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Month: September 2023

Everything you need to know about this year’s Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival

by: Stephanie Horsman
19/09/2023

The Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival will return this autumn with an eclectic roster of performers as well as the popular Before & After series at intimate and iconic venues around the Principality. 

The Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival (MCJF), now in its 17th year, has hit its stride with the 2023 edition. The concert series will feature some of the biggest names not just from the jazz world, but also from pop, comedy, soul and R&B, giving it a truly broad-base appeal that is standing the test of time.  

Festival highlights

Concerts to look forward to include those by American soul and pop star Macy Gray on 25th November, and French-Lebanese trumpeter and MCJF regular Ibrahim Maalouf on 2nd December. Festival godfather Marcus Miller is making a special guest appearance with the Ron Carter Foursight Quartet on 18th November. 

Other highlights include a modern jazz show by students from the Academie Rainier III on 21st November and a special collaboration between Magma and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra on 27th November,  

MCJF is also hosting a “masterclass” on 26th November, where Alex Jaffray will take the audience through “the soundtrack of [their] life”. This event is a unique mix of music, comedy and insights that leaves no genre unheard… Expect everything from Bach to Daft Punk via The Eagles and Gilbert Montagné! 

Additionally, the MCJF will be hosting a special screening of Clint Eastwood’s highly acclaimed and touching film Bird about the turbulent life of jazz saxophonist legend Charlie Bird Parker on 17th November.  

Finally, the Bar Américain at the Hôtel de Paris, the Crystal Bar at the Hôtel Hermitage and the Casino de Monte Carlo’s Café de la Rotonde will be hosting Before & After events throughout the festival, offering dedicated fans even more action and up-close experiences with their idols.  

The Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival runs from 17th November to 2nd January. Concerts will be held exclusively at the Opéra Garnier.  

Tickets are on sale now. For more information, please click here. 

  

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Photo via Monte-Carlo SBM / Facebook  

Parisian cabaret dancers inspire new Kalon Cardio Barre class at the Spa Métropole

by: Stephanie Horsman
19/09/2023

The Spa Métropole by Givenchy has teamed up with former professional cabaret dancers from Paris to offer a new style of fitness class, the Kalon Cardio Barre, which combines dance and Pilates with a serious dash of glamour thrown in.  

A fun and lively blend of dance moves, Pilates techniques and strength training, the new Kalon Cardio Barre class has been designed and created by top Parisian dancers from the French capital’s finest cabaret shows.  

The workout is purported to tone and sculpt all parts of the body using small isometric movements with low weights and a lot of repetition; class-goers stand to burn burning up to 500 calories per session. The theory is that these movements tone muscles without turning adherents into Arnold Schwarzenegger.  

“From the very first class, your posture changes,” says Sophie Fourçans, the creator of the Kalon Cardio Barre method. “For an hour, you escape into the sound of the music, you stop thinking about anything and you get an intoxicating rush of endorphins that boost your energy in the long-term.”  

Followers call it addictive, and the instructors say it can be done by people of all fitness levels, so even couch potatoes can join in the fun. No formal dance training is required either, making it great for those who are open to trying something new.  

TRY IT OUT

The Spa Métropole has teamed up with the Kalon Fitness Studio for an exclusive offer this autumn: personalised lessons are offered three days a month, with no more than five people per class, and there are also one-to-one sessions available for those that like a bit more privacy.  

Classes are being held 19th, 20th and 21st September, then 17th, 18th and 19th October, and 21st, 22nd and 23rd November from 10am to 11am. The cost is €95 per person for group classes. Individual lessons are €160 and start from 2pm.   

For more information, or to book a space, email spa.givenchy@metropole.com or call +377 93 15 13 70.  

 

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Photo credit: Studio Phenix

Beausoleil mayor handed €150,000 fine and suspended prison sentence 

by: Elsa Carpenter
19/09/2023

Gérard Spinelli, the mayor of Beausoleil since 2008, has been given a one-year suspended prison sentence and a €150,000 fine for the misappropriation of public funds, which reportedly included a birthday party for his wife at the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco paid for by the taxpayer. 

Last week, a court in Nice found Gérard Spinelli, the mayor of Beausoleil, the French commune that borders the Principality to the north, guilty of charges pertaining to the misappropriation of public funds.  

The 69-year-old has been handed a €150,000 fine as well as a one-year suspended prison sentence for crimes including the “embezzlement of public funds by a person invested with an elective mandate… the organisation and financing of private activities by the town hall, the incurring of expenses for personal purposes and more generally the non-compliance with the rules of public procurement regarding food expenses”, according to the prosecutor in Nice.  

In a communiqué sent out to the local media following his high-profile sentencing, Spinelli said, “Errors can be made.” 

As printed by France 3 Côte d’Azur, Spinelli in his statement blamed a “lack of time, lack of staff” for these errors, adding that he had since “increased controls” to prevent any future incidents. He also claimed: “I have not benefited from any personal enrichment.” 

In comments published by the Nice Matin on the topic of the controversial birthday party for Spinelli’s wife, which was held at the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco back in 2017, the mayor, who maintains his position, argued that the reality of the event had been manipulated by a “political opponent” to make it seem as though Spinelli had used public funds to pay for a birthday cake.  

This is not the first time that the long-time mayor has been in front of the French courts. In 2017 and 2018, he was accused of “passive corruption” linked to the construction of the Tour Odéon, the vast 49-storey skyscraper that straddles the Principality of Monaco and Beausoleil. The case against Spinelli was eventually dismissed.  

