/05/2022

In the aftermath of AS Monaco’s draw against Lens, which secured Champions League play-off qualification but wasn’t sufficient to earn second place, owner Dmitry Rybolovlev praised the club’s fighting spirit.

Rybolovlev has attended the final two matches of Monaco’s season. Having overseen the Principality side’s incredible comeback against Brest last week, he made the trip to see the Red and Whites at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday.

The owner also attended Thursday morning’s training session in La Turbie, accompanied by sporting director Paul Mitchell and technical director James Bunce. In a press release on Sunday, Rybolovlev spoke publicly about the club’s incredible end-of-season exploits. You can read his statement in full below:

“The cruel scenario of this final match must not make us forget the last episodes of the battle that we waged in Ligue 1.

At the end of a season that was marked by ups and downs, I would like to see us remember the fighting spirit shown by the players and the coaching staff.

The team went through difficult periods but did not give up. Instead, they went on an excellent unbeaten run and were rewarded for their effort with the club’s seventh podium finish since AS Monaco returned to Ligue 1 nine years ago.

During the season, our young team took part in both national and European competitions. I hope that the experience they gained will help our players deliver an even more mature and consistent performance next season.

It is with the will to continue to grow and progress, building on what has been put in place, that we will prepare for our next season.

Finally, I would like to thank our fans who, as always throughout the whole season, supported the team, both at home and away matches.

Daghe Munegu!”

 

 

Photo source: AS Monaco

 

 

 

AS Monaco seal Champions League qualification

by: Luke Entwistle
23/05/2022

Philippe Clement’s men secured their place on the bottom step of the Ligue 1 podium on Saturday, as a late Lens equaliser stole direct qualification to the Champion’s League group stages from their grasp.

Nonetheless, AS Monaco’s end to the season is an unquantifiable success. European football in any form would have certainly sufficed back in mid-March, whilst the Champions League looked like a pipe dream. The Principality side will now go through the qualifying rounds of the competition in order to seal a place in the group stage.

A victory for Lens could have earnt them Europa Conference qualification if other results went their way, and they certainly began the match like a team on a mission. Amidst a raucous atmosphere at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens struck the first blow.

A poor parry from Alexander Nübel was directed straight into the path of Przemyslaw Frankowski, who made no mistake with a rather simple finish. The home side, however, quickly began to wane, and Monaco grabbed a foothold in the match.

Benoit Badiashile restored parity before half-time, finishing from a corner at the second time of asking. Elsewhere, Marseille led at Strasbourg, meaning a victory was needed in order to retain the second spot that they held going into the final gameweek.

Lens struggled to wrestle control of the game back from the Monégasques, and it was a case of cometh the hour cometh the man as the unsilenceable Wissam Ben Yedder struck just after the hour mark.

From a well-worked counter-attack, Kevin Volland picked out his strike partner at the back-post, who headed home to turn the game on its head.

Rennes, meanwhile, were only drawing at Lille; this was now a two-horse race between Marseille and Monaco, both of whom were battling it out for the second place. Monaco simply had to hold on and the spoils would be theirs.

In a season that has been full of twists and turns, there was to be one more before the final whistle. Deep, deep into injury time, Lens whipped a free-kick into the box, chaos ensued and amongst all of that, Kevin Danso poked the ball into the path of Ignatius Ganago, who fired home to restore parity once again.

At the death, second place was snatched from Monaco’s grasp, but Clement’s men can still console themselves with having secured qualification to the play-offs of the Champions League, a feat that seemed impossible just weeks ago.

Clement articulated his thoughts on a match of mixed emotions: “The disappointment is huge, but above all, there is enormous pride for my players, my staff, our managers, and our supporters. This feeling of pride is much bigger because, in these last months, I have seen a team of winners… my players can be proud of themselves,” said the Belgian manager.

It was a bitter-sweet evening for Monaco, but the fact that the side can feel “disappointment” on a night where qualification to the Champions League was secured, is an unmistakable sign of how far this team has come in such a short period of time.

 

Photo source: AS Monaco

 

 

 

Monte-Carlo Casino dealers shine at European Championships

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/05/2022

The Casino de Monte-Carlo was the site for this year’s European Dealer Championships, where the crème de la crème of card dealers competed to be crowned the best in world. And Monaco’s young croupiers placed well.

After a two-year absence due to the pandemic, the 14th European Dealer Championships returned with a record number of participants, with this year being particularly notable as it was hosted at arguably the most famous casino in the world, the Casino de Monte-Carlo.

This year, 40 dealers were selected on a national level to compete in a contest involving technical skill, quick thinking, control of the game, hospitality skills and nerves of steel.  They proved their prowess in two of the most popular of all casino card games, Black Jack and American Roulette.

In addition to the specialities needed from above, the dealers also competed in disciplines that should be mastered by all dealers, such as chipping, card handling, cutting chips, pushing stacks, maths and picture bets.

“We are delighted and proud to welcome the European Dealer Championship, organised by the European Casino Association, at the legendary Casino de Monte-Carlo,” said Jean-Luc Biamonti, CEO Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer. “The History of Monaco is intimately linked to gambling and the Casino de Monte- Carlo, with its unique vision, its excellence and savoir-faire, and strives relentlessly for the success and legacy of the casino activity in Europe. The dealer plays a major role in this vision: being discreet and efficient, the excellence of their gestures and their role with the client is key to convey the Principality’s Great Art of Gaming.”

Photo front row eft to right: SBM Casino Director Pascal Camia, participant Christopher Subtil Conceicao, SBM CEO Jean-Luc Biamonti, participant Noémie Serra, and Rudy Tarditi, General Director Casino de Monte-Carlo. Photo courtesy Monte-Carlo SBM

The contestants, who came from 22 nations, including the UK, France, Sweden, Luxembourg, Estonia, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland and of course Monaco, were judged by 36 jury members and cheered on by a crowd estimated to be in the hundreds.

There were 10 women competing this year, including 26-year-old Noémie Serra, representing Monaco alongside Christopher Subtil Conceicao. Ms Serra was awarded the prize for Best Chip Cutting and Mr Subtil Conceicao was selected as Best Card Handler.

In a press release, the SBM noted that, “the performances of Noémie Serra and Christopher Subtil Conceicao are all the more important as they were both amongst the youngest croupiers participating in the European Dealer Championship. Young but perfectly experienced in techniques through their training at the Monaco Games School. This one-of-a-kind school is based on transmission from generation to generation, keys to excellence since 1863, and continuously enriching it with international best practices. Noémie Serra joined the games school in 2018 and Christopher Subtil Conceicao in 2019.”

The winner of the best dealer overall was Christoph Boo, from the Casino in Zurich, Switzerland. In second place was Daniel Rhodes to the Hippodrome in London, and the bronze went to Zoltan Horvath from Casino Györ in Hungary. Monaco’s two representatives placed well with Neomie Serra just off the podium in fourth place and Christopher Subtil Conceicao is sixth.

The tournament took place in the Salle Medecin of the Casino from the 16th to 18th of May, with the prize-giving ceremony taking place at the Hotel Hermitage, the same locale the contestants met at to welcome them to the event.

“Casinos are part of Europe’s rich cultural heritage, said P. Jaldung, Chairman of the European Casino Association. “All of us understand the very special and unique entertainment we offer our guests – the social and emotional connection that binds our industry together. Casino guests enjoy not only the service and thrill of the game but also the professionalism of their hosts, the dealers. The job of a dealer requires social skills, concentration and manual dexterity. Keeping a gaming table under control on a busy evening is an art – and now the greatest artists have gathered in Monaco.”

 

Photos courtesy Monte-Carlo SBM