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Month: May 2022

The ASM rumour mill: Tchouaméni, Sidibé, Ndicka, Bissouma

by: Luke Entwistle
27/05/2022

With the season over, the focus of fans and of sporting directors across Europe has turned to the upcoming transfer window, which is already whirring into action.

For Monaco, many of the rumours surround outgoings. However, during an interview with L’Équipe on Monday, sporting director Paul Mitchell revealed the summer transfer strategy for the side.

“Our idea is to bring in between three and five players,” began the Englishman. “We are hoping to add an attacking element, a winger or centre-forward – that will depend on availabilities within the market – a centre-midfielder and a defensive player”.

Speaking to Nice Matin, Mitchell added, “We will undoubtedly have a need for another goalkeeper as well, but the context surrounding that means we will have to wait a bit.

Whilst the strategy for incomings has been clearly outlined, their recruitment, as always, will also be dependent on outgoings, and rumours surrounding one player in particular have been intensifying in recent days and weeks.

Aurélien Tchouaméni – Linked by RMC, Goal & L’Équipe to Real Madrid, PSG & Liverpool. Monaco’s French international midfielder has been linked with a move away from the Stade Louis II for the past year. Since Saturday’s draw against Lens, those rumours have been amplified. RMC reported on Tuesday that Real Madrid had agreed an €80m deal for Tchouaméni, and that terms between the player and the Spanish champions were all but agreed. However, L’Équipe had previously reported that the player was “dreaming of Liverpool’s project. In recent days, talk of him joining the Merseyside club has dampened, but as Goal reported, a new challenger for his signature has emerged. PSG are now also keen on Tchouaméni and he is admired by Kylian Mbappé, who recently signed a contract extension at PSG and incoming sporting director Luis Campos. It remains to be seen how long the protracted saga will drag on, but what is certain is that Monaco will get a good price for their star asset given the calibre of the sides interested.

Yves Bissouma – Linked by Fabrice Hawkins to AS Monaco. Should Tchouaméni leave, Monaco could target Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma as a replacement. The Mali midfielder has enjoyed another solid campaign, having garnered interest from some of Europe’s elite last summer. Bissouma is a similar profile to Tchouaméni and would constitute a like-for-like replacement. However, if they are to land the former Lille player, they will have to fend off competition from Aston Villa, who are also interested in his signature.

Benoît Badiashile – Linked by Nice Matin to Newcastle, West Ham, Atletico Madrid and Manchester United. Badiashile is another name almost constantly linked with a departure from the Principality club. Speaking to Goalearlier this month, Badiashile revealed that he had informal contact with Premier League clubs in January, but added that he is in no rush to leave Monaco. Clubs across Europe and particularly in England could be set to test that statement. If he is to leave it would be to go abroad according to Nice Matin.

Evan Ndicka – Linked by Fabrice Hawkins to AS Monaco. As with Tchouaméni, Monaco are also looking at replacements for Badiashile should he leave this summer. According to Hawkins, Ndicka is a name that is “insisted upon ” by some at the club. The Frankfurt centre-back recently won the Europa League with the German side. Monaco could, however, face some high-profile competition, with Manchester United and Tottenham also interested.

Sofiane Diop – Linked by L’Équipe to Leicester and Borussia Dortmund. Diop struggled for game time in the final weeks of the season, and could depart Monaco this summer, despite signing a contract extension until 2026 only last summer. As well as Leicester and Borussia Dortmund, Nice are also interested in the player, just as they were in 2020.

Djibril Sidibé and Vito Mannone – to become free agents. Both Sidibé’s and Mannone’s contracts are set to expire in June. Although neither departure has been confirmed by the club, Sidibé has openly spoken to L’Équipe about his impending departure, while goalkeeper Mannone’s contract is also running out and looks unlikely to be renewed.

 

Photo by Luke Entwistle for Monaco Life

 

 

 

Prince Albert II attends ‘Stewart’ biopic screening alongside the legend

by: Stephanie Horsman
27/05/2022

An advanced premier screening of the new documentary film on legendary Formula 1 driver Sir Jackie Stewart, Stewart, saw both the man himself and Prince Albert II in attendance at One Monte-Carlo.  

Sir Jackie Stewart is a racing icon. Winning three Championship titles in 1969, 1971 and 1973, as well as garnering 27 wins and 43 podium finishes, he is one of the Formula 1 fans’ all-time favourite pilots.

Now a documentary film about his life using immaculately restored and previously unseen archive footage, Stewart, gives viewers a chance to relive those glory days again, as well as delve deeper into the man who not only was an amazing driver, but an early champion of greater safety on the track, fighting to improve conditions for all racers.

