The Mairie has announced that the 5th edition of the Splash Party is returning to the Stade Nautique Rainier III this month after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
Photo source: Mairie de Monaco
Splash Party is back!
Day: 1 June 2022
Why a cloud of uncertainty lingers over the Monaco Grand Prix
This year’s Monaco Grand Prix drew record attendance and was one of the most exciting races around the streets of the Principality in recent years, but the “mythic” race faces an uncertain future.
Speaking to local media including Monaco Life before the Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc said, “For me, it’s impossible that there isn’t a Monaco Grand Prix. There are lots of tracks that are mythic in Formula 1 and Monaco is certainly one of them. For F1 it is just as important to keep Monaco as it is for Monaco to keep F1.”
Prior to the race, the Automobile Club of Monaco (ACM) also sought to dampen talk of the unthinkable – of Monaco losing its spot on the Formula 1 calendar from 2023.
The organisation’s president, Michel Boeri, sought to assuage fears that the Monaco Grand Prix would be axed from the calendar. “I want to mention what we may have read in the press… it was implied that the prices demanded by Liberty Media were too excessive for Monaco and that the Grand Prix would be no more,” he began.
“It is false… I can guarantee you that the Grand Prix will keep taking place beyond 2022. I don’t know if it will be a three or a five-year contract, but that’s just a detail.”
Yet rumours and doubts persist. Lelcerc speaks of an interdependence between Monaco and Formula 1, but new owners Liberty Media, who perhaps aren’t the safest custodians of tradition, seem prepared to cut ties with the iconic race.
No contract for 2023 and beyond has yet been signed, and according to the BBC’s Andrew Benson, it isn’t a matter of “detail”, as Boeri has previously stated.
The sticking points over a renewal aren’t innumerate, but nor are they so insignificant as to simply brush aside. The opaque, stormy clouds that clung to the cliffs of Monaco during Sunday’s race are a perfect metaphor for the uncertain future of the iconic race.
Benson says that Liberty Media are “growing tired of a number of aspects of the race”. Although money is an issue, as is often the case with staging a Grand Prix, this is not the crux of the crisis. Principal amongst the issues is the matter of coverage. Monaco is the only race on the calendar that is broadcast by its local television company rather than by F1’s own TV station, and for a while now, F1 believes that this has led to “a quality gap” which they are “no longer willing to accept”.
There is also the issue of track advertising. In Monaco, F1’s corporate sponsors are supplemented by locally made deals, leading to some “glaring exceptions”.
The track is also an issue, but it needn’t be so. F1 believes that some simple changes could be made, for example at the chicane at the harbour-front chicane, or by simply widening a few corners. Benson claims that the ACM is “reluctant to entertain the idea”.
Overall, this paints a picture of Monaco being unwilling to accept outside ideas, and with the expansion of Formula 1 globally, especially in the USA where they just staged the Miami Grand Prix and will stage the Las Vegas Grand Prix from 2023, the owners are “emboldened”. Liberty Media doesn’t feel compelled to accept deals that quite simply don’t suit them, their objectives, or their vision for the sport.
That boldness could see other traditional races losing their spot on the calendar. The largest worry amongst F1 fans is the disappearance of the Belgium GP at Spa-Francorchamps, which has been rumoured to be dropped from 2023, whilst the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard also looks set to be dropped from the calendar.
There is a growing feeling that in order to survive, Monaco must adapt. As Monaco resident and Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff said after Saturday’s qualifying session, “Monaco has to embrace the new realities of what the sport stands for today.”
One can only hope that that message hits home in time in order to save the Grand Prix that means so much to Monaco, to Formula 1 and to fans globally.
See more photos from the Grand Prix Below, courtesy Claudia G. Albuquerque…
Top photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
City of Cannes to auction local sites using NFTs
Auction house Artcurial is organising a first: the auctioning of 10 buildings and places in Cannes in the form of non-fungible tokens.
For the first time, ever, purchasers of immaterial goods using non-fungible tokens, more commonly referred to as NFTs, made from existing places in the real world will be able to make commercial or cultural use of them, after integrating them into a metaverse.
With the I Met My NFT project, the City of Cannes, the Pertimm Company and Artcurial, it will be possible, for example, to build buildings on the Croisette in the metaverse, to organise events at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, or to mount an exhibition at the La Malmaison Art Centre.
This event has been made possible due to a recent change in laws in France authorising auction houses to sell “intangible assets”.
NFTs are individual tokens with valuable information stored in them. Because they hold a value primarily set by the market and demand, they can be bought and sold just like other physical types of art. NFTs’ unique data makes it easy to verify and validate their ownership and the transfer of tokens between owners.
This allows a buyer to purchase a piece of digital artwork, or in this case, a site, on the internet at a reasonable price and get a unique digital token which proves the purchaser’s authority over the item bought.
The auction will take place on Tuesday 21st June at the Port Canto Harbour Masters Office on the Croisette, which coincidentally offers a panoramic view of the 10 sites going under the gavel.
“The sale of the collection of 10 NFTs from Cannes is an event with which we have decided to associate ourselves for its innovative aspect,” explained Arnaud Oliveux, Auctioneer and Associate Director, at Artcurial. “More than a simple sale of NFT, it is a future experience to live in the metaverse that we will offer to buyers and investors, a way to project themselves into another dimension but on the very real bases of 10 iconic places in the city of Cannes.”
Part of the total collected will be donated to the Cannes Endowment Fund and will be used to finance projects in favour of environmental protection.
Colombian artist creates unique mural during Monaco GP
On Saturday, whilst qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix was taking place just a kilometre down the road, Colombian muralist Dast was creating a spectacular mural at the iconic Grimaldi Forum through a partnership with McLaren.
The mural was created through Vuse and McLaren F1’s partnership Driven by Change, which offers underrepresented artists around the world the opportunity to showcase their talent at elite motorsport events.
The Driven by Change campaign made its debut last year at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Rabab Tantawy, a female artist from the Middle East, was given the chance to create a special livery. This year, the project saw Jonathan Walker work with the McLaren F1 team in Miami, and Dast’s mural is the second piece to be created this year.
The Colombian artist, originally from Bogota, was chosen for the event due to his “passion for art” and the contrast between the glitz and glamour of Monaco, and the diverse natural geography of Colombia which allowed Dast to step out of his comfort zone. The result is a mural, which “explores the relationship between peoples, places and spaces.”
Inspired by the sounds of F1 cars, which reverberated around the streets of the Principality, Dast worked for 15 hours to create the final piece. He applied his signature geometric style to capture the aerodynamic design of McLaren F1 Team’s car, as well as its vibrant papaya and blue colour theme. a
“Having my work showcased at one of the most exclusive grand prix races and painting the mural in real-time on a canvas such as Monaco’s beachfront makes the opportunity even more special,” said Dast.
The mural has been gifted to McLaren and will continue to be showcased as part of the Driven by Change initiative. The project continues to use the visibility that motorsport brings to give otherwise undiscovered artists a chance to shine on a global stage.
Photo source: Driven by Change
Traffic disruptions amid road closure
A partial closure of the Dorsale going from Nice to Menton is in effect until the 8th of June. Drivers are asked to expect delays, though the government is doing its utmost to limit the impact.
Photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash