Ahead of the 2024 Paralympic Opening Ceremony, the Mairie de Monaco has announced that all of the events at the Games will be shown on a big screen in the Halle Gourmande of the Marché de la Condamine.
With the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games due to begin on 28th August, the Mairie de Monaco has confirmed that the big screens that displayed all of the action and highlights from the Olympics will be returning to the Marché de la Condamine for this second major sporting event.
A live broadcast of the Opening Ceremony, which will be held in Paris on 28th August, will be shown from 8pm, allowing fans to experience the excitement of the Paralympic Games from the Principality.
After that, the highlights of the Paralympic events, such as wheelchair tennis and rugby, para-archery, para-powerlifting and goalball, will all be covered each day between 7am and 3.30pm. There will be additional screenings from 6pm until 11pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Having reached 100 kilometres of his swim across the Mediterranean Sea, Swiss endurance swimmer Noam Yaron was forced to accept that the strong currents and unfavourable conditions would prevent him from completing his epic 180-kilometre journey from Corsica to Monaco in the name of ocean conservation.
His quest was to swim the full 180 kilometres between northern Corsica and Monaco while wearing a wetsuit but without ever leaving the water. If he had been successful, Yaron would have set a world record.
Sadly, unfavourable weather conditions hampered his efforts. Having spent two days and two nights in the water and completing 100 kilometres – 75 kilometres of which were swum in a single day, a personal best – Yaron and his team made the tough decision to end the attempt for safety reasons.
The Swiss swimmer had set off from Calvi on 23rd August, initially enjoying serene weather conditions, but the change was evident.
On 25th August, Yaron said, “The next few hours are going to be tough; it seems like the wind is picking up and not in the right direction. The weather window is starting to close, and I need to maintain a good pace to reach Monaco before conditions become more difficult.”
It was later that day that he called off the swim.
Despite the physical and environmental challenges, Yaron remains inspired and motivated by his experience, during which he witnessed an array of marine wildlife.
Yaron can be proud that he accomplished 100 kilometres of his self-set challenge, 75 kilometres of which were swum in a single day – a personal record. Photo source: Noam Yaron, Facebook
“I was fortunate to observe whales, dolphins, rays, turtles, and many other majestic animals,” he shared. “One of my goals during this crossing was to discover and share the biodiversity with you!”
The Monaco Yacht Show, one of the world’s most prestigious yachting events, is set to return to Port Hercule from 25th to 28th September. With significant economic benefits for the Principality, preparations for this high-profile will be soon in motion.
Installation work will began on 31st August, with the setup primarily focused on the Port Hercule area. Key routes, including Quai des Etats-Unis/Avenue J.F. Kennedy, Route de la Piscine, and Quai Antoine I, starting 9th September, will be affected. These areas will experience parking restrictions and modifications to vehicle and pedestrian traffic, with occasional full closures expected.
To minimise disruptions, the organisers, in collaboration with state services, have put in place measures to ease traffic during peak hours. Temporary relaxations in restrictions will accommodate school drop-offs in the vicinity, and provisional traffic plans will help manage deliveries.
Route de la Piscine, which will be closed for two weeks for the installation of exhibition stands and safety measures, will remain open during morning rush hours in the Portier-Quai Antoine I direction, except on the day before the show opens and the three days following its conclusion.
Additionally, a new parking area for two-wheelers will be available on Avenue de la Quarantaine from 9th September.
The affected areas are expected to return to normal by October 10, 2024, with public access gradually restored from 29th September.
Paris-Saclay University, PSL University and the Sorbonne have all made the Top 50 in the 2024 Academic Ranking of World Universities, making France one of the most represented nations after the US, China and the UK.
Ahead of the start of the 2024/25 academic year, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) has revealed its latest rankings. Though European universities have performed strongly, it is the US that dominates the highest positions.
Harvard University took the top spot for the 22nd consecutive year in the ARWU listings. The Cambridge-based establishment is followed by Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The University of Cambridge emerged as the highest-ranked European institution, placing fourth overall, while the University of Oxford followed in sixth place. These two British universities were the only European representatives in the Top 10.
Paris-Saclay University in France achieved 12th place, climbing three spots from its previous placement in the rankings. PSL University and the Sorbonne secured the 33rd and 41st spots, respectively.
Other high-performing European institutions in the Top 50 included: Switzerland’s ETH Zurich in the 21st spot, Imperial College London in 25th, the University of Copenhagen in 32nd, and the Germany’s University of Munich (43rd), the Technical University of Munich (47th) and Heidelberg University (50th).
The 2024 ARWU rankings, published by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, assess universities based on various criteria, including alumni achievements, faculty quality, research output and publication performance.
