Monaco Garden Club chooses ‘Seas and Oceans’ theme for 2024 International Bouquet Competition

29/02/2024

The Monaco Garden Club, now under the High Patronage of Prince Albert II and the Presidency of Princess Caroline, was founded in 1968 by Princess Grace. The late Princess was very fond of beautiful blooms, a passion that provided the impetus for the creation of an annual International Bouquet Competition.

For the 55th edition of the event, the club has decided on a theme that brings together the Principality’s traditional bouquet competition with its love of the marine world.

As such, the seven categories open to florists include: vintage sailboats, coral reefs, fishing nets, storms at sea, icebergs and lunch on board. All are open to interpretation, allowing participants a broad canvas to work with.

The final – and always highly popular – category is reserved exclusively for young floral creatives aged six to 14 and calls for designs linked to the beach.

The event is open to all, whether professional or amateur. It is expected to draw competitors from all over Europe who are inspired to share their own take on the nautical theme with the world.

TWO JURIES

The show has two sets of jurists. The official jury is made up of judges, professors, international authors and specialists in floral art. They are responsible for awarding the special Princess Grace of Monaco Prize, along with the gold, silver and bronze for each category.

The second jury is headed up by Princess Caroline and will be comprised of “personalities from the literary and artistic world”, who will give awards for a selection of virtues, such as originality in interpretation, elegance in composition, charm, best floral decoration, humour in design and colour harmony.

All of the entries will be on display to the public at the Yacht Club de Monaco on 4th May from 6pm to 7.30pm and on 5th May from 9.30am to 6pm. Entry is free.

To register to be a part of the 55th International Bouquet Competition or for more information, click here.

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Photo source: Unsplash

John Christodoulou invests in two Knightsbridge properties as part of new London-based partnership

by: Stephanie Horsman

29/02/2024

A chance meeting through John Christodoulou’s charitable foundation has led to an exciting London-based business venture shared 50/50 between the Monaco-based property developer and Greek pop icon Konstantinos Argiros.

The two men have gone into business together to purchase equal shares in two freehold properties on Beauchamp Place in Knightsbridge, London.

Christodoulou, a billionaire philanthropist and Goodwill Ambassador for the prestigious Monaco Ambassadors Club, and his new business partner made the announcement that they would be teaming up to buy the buildings, which are located close to the famed Harrods department store, on 23rd February. The partnership marks a departure from Christodoulou’s usual style of modus operandi ownership.

See more: Photos: John Christodoulou awarded Goodwill Ambassador 2022

The properties were acquired for an as-yet undisclosed sum, but it has been confirmed that the business partners now intend on redeveloping and renovating the properties for sale.

SHARED VISION

Although the pairing has come as a surprise to some, the men share other common goals outside of this shrewd investment. They also share a plan to work together more philanthropically, according to a statement released by Christodoulou’s company, the Yianis Group, “in the welfare and further development of communities”.

Christodoulou and Argiros first met in April 2023, when Argiros showed his support for the Yianis Christodoulou Foundation in a pan-Cyprian student competition called ‘Love Cyprus’.

The competition showcased the talents of children from 200 schools by promoting “the beauty and culture of Cyprus, through the creativity of these young people”. Prizes of €180,000 were donated to the eight winning schools.

*Left to right: Konstantinos Argiros, John Christodoulou and Prince Albert II. Photo courtesy of Yianis Group*

OTHER EVENTS

Christodoulou and Argiros have also participated in other events together, such as event in Limassol, Cypress last year that championed the environmental protection works being carried out by Prince Albert II and his eponymous foundation. There, a special honour was given to Prince Albert by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

Photo courtesy of Yianis Group

French mobile users will need data roaming in Monaco from March

by: Cassandra Tanti

29/02/2024

French mobile users will now be connected to Monaco Telecom upon entering the Principality from March 5^th in a move designed to improve the quality of the mobile network service in the Principality.

The Prince’s Government announced on Thursday 28^th February that all subscribers to French mobile services will be switched to the Monegasque network in the Principality from March 2024.

