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Day: 29 August 2022

“Hysterically funny” cabaret show Delirious

by: Luke Entwistle
29/08/2022

The Grimaldi Forum is playing host to a raucous circus cabaret that promises to be a “thrilling night” and is getting rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.

Monaco is getting Delirious!

The hit circus cabaret team has returned to Monaco from 26th August to 4th September with nine new performances, and two special nights dedicated to the sexually-charged comedy show Never Sleep Alone.

Delirious is the brainchild of the 8 Stars team, who in the midst of the pandemic brought a little light to the Principality in January 2021 with its cabaret, circus and artistic show Bohemia. It was a huge success and it spurred the creation of their latest endeavour, Delirious.

The new show combines dance, music, humour, acrobatics and special acts by an eclectic mix of performers such as the wonderfully monikered Kitty Bang Bang, a burlesque queen from England, Jarrod Bates, an American clown who worked for Cirque du Soleil, Maria Moncheva, a former Bulgarian classical dancer who excels in aerial disciplines, Daniel Sullivan, Irish dance expert, Soen Geirnaert, Belgian gymnast, the Venezuelan singer and dancer Michie Aranguren, and Sebastian Plester, a Colombian circus artist.

Delirious, the show, by 8 Stars is currently on show at the Grimaldi Forum. Photo source: 8 Stars

The show, designed by Artistic Director of 8 Stars Nicolas Jelmoni, has seen the artists preparing in Sainte-Maxime over the past several weeks to ensure flawless execution and if what audiences are saying is true, it was worth every second spent.

The last two nights of Delirious will have an additional performance by straight-talking sexual evangelist and best-selling author Dr Alex Schiller. His show, Never Sleep Alone, has been touted as “sexy live entertainmentwhere the audience experience laughs, learns and literally hooks up with each other!”

With that kind of a build-up, the night is bound to be something out of this world.

 

Click on the images below. Photos credits: 8 Stars Monaco

 

 

Fuel price discounts increased and extended

by: Stephanie Horsman
29/08/2022

The French government has announced a €0.30 per litre discount on petrol, up from the current €0.18, starting in September to give consumers a bit of relief at the pumps.

In the midst of all the doom and gloom with rising energy and food prices, out of control inflation and war, a bit of good news is always welcome.

This ray of sunshine is coming in September and October in the form of fuel price discounts, which have been extended to the end of the year and will be increased to €0.30 per litre, reduced to €0.10 per litre from November, lasting until year’s end.

This reduction applies to all fuels, including diesel fuels, gasoline SP95/98-E5, and super-ethanol E85.

The advantages are certainly welcome by consumers, who are starting to chafe under the weight of price hikes in many areas of the economy, but it is also good for businesses who are equally affected. Those companies that use road, rail, river and maritime vehicles, as well as agricultural and forestry machinery, construction, public works, extraction, and business stationary engines will also reap the benefits.

The discount is applied by wholesalers distributing the fuel at service stations. The State then pays them a subsidy corresponding to the volumes delivered. At the stations, the discounted prices are displayed both on the totems and on the prices at the pump. The amount of the reduction is specified on the receipts.

Small service stations can apply for aid of between €3,000 to €6,000, depending on the volume of fuel sold, to deal with the gap between the price of stored fuel and the cost of acquiring the fuel remaining in their tanks.

 

RAMOGE launches third deep sea exploration campaign

by: Stephanie Horsman
29/08/2022

Scientists from France, Monaco and Italy – the three signatory nations of the RAMOGE Agreement – are about to embark on deep sea exploratory work after two years of postponements due to the pandemic.

RAMOGE, the international cooperation agreement for the preservation of the coast and the marine environment between the countries of France, Monaco and Italy for the area between Marseille and La Spezia, will be boarding the ISPRA2 oceanographic vessel L’Astrea next month to carry out their latest campaign.

L’Astrea is fully equipped with a multi-beam sonar and an ROV that can descend to a depth of a thousand metres. The vessel will make it possible to explore five specific deep coastal sites.

Amongst the sites it will visit between 7th and 11th September are the coral reefs of Bergeggi off Savona and the Bordighera Canyon in Italy, followed by a stop in the Principality to study the deep rocks of Larvotto where they will observe the various gorgonians and sponges living there. This step in the journey is important as a follow up to take inventory seven years after the first group of RAMOGE scientists visited the area to gauge the evolution of the species harboured there. The mission will then move onto France where they will explore canyons off the coast of St Jean-Cap Ferrat and the Iles de Lérins.

The RAMOGE exploration campaigns aim to record the conservation efforts and outcomes of the deep-sea environments and to identify the pressure being placed on these sites. The processing of data collected during these campaigns contributes significantly to increasing knowledge of these deep water environments, still largely unknown, in order to create unified management plans to ensure their protection.

The RAMOGE exploration programme is part of the Convention for Biological Diversity, which defined areas of ecological or biological importance (EBSA) in 2014. The RAMOGE Agreement area is particularly notable as since scientists were able to identify 66 sites of specific interest in the region.

