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Day: 18 October 2023

Oceanographic Museum set to welcome millionth visitor to the Polar Mission

by: Stephanie Horsman
18/10/2023

At some point during the coming school holidays, the one millionth visitor will cross the threshold of the Polar Mission at Monaco’s Musée Océanographique. Will it be you? 

For over a year now, the Polar Mission has been wowing visitors at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. Now the vast exhibition, which covers five spaces within the iconic museum, is set to welcome its one millionth visitor, a major landmark for this immersive and utterly fascinating experience.  

This interactive space within the Polar Mission exhibit is always a hit with children, and the young at heart. Photo credit: Musée Océanographique

That one luck visitor, who is expected to enter through the grand doors of the establishment sometime between 21st October and 5th November, will gain VIP entry to the museum, get a free guided tour and be offered ”numerous” gifts to take home. 

The museum is marking the occasion with the installation of a digitised petition-type system that will allow willing visitors to back the creation of three protected marine zones in the Antarctic: one in the east near Adelie Land, another in the west along the Antarctic peninsula and a third In the Weddell Sea. It will remain in place until the end of 2024. 

If accepted, the three zones will add to two others already in operation, including the protected area in the Ross Sea, which covers 2.09km2 and received the support of Prince Albert II in 2016.  

SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES 

The museum has a packed programme planned for the upcoming holidays, from a special Polar Mission-theme games booklet that will turn kids into mini reporters to the virtual reality Immerseave 360º experience that features the journey of a sperm whale through the Tubbataha National Park.  

For the price of €38, families can get up close and personal with animals of the Mediterranean coastline, learning what they eat, how they fit into the overall ecosystem and how they get around. This attraction runs every day between 10.30am and 5pm from the entry hall.  

Learn more about the coastline of the Mediterranean and the creatures that live there with this interactive family experience. Photo credit: Musée Océanographique

For the adventurous, there is also a fun escape room set-up taking visitors back in time to the laboratory boat of Prince Albert I, the Princess Alice II. Players must solve a puzzle, decipher codes and plan a strategy to avoid a shipwreck. The escape room is open from 11am to 5pm.  

Finally, there’s the collaborative photography exhibition by Greg Lecoeur and Océano Monaco entitled ‘Poles: Fragile Worlds’, which highlights the beauty and fragility of the polar regions. The exhibit only runs until 5th November, so make sure to check it out before it ends. 

For tickets and more information, visit the website here.

 

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Photo credit: Musée Océanographique

MYS 2023: A super-successful superyacht show

by: Miriam Cain
18/10/2023

This year’s Monaco Yacht Show has been lauded another huge success, not least because of its line-up of yachts worth close to €4.3 billion, almost half of which had never been seen before.

The annual Monaco Yacht Show took place from September 27th to 30th, welcoming some of the world’s most iconic superyachts to the iconic Port Hercule. This year, as has been the case for the last few years, the show saw the quality reach what must be its peak in terms of the calibre of visitors.

Having introduced a new format back in 2021 in an attempt to decrease the crowded quaysides, the first day of the show remained an invitation-only event targeting yacht owners and future yacht buyers and charterers. The rest of the week saw higher ticket prices to entice qualified clientele, thus freeing up the quayside and making the overall experience more in-keeping with the luxurious lifestyle that yachting is all about.

Photo by Monaco Life

117 yachts equating to a value of approximately 4.3 billion worth of yachts were on display, almost half of which had never been seen before. The Yacht Design and Innovation Hub took centre stage, offering visitors an understanding of the industry and featuring presentations by yacht designers including Espen Øino and Sinot Yacht Architecture and Design, while the Monaco Yacht Show Summit saw yachting enthusiasts come together to hear from industry experts.

Underpinning the entire show was the Sustainability Hub – an exhibition space showcasing companies specialising in eco-friendly technologies. Celebrating their 150th anniversary, the Italian shipyard Benetti revealed the 85m PROJECT LIFE during the Shaping the Future press conference, while superb vessels on show included the 83.5m SAVANNAH – Feadship’s first eco-friendly motor yacht; the 46.5m eco-friendly catamaran ART EXPLORER from the Italian Sea Group, and the 24m SUNREEF 80 ECO with an electric engine and revolutionary green technology.

THIS IS IT, photo source: The Italian Seagroup

The world’s most prestigious shipyards displayed their latest launches, including the world premiere from Tecnomar (The Italian Seagroup), with the luxury catamaran THIS IS IT. Pushing the boundaries of conventional yacht design, the 43.5m THIS IS IT boasts an asymmetrical design with an aerodynamic profile.

It wasn’t just new yachts in the spotlight as leading brokerage houses displayed their finest sales and charter yachts. The recently refit 97.2m CARINTHIA VII and 90m NERO were amongst the most talked about in the show, while leading brokerage houses, including Northrop & Johnson, welcomed potential clients to view a line-up of the finest yachts in their fleet. Along with yachts for sale and charter, visitors were also wowed by the latest tenders and toys, as well as cars, helicopters and motorcycles for superyachts displayed in the Adventure Area.

Photo source: Northrop & Johnson

Of course, as is customary with the Monaco Yacht Show, the social scene was a flurry of activity with parties held throughout the week, including the annual Northrop & Johnson Signature Evening Under the Stars and the Monaco Yacht Club 007 themed party hosted by IGY Marinas.

With the Monaco Yacht Show 2023 now over, the busy boat show season continues over the pond with events including the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show coming up from 25th to 29th October. The next edition of the Monaco Yacht Show has been scheduled for September 25th to 28th.

For further information or tickets to any of these shows, contact Northrop & Johnson www.northropandjohnson.com.

 

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Main photo by Monaco Life