Day: 6 June 2023

It really is festival season here in the Principality, with everything from a red carpet TV event to a street art celebration and the brand-new thought-provoking Green Shift Festival lined up for the coming month. 

Monaco loves a bit of urban street art. Artist Mr One Teas, who will be attending this year’s UPAINT Festival alongside many other international artists from across the genre, is a firm favourite on the Principality’s scene and will be showcasing his talents once again between 4th and 7th June. There will also be plenty of public events down on the Promenade du Larvotto, so grab a can and get involved. Click here for more information. 

Tweens and teens from 12 to 17 years of age can get into the holiday spirit a little earlier than usual this summer with the annual Splash Party at the Stade Nautique Rainier III from 2pm to 6pm on 7th June. Tickets are €20 for Monaco school-going residents and €25 for non-residents attending with a local friend. Drinks and full access to the pool, diving board and inflatables is included. 

Brand-new in Monaco for 2023 is the Green Shift Festival, which is set to take place over four consecutive nights from 7th to 10th June. Each evening, between 7pm and 8.30pm and out in the fresh sea air on the Promenade du Larvotto, important green and environmental topics that range from the philosophical to the generational will be presented through short films, performances and open discussions in the presence of experts. Find the full programme here.

With the adrenaline of the Monaco Grand Prix still fresh in memory, Top Marques will be reviving the Principality’s love of all things “moto” and innovation from 7th to 11th June at the Grimaldi Forum. Expect numerous world premieres, a collection of rare and classic cars, the launch of a lunar rover, hydrogen-powered road vehicles, a 100% electric submersible and much more. Click here for more information. 

 

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Monaco will host a number of its former “fiefdoms” on 10th and 11th June for the fourth edition of the Rencontres Grimaldi, an occasion that brings people together in a cross-commune celebration of historical and cultural links with the Principality and its dynastic Grimaldi family. The event is open to the public as well as its guests of honour. Click here for the more information.    

The 62nd Monte-Carlo Television Festival will take place from 16th to 20th June. This well-established event, which was an early champion of the now irrefutably successful media, always attracts top stars and decision-makers in the TV industry so expect to see plenty of celebs out on the streets of the Principality during the festival. Read a history of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival here and discover its business-focused side events here.  

A long-time favourite date in the calendar, the Fête de la Musique is held each year on the Summer Solstice. Music is the focus here, with everything from jazz to rock and classic to folk to be expected from the troupes who will line the streets of almost every post code of France and Monaco. Monaco Life is putting together a guide to this year’s Fête de la Musique in the Principality, so watch this space! 

Saddle up and grab your best Longines for this year’s Jumping International de Monte-Carlo. Between 29th June and 1st July, the best show jumpers in the world will descend on the Port Hercules for a series of competitions and events, including a special charity-focused night that will mark the 60th anniversary of the Association Mondiale des Amis de l’Enfance, AMADE, a cause close to the hearts of the equestrian-loving Grimaldi family. 

For more Monaco events, click here to see the complete calendar.  

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A night honouring the life of Prince Rainier III, the first ever performances of music written by a female composer from Monaco and spell-binding Gregorian chants are just some of the cultural treats that await this summer. 

The International Organ Festival will be comprised of five concerts taking place between 25th June and 16th July. The opening concert has special meaning this year, forming part of the Prince Rainier III centenary celebrations, and will feature Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem by the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris, who are coming to the Principality for the first time ever to perform, amongst other talents. Each piece on the programme was commissioned or composed to mark highlights in the life of Prince Rainier III. The concert starts at 6pm at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception up on the Rock.  

On 2nd July, Les Femmes Invisibles will highlight musical compositions by women, including a premiere presentation of works by the Monegasque composer Marie-Vera Maixandeau (1929-2018). The concert will be performed by Joy-Leilani Garbuttand at the Cathedral at 6pm.  

Another highlight will be the performance by Shin-Young Lee, a talented South Korean organist, on 9th July. Echoing the F(ê)aites de la Danse, which will be taking place on the same weekend and has been organised by the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, two dances that were very popular in the 17th and 18th centuries will be presented alongside Lee’s musical offering. The concert begins at 6pm at the Cathedral. 

On 16th July, Gabriel Marghieri on organ and singer Jeanne Bernier will perform a programme entitled Ave Maris Stella that will revive the rich Catholic liturgical tradition known as Gregorian chants. Expect pieces from the 16th century through to the present day. The concert begins at 6pm at the Cathedral.  

