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Day: 2 August 2022

Monaco unveils its digital twin for tourists

by: Cassandra Tanti
02/08/2022

Getting around Monaco can be a difficult task, particularly if you are a tourist. So, the government has just launched digital touch screens at two hotspots with the entire Principality laid out in 3D.

It’s a digital transition that just keeps on giving. This time, the government has launched 3D interactive screens at the Tourist Office and train station giving visitors, among other things, a virtual map of the Principality.

The move is part of the Extended Monaco programme and the Principality’s commitment to become a digitally smart country.

On Tuesday 2nd August, the government announced that it had installed two 3D screens at visitor hotspots.

The screens offer a virtual replica of the territory of Monaco in 3D. It is accompanied by useful information to help visitors get around.

“They aim to immerse the tourist in a virtual representation of the city and therefore promote a better understanding of its topography,” said Georges Gambarini, Manager of the Smart City. “The interest is to help them choose their activities while allowing them to better identify and visualise the pedestrian route to go from point A to a point B.”

The touch screens offer categories under major points of interest including Monuments And Iconic Places, Venues and Congresses, Beaches, Photo Spots, Shops and Markets, Museums and Parks and Gardens.

It also has itinerary suggestions, like ‘One day in Monaco’, ‘Formula 1 circuit’, and ‘Nature in the City’.

Chosen routes can be downloaded to mobile phones by scanning a QR code.

“Digital is a necessary complement today, even a real added value. The addition of a

digital twin, by its quality, is undeniable and further improves the visitor experience,” added Guy Antognelli, Director of Tourism and Conventions.

The initiative will be assessed at the end of summer, and the information will be used to determine evolutions in content and other possible deployments.

 

 

Photo credit: Michael Alesi, Government Communication Department

 

 

 

Covid latest: Omicron wave subsides, research backs new vaccine patch

by: Stephanie Horsman
02/08/2022

The latest figures from the government show that Covid circulation is still dropping in Monaco, while researchers have pointed to a potentially more effective vaccine patch.

Things are looking up on the Covid front in the Principality, with last week seeing only 117 new positive cases, down from 180 the week before. Along with this, hospitalisations are down from 29 to 19 patients, though there are currently two people receiving treatment in intensive care, a rise from zero the previous week.

Only 56 people are being monitored by the Home Monitoring Centre, also down this week from 85.

Monaco performed 1,544 PCR and antigen tests in the week ending 31st July, less than 1,875 the previous week and far below the 2,550 tests carried out during the peak of the virus in early July. The positivity rate has dropped to 17.28%, compared to 20.3%.

In the Alpes-Maritimes, the incidence rate remains rather high at 606, more than the French national average of 500, while the positivity rate sits at 22.9%.

To add to the positive spin, there have been reports out of Australia’s University of Queensland, who are in partnership with Brisbane-based biotech company Vaxxas, that the needle-free Covid-19 vaccine patch could offer more robust protection against the virus than the jab.

The researchers analysed the Hexapro SARS-CoV-2 spike vaccine using Vaxxas high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) technology.

“The high-density microarray patch is a vaccine delivery platform that precisely delivers the vaccine into the layers of the skin which are rich in immune cells,” said Christopher McMillan of Queensland University in a statement.

“We found that vaccination via a patch was approximately 11 times more effective at combatting the Omicron variant when compared with the same vaccine administered via a needle.”

 

 

Photo source: University of Queensland

 

 

 

What’s on: Cinema under the stars in August

by: Stephanie Horsman
02/08/2022

The Monaco Open Air Cinema has a full schedule of amazing movies this month, ranging from family-friendly to blockbusters and everything in between.

The Monaco Open Air Cinema is a local perennial favourite that never disappoints. With a massive 220m2 screen, food and drink, including champagne, and seating under the stars for 500 including loungers, it’s a great way to pass a summer night with friends and family.

August kicks off with everyone’s favourite little yellow creatures, who are returning for a reprise in The Minions 2. Gru and the gang are together again, this time showing how it all began. For more family-friendly fun, there is the new Marvel film, Thor and DC’s League of Super-Pets,

For those who love a good thriller, Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt is a fast-mover set on a train journey filled with murder and intrigue. There’s also Nope, a sci-fi horror film riddled with scary aliens, and Beast, with Idris Elba in a survival thriller where he and his two daughters find themselves up against a murderous lion.

Top drama with Top Gun Maverick starring Tom Cruise in the long-awaited remake of the wildly popular original film with twists, turns and some pretty amazing flying by hotshot fighter pilots, Elvis, the critically acclaimed biopic of arguably the world’s most famous pop icon of all time, and House of Gucci, starring Lady Gaga in the true over-the-top tale of the husband and wife who fought for control of the iconic fashion house, ending in a “you couldn’t make this up” Mafia-style assassination.

