In just a few days’ time, the Cannes Yachting Festival will kick off the autumn season of yacht shows and events in the Mediterranean. The festival, which will be spread across Port Canto and the Vieux Port, will feature 700 vessels of various sizes, as well as stands from more than 600 exhibitors.
Ahead of the Monaco Yacht Show from 25th to 28th September and the Barcelona Boat Show from 10th to 13th October, it will be Cannes’ turn to welcome the international yachting community to its shores in the coming days.
This year, the show will be held from 10th until 15th September, meaning that visitors, sales teams, crew and owners will gain a full six days of exposure and events.
Around 700 boats, from sailing yachts to motor boats, monohulls to multihulls, and rigid to semi-rigid vessels, are confirmed to be attending the show, with the biggest being 50 metres in length.
The festival is cleverly divided into sectors: the Vieux Port in the city centre is dedicated exclusively to the motor boat industry, while Port Canto will focus mainly on sailing vessels. That said, a new 2,000m² marina has been arranged for Port Canto this year. It will accommodate a number of smaller motor yachts and boats of between eight and 12 metres that will be available for sea trials.
Cannes Yachting Festival regularly attracts around 55,000 visitors each year and is popular even with members of the public who are unconnected to the industry.
Tickets, which start at €39 for a single day’s entry, are still available and can be purchased here. Children under the age of 10 can visit the festival for free.
The upcoming 11th season of Formula E racing will see the grid travel to 11 countries around the globe for 17 races, two of which will be held on Monaco’s iconic street track.
The provisional schedule for Formula E’s next season has arrived. There will be more action than ever before, with a total of 17 races and two new locations, but one of the biggest reveals of the line-up is that the Principality will be welcoming the championship to its streets for its first-ever double-header event.
Monaco has been on the calendar since Season 7, but only with a single race. In May 2025, however, Formula E pilots will have two chances at claiming glory on this famous track, which is considered one of the world’s most challenging circuits.
“We’re thrilled to offer a calendar with some fresh new highlights while building on our legacy locations,” Alberto Longo, Co-Founder and Chief Championship Officer of Formula E told Yahoo! Finance. “Returning to Miami gives us a home in one of the US’s most iconic and sports-mad cities, while securing a double-header in Monaco is a dream come true.”
The schedule, which kicks off 7th December in São Paulo, Brazil, will also see races in Mexico City, Jeddah, Miami, Tokyo, Shanghai, Jakarta, Berlin, London and another as yet to be announced location. The two Monaco races will be held on 3rd and 4th May, coming after Miami and before Tokyo.
Check out the latest edition of the calendar by clicking here.
NEW GEN3 EVO
Testing will begin 4th November in Valencia, Spain, where teams will be trying out their new GEN3 Evo cars, which are capable of going from zero to 100kmph in 1.82 seconds. That’s 36% faster than the previous GEN3 editions.
“For Season 11, we’re taking electric racing to the next level and doings things never done before in motorsport,” says Jeff Dodds, CEO of Formula E. “Our world-leading GEN3 Evo will debut in front of hundreds of millions of fans around the globe, while adding two brand new locations and combinations of double-headers to grow our sport further.”
Tickets for the Monaco stages are on sale now and can be purchased here.
The Latin America Charity Ball, a solidarity event scheduled for Thursday 3rd October at the Yacht Club of Monaco, is organised by Monaco resident and Bolivian/Italian national Daniela Spanier, founder and CEO of Me Connect.
The event promises to be an evening of philanthropic engagement, sophisticated networking, and the celebration of global contributions. Under the High Patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco, this elegant event’s primary purpose is to unite caring people for a glam night while raising money for children’s wellbeing, inspiring all who attend to make an enduring impact.
It counts the endorsement of the Embassy of Panama and will be held in the presence of Maricel Cohen de Mulino, the First Lady of the Republic of Panama, highlighting the association’s commitment to international cooperation and advancing humanitarian initiatives.
This year’s solidarity gala will raise funds to support the work being done by the Panamanian non-for-profit organisation ‘Fundacion Unidos por la Ninez’ (FUN), presided over by Jennie Barb, a project focusing on protecting children from abuse, exploitation, and neglect through a systematic and psycho-pedagogical approach, working in close collaboration and led by World Association of Children’s Friends (AMADE), founded in 1963 by Princess Caroline of Hannover.
The Latin American Charity Ball’s philanthropic purpose is to create an everlasting impact in the lives of children. It supports the continuation and expansion of projects to protect children’s and young adults’ physical and mental health by creating a safe, nurturing, and empowering environment for them to thrive.