 

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The Théâtre du Fort Antoine will also be the setting for many a fabulous evening of music, theatre and culture between 4th July and 1st August. 

One such event is Le Grand Voyage, a musical spectacle retracing the history of the organ in a “playful, poetic, educational and interactive way”. Les Colporteurs, a duo made up of Vincent Dubus and Baptiste Genniaux, will lead the tale. This event takes place on 6th July at 9.30pm.  

Other unmissable occasions include: Argentinian comedian Luciano Rosso’s Apocalipsync on 4th July; La Bombe Humaine on 11th July; Dans le Cerveau de Maurice Ravel on 21st July; and a poetic and tender performance entitled Le Beau Monde by Arthur Amard, Rémi Fortin, Simon Gauchet and Blanche Ripoche on the final night. For the complete programme, please click here.  

 

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Also set to launch during this fantastic summer of events is the Rainier III, the Builder Prince: An Ambition for Monaco exhibition, which will run from 20th July to 31st December within the Quai Antoine 1er exhibition hall.  

“Curated by Stéphane Bern, journalist and columnist, and Christian Curau, architect and curator of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, the exhibition will showcase how Prince Rainier III was a man of both historical continuity and innovation,” says a spokesperson for the Department of Cultural Affairs. “The Prince’s approach to town planning was revolutionary; his sole motivation was to guarantee the prosperity and well-being of the people of Monaco, to whom he was equally bonded by affection as much as a constitutional oath.” 

It joins a plethora of other fascinating exhibitions on Prince Rainier that have been organised for his centenary year celebrations.  

Read more:

Le Prince Chez Lui exhibition: Prince Rainier III at home

Exhibition: The story behind Prince Rainier’s “Noah’s Ark”

Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.  

Photo source: Festival International d’Orgue de Monaco / Facebook

Your guide to World Ocean Day events taking place in Nice and elsewhere on the French Riviera. 

World Oceans Day is coming up. This United Nations-inspired event is an inclusive way for people all over the world to celebrate the importance of the seas and the oceans as well as to get a better understanding of how we can work together in a sustainable way to protect our precious waterways.  

Beach clean-ups, conferences and quiz nights

In Nice, the Océan 21 project and the Bibliotheque Raoul Mille have organised an “awareness village” down on the Quai des Etats-Unis, which will be active until 13th June. It is open every day from 9am to 6pm and features local associations such as RAMOGE and the Pelagos Sanctuary, who are on hand to discuss their projects and missions. A daily “plogging” session is also being run from the same spot, encouraging passerbys to pick up litter whilst getting in a bit of exercise.  

On Thursday 8th June itself, a recital by the Ensemble de Cuivres du Conservatoire will be taking place at 2.30pm at the library, followed by a 4pm conference entitled “The Ocean: The Climatic Deregulation and the Response of the Living” by the former director of the Institut de la Mer in Villefranche-sur-Mer. At 6pm, a conference on the monk seal by Aurore Asso, an author and documentary filmmaker, will round off the day’s activities.  

A number of other conferences and events are taking place in Nice under the banner of the Océan 21 initiative. Please click here for the full programme.  

Elsewhere in the city, The Animal Fund will be running a beach clean-up from 8am to 12pm with local schools as well as a quiz night from 6.30pm to 10.30pm at 18 Chemin de Saquier in Nice.  

Over near Saint Tropez, a beach clean-up day will be held on 11th June, focusing on the seven towns around the Golfe de Saint-Tropez and covering a 42-kilometre area. It’s an all-day event from 8am to 4pm, and people are invited to come and join for however long they’d like.  

United Nations Live 

The UN will be hosting a hybrid celebration that will be broadcast live from its headquarters in New York City, shedding light on how we can work together to protect the well-being of the oceans and thus ensure our own well-being for the future as well. This event takes place from 10am to 1.30pm EDT.  

The organisation is also hosting a photo competition, the winners of which will be announced on 8th June by a jury of world-renowned creatives and photographers.  

Most importantly, the day is a reminder for individuals to look after the oceans with the care and attention they deserve, and for the public to do what they can to prevent the further deterioration of the oceans’ condition through sustainable management and awareness.

Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.  

Photo source: Constantin for Unsplash