For lighter fare, there is fantasy rom-com Three Thousand Years of Longing, starring Tilda Swinton as an academic who stumbles across a genie in a bottle who offers her three wishes, leading to consequences neither could have imagined.

The doors open at 8:30pm, with the screenings starting at 9pm and the main event at 9:30pm. Tickets are first come, first served, so arrive early to get the best seats. All films are in original version with French subtitles.

For more info and a full listing of the programme, visit the website on https://www.cinemas2monaco.com/ 

 

Airport chaos continues with passenger caps and pilot strikes

by: Stephanie Horsman
02/08/2022

British Airways has stopped ticket sales on short haul flights from London’s Heathrow Airport due to daily passenger caps being imposed and EasyJet pilots in Spain are planning a nine-day walkout, leaving many to wonder if air travel will ever get back on track.

The summer travel season has been fraught thus far with mass cancellations, baggage issues and delays, and August doesn’t appear to be revealing a much rosier picture.

British Airways, who have stirred ire in passengers in recent weeks with a spate of last-minute cancellations, has announced they have stopped ticket sales of short haul flights altogether out of London’s biggest airport, Heathrow, until 8th August. The decision came as a needs-must solution to the daily passenger cap the airport has imposed over the summer.

The carrier’s sales suspension will not only wreak havoc domestically, but it will also be disruptive for those trying to get to European destinations as well.

BA said in a statement that, “As a result of Heathrow’s request to limit new bookings, we’ve decided to take responsible action and limit the available fares on some Heathrow services to help maximise rebooking options for existing customers, given the restrictions imposed on us and the ongoing challenges facing the entire aviation industry.”

The Heathrow cap, which limits passengers departing each day to 100,000, is set to remain in place until 11thSeptember.

Meanwhile in Spain, pilots for low-cost carrier EasyJet have announced a nine-day strike over pay and working conditions this month.

The Spanish Union of Airline Pilots (SEPLA) said there will be three 72-hour strikes taking place from 12th to 14th, 19th to 21st and 27th to 29th August. The Union is asking that working conditions for pilots are restored to the way they were pre-pandemic. It also wants multi-year contracts to be given to pilots.

“This is the last possible recourse, as all attempts by the pilots’ representatives to reach an agreement have failed,” SEPLA said, and added that conditions for Spanish pilots are worse than for those in other countries in Europe.

The strikes are expected to affect flights in Barcelona, Malaga and Palma.

Spain’s travel woes may not end there, as Ryan Air cabin crews are threatening five months of strikes starting this month as well. Their walkouts are set to run from Monday through Thursday every week.

The travel mess has been blamed on a near-perfect storm of staff shortages following pandemic-driven layoffs, and the cost-of-living crisis, which is spurring workers to demand better pay and conditions.

 

 

 

 

Photo source: Tomek Baginski on Unsplash

AS Monaco maintains partnership with principal sponsor eToro

by: Luke Entwistle
02/08/2022

EToro has renewed as the main sponsor of AS Monaco, while Triangle Intérim Solutions RH is also continuing its partnership with the Principality club.

The investment network eToro will be part of the Monaco family for the third consecutive season. Last season, eToro featured for the first time on the front of the club’s jersey and they will do so again for the 2022/23 season.

The logo will now accompany Monaco on their European adventure this season, and they will feature on the club’s jersey during the two-legged tie between Monaco and PSV Eindhoven as the former look to qualify for the Champions League group stages.

As well as featuring on the matchday shirts, eToro has also featured on the club’s training jersey since the beginning of pre-season.

Speaking in a press release, AS Monaco CEO Jean-Emmanuel de Witt said, “We are delighted to continue to deepen our relationship with eToro, an innovative and audacious company, which, like AS Monaco, is constantly venturing into new territory. By intensifying this partnership, eToro is more than ever our main partner and confirms the growing attractiveness of AS Monaco…This new step in the partnership between the two entities perfectly illustrates the platform’s European sports strategy of surrounding itself, in the long term, with partners who share the same values of perseverance, excellence and innovation.”

EToro are a former shirt sleeve sponsor, and the club’s current shirt sleeve sponsor, Triangle Intérim Solutions RH, have extended their partnership with Monaco until 2024. The temporary employment agency represents one of Monaco’s most long-standing partnerships having featured on the club’s jersey since 2013.

In a press release, de Witt said, “We are delighted to be able to further anchor our partnership with Triangle Intérim RH Solutions. The longevity of our collaboration bears witness to the quality of our relationship.”