Through the awards ceremony, Me Connect aims to highlight outstanding achievements and shared values, such as their commitment to making a significant difference in the lives of children in Latin America.
Monaco Life spoke with Daniela Spanier to learn more about her inspiration for creating Me Connect, its purpose and her vision for the future.
Prince Albert II with Daniela Spanier at the Olga Sinclair exhibition organised by Daniela Spanier at Kamil Art Gallery, during Art MonteCarlo 2023. Photo credit: Philip Andrukhovich
Monaco Life: What inspired you to create Me Connect in Monaco?
Daniela Spanier: Me Connect encompasses and combines my academic background and professional experience in finance. I arrived with my family in Monaco 14 years ago and I am co-founder and former president of the Monaco Latin America Association, organiser and sponsor of the No Finish Line Santa Cruz Bolivia, as well as a board member of the No Finish Line International, The Monaco USA Association and the Kate Powers Foundation.
Me Connect allows me to intermediate, introduce, coordinate, and advise both parties, with a neutral and impartial view focusing on finding a collaboration strategy beneficial to all parties involved.
What are the main goals of Me Connect Monaco?
Me Connect Monaco is a force for good. Its primary goals are to source, connect, and develop alliances and partnerships that create collective value and long-lasting bonds of syntony and synergy. It serves as a gateway to Latin American tourism, culture, business, and vice versa in Monaco.
How does Me Connect collaborate with other associations in the Principality?
We have successfully collaborated with different associations in the Principality, such as the Prince Albert II Foundation Ocean Gala, providing a prominent speaker, Dr. Carlos Mata, an expert in MPAs and Uruguayan Minister of the Law of the Seas, plus submitting valuable case studies to Monaco Ocean Week and the Forests and Communities initiative, Monaco Art Week and Art Montecarlo, hosting the press lunch and an art exposition at Kamil Art Gallery for the renowned Panamanian Artist and philanthropist Olga Sinclaire.
Artist David Banegas at an AMLA event
We supported the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation with the creation of the children’s rugby school in Ecuador ‘Condores de Monaco’; actively participated in the Monte-Carlo Woman of the Year, presenting candidates as the organisation’s Goodwill Ambassador; collaborated with the Monte-Carlo TV Festival with celebrity Bolivian Artist, philanthropist and fashion designer Sonia Falcone; hosted four Latin American authors and ambassadors for the Monaco Salon International du Livre; Hosted the first and second edition of No-Finish-Line in Santa Cruz Bolivia and are currently working on launching it in Panama; co-organised a Peruvian music concert with the embassy of Peru in France and the Peruvian Honorary Consul in Monaco, with the participation of Ambassador Rolando Ruiz Rosas Cateriano and consul Jean-Baptiste Pastor.
The October Charity Ball will benefit FUN and its project, ‘Children Safe from Sexual Abuse’. Will future events benefit other associations?
The Latin America Charity Ball combines networking, an immersive experience of the culture and people of our country of honour, and the result of our ONGs’ coordination and cooperation actions, which focus on identifying local and trustworthy charities and presenting them to Monegasque ONGs.
On this occasion, we will raise funds to support the work done by the Panamanian not-for-profit organisation Fundacion Unidos por la Ninez (FUN), which is in cooperation and led by our Monegasque charity partner, AMADE. The main objective is to protect children from sexual abuse, a public health issue affecting children in Panama and everywhere. FUN’s mission is to promote, protect, and defend child abuse through innovative prevention programs and treatment of all forms of violence against children to build a healthy, just, and equitable society. The ‘Children Safe from Sexual Abuse’ project, which we will be supporting, targets six schools benefiting over 6,122 children across three provinces with the highest rates of reported child sexual abuse cases.
Previously, our events have successfully raised funds for impactful projects. For instance, we raised funds for the No More Children with Chagas project jointly with the Association Children & Future and the No Finish Line Santa Cruz Bolivia. This project was highly acclaimed and recognised for its global impact and regional reach by the World Health Organisation and the local government, and received an Orion Award. We have also collaborated with Fondation Fondamental David de Rothschild for the treatment and diagnosis of depression to save children’s lives and prevent suicide in young adults. Furthermore, we have jointly provided financial support for several projects involving children’s physical and mental health in Colombia, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. These past successes demonstrate the effectiveness of the charity ball in achieving its goals and the significant impact it has had on children’s welfare.