The film is described as “an immersive, colourful and powerfully emotive film, transcending motor sport to explore universal themes of love, loss and human vulnerability.”

Sir Jackie was there for the premier on Thursday night, alongside his son Mark – who is the film’s executive producer, Prince Albert II, and a host of other philanthropists, business leaders and celebrity guests from the world of racing. He shared stories and personal titbits about his career, life and family.

Family is one of the reasons for making this documentary. The proceeds from the screening were donated to Sir Jackie’s Race Against Dementia charity. This disease hits close to home for him as his wife, Helen, suffers from its destructive effects, along with 50 million other people globally.

“I am very proud that this film, made by my son’s company Mark Stewart Productions, is having a special viewing in Monte-Carlo over the Formula 1 weekend,” said the Flying Scot. “Monaco has brought me enormous pleasure and success over my career. We are doing this for the benefit of Race Against Dementia because my wife Helen, who I have been with for over 60 years, has dementia. I am looking forward to this event enormously and hope we can continue to raise awareness and funds for dementia research.”

Race Against Dementia provides catalyst funding, enabling researchers to pursue innovative ideas at the highest level, that might not get funded by the mainstream. They aim to instil a “Formula 1 attitude” in attention to detail and urgency, to accelerate the pace of solutions development.

“The process behind making this film has been extremely fascinating for me, not just as a filmmaker, but as a son too,” said Mark Stewart. “I look at the footage and see these time capsules that bring back to life the harsh realities of a career in motorsport during my father’s racing career whilst being a husband or wife, father or mother and friend. Patrick Mark and Shawn Tracey, who I have worked with for over 30 years, have meticulously combed through hours of footage, interviews and stories to bring to life the story of my father’s racing years. It is an honour to be able to showcase this special screening, in aid of Race Against Dementia, ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix with HSH Prince Albert II.”

 

 

Photos provided by Irvine Consulting

 

 

 

Celebrity stylist’s new salon finds a home in Monaco

by: Stephanie Horsman
27/05/2022

Celebrity hair stylist, product creator, and salon owner Larry King has opened his very first international salon at the Hôtel de Paris, where “London-cool meets French chic”.

Known as the stylist to the fashion set, music crowd and celebrities, Larry King, alongside his wife Laura, set up their flagship salon in super posh South Kensington, London back in 2017. Since then, they have expanded to include another location in Notting Hill and now, as of 24th May, their first international salon at the Hôtel de Paris here in Monaco.

“This is a huge step for our little brand that we have created,” said Larry and Laura King. “Launching our first international salon on the French Riviera is a dream come true and we can’t wait to see the brand bring the magic from London to Monaco. This is a totally mind-blowing moment for us! Expect a heady mix of London-cool meets French chic.”

The London-based salons are the “it” place to go for A-listers, and it is anticipated that there will be an equally glamorous clientele in the Principality.

“Expect un-intimidating luxury, high vibes, signature cool interiors and the most refreshing hair experience the French Riviera has ever seen,” the salon claims.

King has been a hairdresser since he was 17, and regularly contributes to magazines such as Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, and Tatler, in collaboration with world-class fashion photographers such as Alasdair McLellan, Mariano Vivanco, Boy George, and Vogue’s Fashion Director Venetia Scott, as well as working with likes of Jared Leto, Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss, The Delevingne Sisters, Chris Hemsworth and Zayn Malik.

Cannes announces new Cinema Museum for 2028

by: Stephanie Horsman
27/05/2022

The City of Cannes says the highly anticipated International Cinema Museum will open its doors to the public in 2028.

The Cannes Film Festival has just celebrated 75 years of movie magic and as part of the celebration, the Mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, announced alongside the Director of the Festival Thierry Frémaux and famed French television executive and journalist Pierre Lescure, the opening date for the new International Cinema Museum on 26th May.

‘Telling the story of this show’ will be the theme of the museum, with the first stone expected to be laid in 2025. The museum will be a massive undertaking, boasting an enormous 18,300m2 surface area dedicated entirely to the Cannes Film Festival and its illustrious, glamorous past. The idea is to make the museum a national treasure, mixing fun and tech, bringing cinema to life, depicting the history of cinema on the one hand and the Festival on the other.

“It is not a question of making a museum of the history of the Cannes Film Festival only. We want to work with all the archives to find the fundamentals of cinema,” Thierry Frémaux said at the press conference. “The idea is to put a festival in a museum with all the new technologies that are available to us. We want to give people who come in January the feeling of being in the middle of a festival in May.”

Curating the future museum will be no simple task. Hundreds of objects and archives will need to be sifted through and selected, from posters, photos, costumes, cameras, and even film sets.

