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Day: 5 May 2026

Monaco’s most sociable charity ride returns — 140km, two great causes, one street party

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/05/2026

 

On 31st May, cyclists will set off from Saint-Tropez at dawn and pedal 140 kilometres along the Côte d’Azur to Monaco, raising funds for two foundations whose work could not be more different — and more important. The 12th edition of the Champagne & Oyster Cycling Club charity ride is back, and after more than a decade of bringing together the Principality’s yachting, business and sporting communities on two wheels, the organisers are pushing for their biggest fundraising year yet.

Founded in 2011 by seven friends who shared a passion for cycling, the COCC has grown into one of Monaco’s most recognisable charitable sporting fixtures. Past riders have included Prince Albert II, professional cyclists, and Formula One drivers including Eddie Jordan, Mika Häkkinen and Daniel Ricciardo — a testament to the event’s reach across the Principality’s international community.

Two foundations, one ride

The 2026 edition once again supports the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, which has delivered over 510 water safety and swimming education projects across 43 countries, reaching more than one million people. With an estimated 2.5 million drowning deaths recorded globally over the past decade, the Foundation’s Learn to Swim, Water Safety and Sport & Education programmes address one of the world’s most preventable causes of death.

The second beneficiary is the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, established by Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir OBE following his motor neuron disease diagnosis in 2017. The foundation funds research aimed at finding effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure for MND. The number 5 in its name honours the jersey Weir wore throughout his career at Melrose, Newcastle Falcons and Scotland.

The route and the party

Riders depart Saint-Tropez at 8am on Sunday 31st May — the evening before, a pre-ride drinks reception takes place in Saint-Tropez for participants and sponsors — with arrival in Monaco expected around 5pm. The day concludes with the COCC Street Party in front of Slammers Pub at 6 Rue Suffren Reymond, running from 2pm until late, with live music, a Chilli No. 5 BBQ and the kind of atmosphere that has become as much a part of the COCC tradition as the ride itself. Tickets are €25 in advance or €35 on the day.

Get involved

Each year, the ride raises approximately €100,000 for charity, with sponsors receiving prominent branding on the official cycling kit and visibility at both the Saint-Tropez start and Monaco finish line. Sponsorship packages start from €3,000, with bespoke options available. Riders are required to raise a minimum of €1,000 in sponsorship, which covers professional kit, mechanical support, insurance, a halfway brunch and an after-party ticket.

Sponsorship applications are available at coccmonaco.com/sponsors, or by emailing info@coccmonaco.com. Donations to both foundations can be made directly via the COCC website.

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Photo credit: Ed Wright Images

From haute couture to horsepower: what drives Monaco’s retail economy

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/05/2026

Monaco’s retail sector generated €2.48 billion in 2025 — growing 6.1% at a time when the Principality’s broader economy contracted by 7.6%. But behind that headline figure lies a more revealing story about what the world’s second-smallest country actually sells, and who is buying it.

The single largest slice of Monaco’s retail economy is the category encompassing clothing, watches and jewellery, health and beauty, and leisure — collectively generating €1.15 billion, nearly half of the sector’s entire turnover, according to IMSEE’s latest focus report on retail trade within the Principality. Within that group, it is clothing stores and watch and jewellery retailers that carry the most weight, growing 4.5% in 2025 to maintain their position as the defining commercial identity of the Principality.

That identity is written into the geography of Monaco itself. In Monte-Carlo, which hosts 386 of the sector’s 815 active establishments, nearly 30% of retail businesses are clothing stores and almost 20% are jewellers. The Principality is home to 92 watch and jewellery establishments alone — more than one in 10 of all retail businesses — a density that reflects the spending power of Monaco’s clientele and the concentration of luxury maisons that have long made the Principality a flagship address.

Motor vehicles: a market of its own

The second-largest retail segment is one that surprises many: motor vehicles, motorcycles and related parts and accessories, which reached €708.7 million in 2025, representing 28.6% of total retail turnover and growing 5.4% year-on-year. For a jurisdiction of roughly two square kilometres, that is a remarkable sum — and a reflection of both the wealth of resident buyers and Monaco’s status as a showcase market for the world’s most prestigious automotive brands.

In Fontvieille, Monaco’s industrial quarter, motor vehicle retail is the second most common business type after clothing, accounting for 15.2% of the district’s establishments.