“Faced with the permanent growth of mobile uses and having to deal with a high population density and limited frequency resources, the Prince’s Government wanted to initiate this transition towards a unified mobile network,” said Christophe Pierre, Director of Platforms and Digital Resources within the Interministerial Delegation in charge of the Digital Transition. “Supported by State Services, it was possible thanks to the cooperation of French operators and our national operator and will ultimately promote quality of service and homogeneous coverage for all subscribers of foreign mobile services.”

Who is affected and how does it work?

Current customers of Orange and Sosh are not affected by the move as they are already automatically connected to Monaco Telecom when present in the Principality.

Customers of French operators Bouygues Telecom, Free and SFR, or their B&You and Red by SFR offers will notice the change, as will customers of all virtual operators on these networks, such as La Poste Mobile, NRJ Mobile, CIC Mobile.

These network subscribers will therefore “roam” when they come to Monaco and will be using the Monaco Telecom mobile network, which they will see listed at the top of their phone screen, instead of the name of their French operator.

“The objective is to allow users, as is the case when they go to one of the countries in the Europe zone, to benefit, for incoming and outgoing calls or for internet connection, from the telephone network of the local operator,” says the government.

How much will it cost?

Each French operator is free to apply its own price rules, however most will include Monaco in the Euro zone, therefore apply no additional cost in most cases.

In order to be able to use the Monaco Telecom network, subscribers to French mobile services must make sure that “data roaming” is on, that the code +33 is dialled for all calls to France from within Monaco, and that the “automatic network selection” mode is on or “Monaco Telecom”is manually selected.

Photo credit: Hassan Ouajbir, Unsplash

La Note Bleue to welcome jazz star Behia for first-ever Monaco concert

by: Stephanie Horsman

29/02/2024

French singer Behia is coming to Monaco for one night only on 20th March for a high-octane performance of songs from her latest album at La Note Bleue.

Author, composer and, above all, performer, Behia is a product of the jazz scene of the 1960s. Born in Paris, jazz clubs were part of the night-time landscape, one she was encouraged to be a part of by her jazz-loving father, who introduced her at an early age to the great vocalists of the 1930s and 1940s.

What started as a mere love of music would blossom into a career and take Behia around the country, as well as around the world.

Locally, the high-energy artist has played numerous festivals and shows in the south of France, such as Les Estivales du Conseil Départemental des Alpes-Maritimes, the Saint-Raphaël Jazz Festival, Jazz au Château in Cagnes-sur-Mer, Jazz Art Lympia in Nice and the Roquebrune Cap-Martin Festival, but never before has she sung in the Principality.

That will change on 20th March, when Behia and a Franco-Italian quartet made up of Guido Bombardieri, JB Bolazzi, Sandro Massazza and André Bolazzi hit the stage at La Note Bleue in Monaco’s lively Larvotto neighbourhood.

Behia will be belting out tunes from her latest album, a Cole Porter tribute called Night and Day with Cole Porter, which is being released by Black and Blue Records and features five new songs. After the show, Behia will be available to sign copies, adding a truly personal touch to the evening.

For a taster of what’s in store, check out the video below:

Reservations are not required, but are strongly advised. To reserve a seat, call +377 93 50 05 02.

Photo credit: Philip Ducap

Prince Albert II of Monaco to make star appearance in ‘Quintessentially Irish’ documentary

by: Stephanie Horsman

29/02/2024

Quintessentially Irish, a fascinating new documentary film written and directed by veteran documentarian Frank Mannion, is due to be released on 12th March, just ahead of Saint Patrick’s Day. It is set to feature a plethora of famous faces with family connections to the Emerald Isle, including Monaco’s very own Prince Albert II.

The essence of the documentary is the capturing of what it means to be Irish.

In the film, Mannion takes viewers on a magical tour of the island, showcasing its many beautiful sites as well as delving into the origins of horseracing, whiskey, Gaelic sport and, of course, Guinness.