“Choosing those that will take centre stage in this museum. We are starting to find great things, that’s for sure, we will have far too many for the space,” Frémaux explained of the collection, adding, “Who has already seen all the posters of each year of the Cannes Film Festival? Is there even an original collection of these posters? To tell you the truth, we do not have it ourselves, we have holes, but we started with some collectors to find the rarest years.”

There will be 5,300m2 set aside for immersive exhibitions targeted at all age groups and a dedicated children’s space where they will be able to learn about lighting, sound and even try their hand at acting.

The International Cinema Museum will be built in conjunction with the National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC), the French Cinematheque, the National Audio-visual Institute and the Cannes Film Festival with an estimated cost of €200 million. The plan at present is that it will rest on the site of the former André Henry sports hall, which was closed in 2007.

“There is no more mainstream cinema in France today. However, I am convinced that to show what cinema does, we need to be able to have a place that tells the story of cinema. How can we think that culture will save us if we don’t make a cinema museum?”, said Frédéric Bonnaud, Director General of Cinémathèque Française.

Guests can expect the tour of the museum to take roughly two hours, ending with a climb up the stairs and a turn on the red carpet.

 

 

Photo by Stephanie Horsman, for Monaco Life

 

 

Covid-19 uncertainties impact Grand Prix weekend

by: Luke Entwistle
27/05/2022

Decisions taken by the Automobile Club of Monaco (ACM) back in January, when the evolution of the pandemic was unclear, will impact this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, notably meaning no fan zones.

The Fan Zone in Place d’Armes has been cancelled this year, as has the autograph session, which allows fans to get up close and personal and take photographs with the stars. Although there are now very limited Covid measures in the Principality, back in January, this was not certain to be the case.

The Fan Zone in 2019 was a huge affair, in celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Monaco Grand Prix. Fans could drive F1 simulators, test their skills in a pit stop challenge, and watch Q&A sessions with the drivers.

This year, in order to maintain the link between the fans and the drivers, the autographing session has been replaced by a number of social media interactions.

The weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, however, will feel largely normal. The Sunday race has sold out with only a very limited number of Saturday tickets still available, whilst the late-night parties around La Rascasse have also returned.

There is also no mask or Covid pass requirement for fans in the stands. After the cancellation of the 2020 event, and the 2021 race being scarcely attended due to caps on crowd numbers, this year will feel like a return to normal, as international fans descend in their thousands on the streets of Monte-Carlo.

Photo of the 2019 Fan Zone by Monaco Life

 

 

 

New Japanese restaurant offering “couture cuisine”

by: Stephanie Horsman
26/05/2022

Samy Sass, of Sass Café fame, has opened a new Japanese restaurant, The Niwaki, alongside partners Dean Carr and Daryl Foster, promising a “chic contemporary and traditional establishment offering a memorable culinary experience”.

Samy Sass is a Monaco legend, and his Sass Café is nearly as legendary as the man himself. He has been involved in the family restaurant business since he was 18, and has since developed a catering and hospitality consulting company in parallel. 

Now, he is taking his love of restaurants and his love of Japan to a new level, combining them in a whole new way to create The Niwaki. The name is poetic, meaning “garden tree” in Japanese, and vows to take diners on a voyage to the East through flavours and artistic presentation.

Dean Carr, Samy Sass and Daryl Foster

The Niwaki gardens are said to embody the essence of nature and, following this same spirit, The Niwaki hopes to give guests “the essence of Japanese cuisine blended with contemporary Japanese flavours and influences from the Mediterranean basin”, using the best and freshest ingredients and unexpected combination of flavours, textures and colours to make for a culinary event.

The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the new Palais de la Plage on Avenue Princesse Grace, opposite Larvotto beach.

Head Chef Shahar Dahan, who laughingly says he never ate sushi before joining The Niwaki, took up the task to extraordinary measure, assisted by Executive Chef Hendry Tjan and Sushi Chef Wagner Spadacio.

Sashimi hamachi, truffle ponzu, lobster tempura, creamy truffle with yuzu, Black Angus fillet, black garlic miso butter, textured chokorēto with runny caramel miso heart are all on the menu, tempting diners with delights they may never have experienced before. Dishes are meant to be shared, allowing maximum enjoyment for all.

Dishes are designed to be shared at The Niwaki

With a capacity of 140 people, the space is open and warm, with elegant architectural features and neutral colours made up of an indoor dining area, a bar-lounge and an outdoor terrace.

In addition to the cuisine and live sushi bar, The Niwaki offers Japanese sakes, beers and whiskeys.

 

 

Photos provided