The inaugural season of the UIM E1 World Championship reached its penultimate stage this weekend with a series of thrilling electric powerboat races on Lake Como. Hollywood actor Will Smith’s Westbrook Racing claimed their first-ever overall victory in a fiercely competitive event that kept spectators on the edge of their seats.
The fifth leg of the inaugural UIM E1 World Championship played out on the serene waters of Lake Como in northern Italy on 24th August with many of the teams’ big backers watching on.
Indeed, it was the first stage of the series that Hollywood actor Will Smith was able to attend in person and it was a well-timed appearance: his team, made up of pilots Lucas Ordóñez and Sara Price, took their maiden victory after some serious jostling with Rafael Nadal’s Team Rafa.
Lucas Ordóñez and Sara Price of Westbrook Racing celebrate their maiden win. Photo credit: UIM E1 World Championship
The top-seeded Team Brady, owned by American NFL star Tom Brady, had pole position going into the race, but couldn’t hold on during the two-heat finals event.
Westbrook’s Ordóñez dominated the first race, while Team Rafa’s Tom Ciappe claimed victory in the second. In the end, however, the total points generated by Westbrook were enough to earn the team their first-ever outright victory, putting an undeniable smile on Smith’s face.
“I FaceTimed with Tom Brady just before the race and told him my entire childhood was spent with him beating my team, and I was like, it’s not going to happen out here today,” said the actor after the event. “This is so much fun, the energy of it, the people and all the teams. I love it, we’re having a ball.”
Rafael Nadal, who owns Team Rafa, with Westbrook Racing’s Will Smith. Photo credit: UIM E1 World Championship
Team Brady, who won in Monaco, retain their first place in the overall rankings, with Westbrook Racing in second, followed by Team Miami powered by Magnus.
HOSTED BY VILLA D’ESTE
The Lake Como stage was hosted by the iconic Villa d’Este, a location that impressed not only the spectators but also Rodi Basso, CEO and co-founder of E1.
“From having two of the world’s biggest superstars in Will Smith and Rafa Nadal here, to our stunning setting at the world-renowned hotel Villa d’Este, to a weekend of unpredictable racing—no one in the world is doing what E1 is doing right now,” he shared. “Lake Como, a true Italian wonder, has provided the most beautiful backdrop to this event. The weekend has been electrifying with jeopardy at every turn—we’re creating a new sport that continues to amaze and excite, and believe us, this is just the beginning.”
The UIM E1 World Championship is in its first year, but has already garnered a growing following, due in part to the excitement surrounding powerboat racing in general. However, the environmental aspect has been just as big a draw. All boats are electric, clean-running and committed to embodying a sustainable ethos.
The race organisers promote leaving “a lasting positive imprint on host cities”, with a focus on coastal restoration and educational outreach programmes that they hope will inspire generations to come.
For example, in Lake Como, they formed a collaboration with FC Como Women to further conversations around women’s roles in sport through panel talks in the Championship’s Ocean Club.
Additionally, a strategic partnership with the local non-profit organisation Cometa resulted in E1 hosting a charity raffle to raise funds for their work in children’s education.
The series has only one more race to go, with the location yet to be announced.
For more on the UIM E1 World Championship series and to follow the races, click here.
AS Monaco have started the 2024/25 Ligue 1 McDonald’s season strong. Following a win against the newly-promoted AS Saint-Étienne, the team has taken another victory in their weekend game against Olympique Lyonnais.
For the first time since the 2016/17 season, the Rouges et Blancs have defeated Olympique Lyonnais on their home turf in the Groupama Stadium, though it wasn’t without considerable effort.
The first half of the match on Saturday 24th August saw the Monaco side miss several goal opportunities, including three in the first 11 minutes: Denis Zakaria (2’), Eliesse Ben Seghir (3’) and Lamine Camara (11’).
The game picked up after halftime when a pass from Maghnes Akliouche to Ben Seghir was converted into the first goal for Monaco 65 minutes in. This was followed 15 minutes later by a beautiful pass from Ismail Jakobs to Kassoum Ouattara, who then played in Camara for the second goal, giving the Senegalese newcomer his first score in an official match with his new team.
“We knew it would be difficult to play in Lyon since the last victory there was the year that Monaco won the title. So, we wanted revenge, and that’s what we got, by winning in their stadium,” said Seghir after the game.
AS Monaco currently sits in third place in the 2024-25 Ligue 1 McDonald’s standings, behind Paris Saint-Germain and Lille. The Monegasque side is one of only four teams as yet undefeated this season, with Lens in fourth.
This strong start, though encouraging, has not gone to the team members’ heads.
As Akliouche pointed out, “Our goal is to start this season well because we know there will be a lot of matches, and we need the whole team as well as the staff to navigate this season successfully.”
The team will have a chance to prove themselves again and extend their undefeated streak on 1st September when they return home to Stade Louis II for a game against Lens.