The Irish diaspora is explored in depth – it used to be said that the Irish people themselves were their biggest export – and Mannion introduces his audience to some of the world’s most influential and well-known people who, despite coming from other countries, still consider themselves Irish.

Among those is US President Joe Biden, who made a highly publicised trip to Ireland in April 2023. During his visit, he was interviewed at the White House in Dublin, the Aras an Uachtaráin, which is the official residence of the President of Ireland and was designed and built by the acclaimed Irish architect James Hoban.

Another high-profile appearance comes from Monaco’s Prince Albert, who granted Mannion special access to the Palais Princier de Monaco for filming. In a recently released clip from the documentary, the two sit down together to talk about Prince Albert’s own connections and ties to Ireland through his late mother, Princess Grace.

See more: Photos: Prince Albert II unveils statue of Princess Grace in Ireland

The Monegasque sovereign, charmingly wearing a shamrock tie for the occasion, opens up about his mother’s family history, saying, “Through my mother’s family, through the Kellys of County Mayo and the ancestral house in Drumilra, we knew that the Irish connection was very solid.”

Other notables in the film include former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, Oscar winner Jeremy Irons, multimillionaire businessman Michael Smurfit, President of Ireland since 2011 Michael Higgins, Guinness heir Rory Guinness and, interestingly, Jamaican Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt and his agent, Ricky Simms, an Irishman who currently lives in Monaco.

“Quintessentially Irish reflects the modern reality that Ireland is much more than clichéd representations of leprechauns,” says Mannion of the film. “The country has a renewed national self-confidence that is reflected in the thrilling mix of a new generation of artists and novelists; the inward investment brought in by the filming of Game of Thrones, Normal People, Banshees of Inisherin and Star Wars: The Last Jedi; and the huge revenues pumped into the Irish economy by tech companies like Apple and Google.”

He adds, “There are 23 million Americans who claim Irish heritage and six million Brits with an Irish grandparent. They are our target audience. I look forward to seeing what audiences make of this valentine to all things great and Irish. Hopefully, audiences will feel that Quintessentially Irish is the perfect film to watch this Saint Patrick’s Day.”

Quintessentially Irish will be available on major online platforms including Amazon Instant, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu and Vimeo on 12th March followed by a DVD launch.

Watch the trailer below:

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Photo credit: Ed Reid / Palais Princier de Monaco

France’s Ministry of Sport launches new abuse reporting mechanism

by: Niki Borisova

29/02/2024

In an effort to combat violence in all its forms within the sporting community, France’s Ministry of Sport has announced the launch of a new reporting system for victims and witnesses of abuse.

In collaboration with the Olympic and Paralympic Games Committee, the French Ministry of Sport officially unveiled a new series of tools and mechanisms to improve the way in which victims and witnesses can report acts of abuse on Monday 26^th February 2024. It forms part of a national strategy against abuse in the sporting community that goes back to December 2019.

At the heart of this initiative is a national unit for processing reports of violence in sport and providing victims of abuse – sexual, physical, and psychological abuse as well as sexist remarks, excessive controlling behaviours and mistreatment – with the support they need. The unit also handles instances of complicity or failure to report such incidents. The main access point for the unit is via email: signal-sports@sports.gouv.fr.

In due course, the Ministry will also be rolling out a wide range of promotional materials to help raise awareness on the issue. These include posters, social media clips and visuals tailored to various communication platforms that are particularly targeted at young athletes and their guardians. Aimed at key stakeholders in French sports, such as sporting federations, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) and Paris Games 2024 organising committe, these resources are also accessible to anyone keen on advocating against abuse in sport.

The effort to fight against sports violence aligns with a wider dedication to athlete welfare, which will be highlighted at the IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport, which is taking place in Monaco from 29^th February to 2^nd March. The conference will delve into the latest in athlete care, emphasising the shared goal of protecting athletes’ health and creating safer sports environments.

Read related:

Global experts to gather in Monaco for IOC World Conference on sport injury and illness prevention

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Photo source: Steven Lelham, Unsplash

Day: 29 February 2024