In the future, we will focus on protecting and creating awareness of the power of appreciation of the learning process, targeting projects that source, communicate, and enhance ancestral and indigenous knowledge. Value is born in the habit of attention and appreciation, a survival principle we have lost in a digitalised and fast-paced world detached from the pleasure of being present in the field rather than in a remote or administrative position.
Bonny Lovy singing Cumbia Boliviana during an AMLA event
What is the primary purpose of the awards ceremony?
The awards ceremony recognises those whose values drive sustainable success, achievements that inspire and impact positively entire communities; they are not a result of a first lucky shot, but rather a reward for people who have had the vision, the passion, the wisdom, and the inner peace and love to pursue a dream. It is not about undermining others; on the contrary, it is about including and engaging their surroundings, creating value for all. The award recipients share a lifetime of accomplishments, crucial social work, commitment, and inspiration.
A distinguished group of 12 Panamanian highly accomplished luminaries will be the 2024 award recipients for contributing to music, fashion, arts, and gastronomy. The award recipients in the areas of music, fashion, art, and gastronomy are:
Music: Panamanian Professor, accordionist, and artist Ormelis Cortez; musician and songwriter Yomira John; and French musician and songwriter Mae Orisha, who fell in love with Panama and whose objective is to connect Panama and France.
Fashion: Fashion designer Sophie Breebart, who created the foundation ‘Searching your Star’ to protect traditional costumes and cultural identity; Rula Lakas, whose couture artisan work inserts an autochthonous flavour, a style made by Indigenous Guna women; and Leticia and Anastasia Liakopulos, founders of the House of Clio, brought innovation to Panama’s jewellery industry with a touch of Greek heritage.
Art: Panamanian figurative painter Olga Sinclair is known for breaking the world record by organising 5,084 children’s paintings simultaneously to commemorate the century anniversary of the Panama Canal. Artist Carolina Alfonso’s artworks are part of the Prince Albert II Foundation collections, Maison de l’Amerique Latine, and the Monaco Red Cross.
Gastronomy: Finally, the awards for Gastronomy and Hospitality honour famous Panamanian chef Charlie Collins and well-known Chef Cuquita Arias de Calvo, who exalts the values of Panama’s cuisine.
The Latin American Impact Award statuette was created by Monaco resident Brazilian artist Marcos Marin, whose design captures the essence of this formal recognition of excellence.
What is your vision for the future?
Me Connect will focus on finding the common element between profitability, social and environmental responsibility, and open communication to connect the dots and contribute to a faster, more sustainable green shift. After 25 years in Europe, having moved 16 times as my dad was a diplomat, speaking five languages, having a vast international network, a global vision, and a clear goal, I plan to continue my studies next, focusing on politics and geopolitics in Madrid to be part of and push forward a community of change-makers.
80 years on from the Liberation of Monaco by the Allied forces, the Principality and Prince Albert II have paid tribute to the men and women who fought to liberate the nation from German occupation.
On Tuesday 3rd September, Monaco commemorated its liberation from initially Italian and then German occupation during WWII. Though aspects of the day were respectfully solemn, such as the laying of a wreath at the tomb of Monegasque Resistance fighter René Borghini and the speech delivered by Prince Albert at the Monaco Cemetery, the mood was also joyful, with hundreds of people turning out to watch the military parades and enjoy the historical reenactments in the Place du Palais.
Here are some of the highlights of the momentous event.
^Standing before the monument that commemorates the lives lost in 20th century global conflicts, Prince Albert delivered a moving speech honouring the efforts of the Allied forces in the presence of numerous Monaco officials and detachments from the French Draguignan Infantry School and the US Army Southern European Task Force – Africa (SETAF-AF).
^ Prince Albert II of Monaco paid tribute to the Monegasque Resistance fighter, René Borghini, who lost his life mere weeks before the Principality was liberated.
^ The Prince later laid a wreath in front of the commemorative plaque that honours the efforts of Borghini and his liaison officer, Esther Poggio, who were executed by German troops in Nice on 15th August 1944.
^ A particular highlight for the public were the historical reenactments and parades laid on by the MonacoUSA association in partnership with the Monaco Commemoration Committee. Here, Prince Albert is pictured meeting some of those who donned uniforms from the era.
^ People of all ages dressed up to bring to life to the stories and legacies left by the local Resistance fighters and members of the Allied forces who contributed to the Liberation of Monaco in 1944.