The first RAMOGE campaign involved studying the coastal areas in 2015, followed by a 2018 mission into the deep-water zones. This study, the third, which was postponedtwice due to the health crisis, will see the evolution of the sites four years after the last exploratory delegation’s visit.

 

 

Monaco go toe-to-toe with reigning champions

by: Luke Entwistle
29/08/2022

AS Monaco clinched a deserved draw against PSG on Sunday in an entertaining game that will boost the side ahead of a difficult run of fixtures.

The two clubs couldn’t have been heading into the fixture in more contrasting form. PSG come into the game on the back of three consecutive wins during which they have scored 17 goals, including seven against Lille last weekend.

Monaco, meanwhile, are yet to find their rhythm. After an opening day win, they then drew with Rennes, before being comprehensively beaten by Lens 4-1 at the Stade Louis II last Saturday. However, Philippe Clement’s side didn’t show any scars from that defeat, and from the first whistle they took the game to PSG, employing an intense and brave high press.

The intelligent pressing traps and determination in one-on-one duels allowed them to control the game in the opening minutes. Employing a back three for the first time in the league this season, Monaco looked to be working from a solid base, whilst Mohamed Camara, making his first start for the club, was dogged in his work to disrupt PSG’s world-class attacking line.

Monaco’s strong start was rewarded with a goal mid-way through the first-half. Camara’s challenge on Lionel Messi allowed Kevin Volland and Aleksandr Golovin to exchange passes. The former then ran in on goal and sent a shot low to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s left.

With a lead to protect, Monaco didn’t let up and the side continued to deploy a high-block. However, they were lucky to go into the break ahead. Messi’s long-range effort hit the post, deflecting the ball into the path of Kylian Mbappé, who had an open goal to aim at, but he could only hit the foot of the opposite post.

Monaco still had their own chances too, the most gilt-edged of which fell to the usually prolific Wissam Ben Yedder, but having rounded the keeper at distance, he couldn’t divert his effort on target.

With their 100% win record on the line, PSG began to lay siege on the Monaco goal and the pressure finally told midway through the second-half. A driving Neymar run provoked a clumsy challenge from Guillermo Maripan in the box. The Brazilian then got up and converted the penalty himself to level the tie.

From there, Monaco were hanging on. Achraf Hakimi saw his effort cannon on the post, and minutes later, the all-too familiar image of Mbappé bearing down on goal alluded to a PSG winner. However, for once, the goal did not bulge, and Alexander Nübel spread himself well to block the shot and keep the scores level.

The game finished 1-1, the point moving Monaco up to 12th, whilst PSG go top of the Ligue 1 table on goal difference. Post-match, Clement said he was “satisfied” with the result, adding, “We showed by taking a point here, you can take points everywhere, and that is important for the future, to have this as a reference match.”

Clement’s men will certainly be expected to earn the three points when they host Troyes on Wednesday, although the following league matches, firstly against Nice and then Lyon, will provide a sterner test. However, a gritty performance on the Champion’s garden means they go into the difficult run with renewed confidence.

 

 

Photo source: AS Monaco 

 

 

 

Monaco handed favourable European draw

by: Luke Entwistle
29/08/2022

AS Monaco discovered their opponents for the upcoming Europa League campaign during the draw in Istanbul last Friday, with Philippe Clement’s side avoiding the tournament’s big names.

The draw is favourable for the Monégasques, on paper. Avoiding big names such as Manchester United and Arsenal, who were both in pot 1, Monaco instead drew Red Star Belgrade. Clement’s men will however have to contend with an intense atmosphere when they visit the Rajko Mitic stadium in Belgrade on 8th September.

The hostile atmospheres don’t stop there. As well as heading to the most decorated side in Serbian football history, Monaco face another trip to eastern Europe for their fixture against Hungarian side Ferencvaros on 27th October.

Monaco will rack up the air miles once again with a trip to Turkey to face Trabzonspor, the lowest-ranked team in Monaco’s group, on October 13th. On paper, all are winnable fixtures, but factoring in the hostility of the crowds and the lengthy journey’s in what is a condensed season, difficult challenges await Clement’s Monaco.

Reacting to the draw, spotting director Paul Mitchell is wary of the side’s upcoming opponents: “At first viewing, we perhaps haven’t been drawn against the big names in the competition, but I have been in football long enough to know that when you face teams like this, in these stadiums, the atmosphere is special. These will be difficult ties, ih supporters who can be hot-headed and passionate.”

Last season, Monaco’s Europa League campaign came to an end in the round of 16 against Braga, and Mitchell has set the club the objective of reaching that stage of the competition once again this time around.

“It’s a big step for our young players to make, to face these types of situations. We have the objective of winning the most matches possible in this Europa League and trying to get out of the group stages. We have the feeling that the team is better prepared than last season,” said the Englishman.

Fans hoping to follow their team on the European adventure have some long journeys to make, and they can also support their side at the Stade Louis II on 15th September (Ferencvaros), 6th October (Trabzonspor) and November 3rd (Red Star Belgrade).

 

 

Photo by Monaco Life