 

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Photo source: Irina Muller, Unsplash

“From strength to strength”: Cannes Yachting Festival looks ahead to 2024

by: Stephanie Horsman
18/09/2023

After a strong six days attended by an estimated 50,000 visitors, Cannes Yachting Festival is already preparing for 2024, and there will be one big change to the programme. 

The Cannes Yachting Festival, which was held in the glamourous French Riviera city from 12th to 17th September, attracted 600 international exhibitors and more than 50,000 visitors at an early estimate.  

The initial feedback on the event, from companies such as global superyacht and luxury boat brokerage firm Northrop & Johnson, is also positive.  

“Northrop & Johnson had 13 yachts for sale in Cannes this year and there was interest in all of them from qualified buyers,” said Patrick Coote, Northrop & Johnson’s European Managing Director, citing the high levels of interest and plenty of bona fide purchasers experienced during the show. “We expect to receive a good number of offers in the coming days and are confident of converting these to sales over the course of Q4 2023. The show just keeps going from strength to strength.”

MY Bunty, one of the 13 yachts available for sale with Northrop & Johnson. Photo courtesy of Relevance

PLANS FOR 2024 

Although the festival is performing well with international stakeholders, 2024 will see some rather serious shake-ups to its format, notably in the layout and organisation of the event.  

Cannes is preparing for a massive €56.2 million renovation of the famous Vieux Port, or Old Port, which will see the creation of a new car park and landscaped garden in the Laubeuf sector and a considerable extension of the Albert Edouard dock amongst other developments, and this is going to impact next year’s Cannes Yachting Festival. 

The works will start at the end of this year, with a provisional completion date set for the beginning of 2027. 

“The configuration of the 2024 show will therefore see the transfer of the reception areas from the Old Port, which have become unavailable, to the Port Canto, and will enable us to retain all the exhibitors and ships present this year,” says Sylvie Ernoult, the show’s manager. “To sum up, the 2024 show will extend even further into Port Canto, which will host two segments from the Old Port: the first dedicated to mega yachts, with 1,500m² of stand space on land and 500m² of space in front of the boats to welcome shipyards and engine manufacturers, and, afloat, some 15 units from 30 to 50 metres; the second will bring together around 100 units from eight metres upwards to over 380 linear metres, with 1,300m² of stand space on land and 400m² of space in front of the boats.” 

A new walkway will create a loop around Port Canto, so visitors can get from one quay to the other easily. Port Canto will also still be home to the Espace Voile and the Yacht Brokerage area for companies like Northrop & Johnson.  

 

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Photo courtesy of Relevance

New psychiatry day centre for kids officially opens in Beausoleil

by: Cassandra Tanti
18/09/2023

The long-awaited Psychiatry Day Centre for children and adolescents has opened in Beausoleil, a joint venture between the French and Monegasque health authorities.

The centre opened its doors on Friday 15th September, following the signing of a partnership agreement setting out its operating procedures between the Lenval Foundation and the Health Action Directorate.

The new health centre, located at 46 rue du Professeur Langevin in the town of Beausoleil, aims to offer comprehensive outpatient care for children and adolescents up to the age of 18 who present with complex psychopathological disorders.

The centre has a capacity for 35 places, including 17 reserved for children residing or attending school in the Principality who will be accommodated exclusively upon referral to a child psychiatrist from the Plati Centre in Monaco, as well as a medical-psychological centre for children and adolescents placed under the authority of the Health Action Directorate (DASA).

The day reception centred will work in close collaboration with those involved in healthcare, medical-social, national education, youth and sports systems established in the Principality.

 

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Photo from left to right: Ronan Dubois, Directeur Général de la Fondation LENVAL; Jean-François Comas, Président de la Fondation LENVAL, Alexandre Bordero, Directeur de l’Action Sanitaire. Source: Monaco Government Communication Department

 

 

Tennis: Monaco lose to Ecuador in Davis Cup tie

by: Luke Entwistle
18/09/2023
Monaco's Davis Cup team lining up against Ecuador at the Monte-Carlo Country Club (MCCC)

The Monaco Davis Cup team succumbed to a 3-1 defeat against Ecuador, as Guillaume Couillard’s men failed to reach the World Group I play-offs. 

Prior to the tie, held at the Monte-Carlo Country Club (MCCC) last Friday and Saturday, Monaco captain Couillard rated his team’s chances of victory at “50/50”. The Monegasques fell on the wrong side of those fine margins, however, and in the wake of the defeat, will now have to fight to remain in World Group II.

Ecuador’s Alvaro Guillen. Photo by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life

Valentin Vacherot and Ecuador’s Alvaro Guillen got the action underway under the beating sun at Court 18. Monaco’s top-ranked player took the first set, but his opponent broke back in the second, taking the tie to a tie-break, and winning.

Guillen then took the third and deciding set on a tie-break (6-3, 6-7, 6-7), getting Ecuador off to the perfect start, and leaving the Principality playing catch-up.

Lucas Catarina, against Ecuador’s top-ranked player, Emilio Gomez, levelled the tie at 1-1 on Friday afternoon thanks to a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory. Everything was to play for heading into the second day of competition.

A rare doubles defeat

Monaco would have been confident of a doubles victory. Hugo Nys, a finalist in the Australian Open earlier this year, won alongside partner Jan Zielinski on clay in Rome in May, whilst Romain Arneodo reached the doubles final of the Monte-Carlo Masters earlier this year as well. Arneodo and Nys were fancied heading into the doubles match, but lost to Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo (4-6, 2-6), leaving Monaco on the brink of defeat.

Gomez then put the nail in the coffin, beating Vacherot to wrap up the tie (1-6, 6-1, 1-6) and consign Monaco to a rare defeat. Monaco will soon find out their next opponents as they look to retain their place in World Cup II.

 

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Photo by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life