^In honour of the role that US General Robert Frederick played in the Liberation of Provence and Monaco, Prince Albert invited his grandson, Bradley Hicks (second from right), to the Palais Princier for a luncheon with Jean d’Haussonville, Ambassador of France to Monaco (left), and Denise Campbell Bauer, Ambassador of the United States to France (second from left).
^ Towards the end of the commemorations, Prince Albert stopped by at the Ministry of State to formally inaugurate an exhibition entitled ‘Monaco Libéré! 3 September-28 December 1944’. The exhibition was put together by the National Archives’ Prefiguration Mission in collaboration with the Archives of the Prince’s Palace, the Audiovisual Institute of Monaco and the Médiathèque de Monaco. It will be on display to the public until 31st January 2025.
To see more of the day’s events, watch the Monaco Life Instagram reel below:
The Principality of Monaco has marked the 80th anniversary of its World War II liberation with a day of solemn ceremonies, moving speeches and historical reenactments of the pivotal role the Allied forces played here in 1944.
On Tuesday 3rd September, Monaco commemorated its liberation from Italian and later German occupation during the Second World War. The event served as a poignant reminder of the 1944 events and the crucial contributions of the Allied forces.
The day began with a military ceremony at the Monaco Cemetery, held before the monument dedicated to those who lost their lives in the world conflicts of the 20th century.
The military ceremony at the Monaco Cemetery. Photo credit: Stéphane Danna / Frédéric Nebinger / Monaco Communications Department
Prince Albert II presided over the ceremony and delivered a moving speech in front of military detachments from Monaco, France and the United States. He also unveiled a commemorative plaque in memory of René Borghini, a Monegasque resistance fighter, and his liaison officer, Esther Poggio, who were executed on 15th August 1944.
Later in the day, the Prince formally inaugurated an exhibition entitled ‘Monaco Libéré! 3 September-28 December 1944’. Prepared in collaboration with the National Archives’ Prefiguration Mission, the Archives of the Prince’s Palace, the Audiovisual Institute of Monaco and the Médiathèque de Monaco, the exhibition will be on display in the lobby of the Ministry of State until 31st January 2025.
Prince Albert II participating in the liberation events. Photo credit: Stéphane Danna / Frédéric Nebinger / Monaco Communications Department
Throughout the day, the Vintage Commemoration Committee, alongside MonacoUSA, hosted various activities across the Principality. These included displays of period uniforms, equipment and vehicles, as well as a memorial parade from Avenue Saint-Laurent to the Place du Palais, with stops at the Maison de France and the Lycée Albert Ier.
Additional events are planned for spring 2025. They will be organised by local institutions, including the Médiathèque de Monaco, the Monaco Audiovisual Institute, the Department of National Education, Youth and Sports, and the Devoir de Mémoire association.
To see more of the commemorations, watch the Monaco Life reel below:
Intense thunderstorms and high winds are expected across the region on Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th September, leading Météo France to issue an orange weather alert for the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var. Monaco is also likely to be affected by the stormy conditions.
The Côte d’Azur is bracing itself for a major storm following predictions of widespread thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and winds of up to 100kmph for the night between Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th September.
Météo France has issued an orange storm alert for the departments of the Alpes-Maritimes, which surrounds the Principality of Monaco on three sides, and the Var, warning that up to 120mm of rain – or more – should be anticipated in certain parts of the Riviera.
“Strong storms, accompanied by very heavy precipitation in a short time, hail, gusts and significant electrical activity, are expected,” reads a communiqué released by Météo France in advance of the incoming storms. “In particular, a very intense line of storms should sweep these regions towards the middle of the night or in the second part of the night. The [weather] will improve from Thursday morning.”
The orange alert will be in place from 6pm in the Var and from 9pm in the Alpes-Maritimes. It will remain active until 6am on the morning of Thursday 5th September.
STAYING SAFE
During conditions such as these, it is possible that residents could experience power cuts, damage to property, road closures and loss of telephone service, meaning that preparation is key.
Local authorities are seeking to remind residents of essential personal safety measures. It goes without saying that people should remain indoors during the worst of the weather, as well as bring pets inside. Any loose objects kept outside, such as garden furniture, should be secured to prevent them from causing any damage when the winds arrive.
It is also recommended that residents ensure that they have fresh water supplies, adequate food stores and a first aid kit on hand.
Staying off the roads is also extremely important in storms of this magnitude due to the threat of flash floods. It only takes 30cm of water to carry a vehicle off the road. Reduced visibility is also a by-product of a major weather event, as are submerged objects and land or mudslides, all of which are dangerous on the roads and at home.
For further information on the storm as it develops, click here.