Cultural and recreational goods: the breakout performer

The standout result of 2025 belongs to a less obvious category. Retail of cultural and recreational goods — covering items such as art, sports equipment and leisure products — posted growth of 36.2%, rising from €121.5 million to €165.5 million. While it remains a smaller share of overall revenue at 6.7%, the scale of that increase points to shifting consumer patterns and perhaps the continued buoyancy of Monaco’s art market and lifestyle retail offer.

Food and fuel: steady but secondary

Non-specialised retail — predominantly food-led supermarkets and general stores — contributed €206.9 million, up 2.2%, while food, beverages and tobacco added €79.6 million, growing 2.4%. Automotive fuel retail, though modest at €26.4 million, grew 16.4%. Together, these categories provide the everyday commercial infrastructure of a resident population rather than the luxury expenditure that defines Monaco’s retail reputation.

The bigger picture

What the IMSEE data makes clear is that Monaco’s retail economy is effectively a tale of two markets: a high-value luxury and automotive sector that generates the overwhelming majority of revenue, and a supporting layer of everyday retail that serves the needs of residents and workers. The former is thriving. In a year when Monaco’s overall economy declined, it was the boutiques, jewellers and car showrooms that kept the sector growing.

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Photo of the Scuderia Monte-Carlo Ferrari dealership by Cassandra Tanti

Monaco Grand Prix 2026: the after-parties, concerts and music events taking over race weekend

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/05/2026

The Monaco Grand Prix will take place from 4th to 7th June, marking the Principality’s first June edition under Formula 1’s revised calendar. But as ever in Monaco, the race is only part of the spectacle. Once the engines quieten, the city transforms into one of the most concentrated nightlife scenes in the world, with beachfront stages, superyacht parties, headline DJs, luxury club nights and live music running deep into the weekend.

One of the biggest race-weekend events confirmed for 2026 is Sunset Monaco, which returns to the private beach of Le Méridien Beach Plaza from 5th to 7th June. The event is an energetic three-day beach experience running from noon to midnight, combining music, Mediterranean glamour and a festival-style atmosphere on the seafront.

There’s always a great lineup of artists at Sunset, and this year there are many returning hits – Prospa, Honey Dijon, Pawsa, Parallelle, as well as as Disco Bambino, Kenny Dope, Shugi and Jayda G among the DJ line-up. 

Le Méridien will also host Casa Sunset, a festive restaurant and bar located near the main stage, open during race weekend with its own atmosphere and music programme.

Jimmy’z during Monaco Grand Prix is an event in itself. Photo source: MCSBM

Jimmy’z Monte-Carlo lines up for Grand Prix weekend

Jimmy’z Monte-Carlo, one of Monaco’s most iconic nightlife venues, will run Grand Prix programming from Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th June, with a full four-night schedule tied to race weekend.

The club’s Grand Prix edition builds across the weekend, starting Thursday with opening parties, before moving into headline DJ nights. Hugel is set to play on Friday 5th June, Fisher takes over on Saturday 6th June, and Black Coffee closes out the weekend on Sunday 7th June.

Doors typically open late evening, with peak sets running into the early hours. As usual for race weekend, table reservations and entry packages are expected to be in high demand, with a mix of advance bookings and limited door access depending on capacity.

Lilly’s Club

Twiga, Lilly’s and Shellona add to the headline music scene

Twiga Monte Carlo will run a full Grand Prix programme combining dining, live performances and late-night club sets. Evenings typically begin with restaurant service before transitioning into a nightclub format, with headline names including 50 Cent, Anyma, Argy, Jamie Jones and Bob Sinclar across the weekend. Expect a high-energy, mixed music format and a dress-to-impress crowd, with table bookings strongly recommended.

Lilly’s Club Monte-Carlo focuses on a pure club experience, with a four-night line-up running from Thursday to Sunday. Rampa opens on 4th June, followed by Pawsa on the 5th. The weekend peaks on Saturday with Lil Baby and Central Cee, before closing on Sunday with John Summit and Travis Scott. Doors open late, and the venue operates primarily on guest lists and table reservations during Grand Prix weekend.

Shellona offers a beachside alternative at Turbo Monaco – Grimaldi Forum Monaco, blending daytime lounging with sunset DJ sets and evening parties from the 5th to the 7th. The line-up leans electronic, featuring &ME, Adriatique, ANOTR and WhoMadeWho. Service runs from lunch through late evening, making it one of the few venues that bridges day-to-night without a full club transition.

New Moods offers a live music alternative

For those looking beyond the club scene, Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) has confirmed three Grand Prix evenings at New Moods from 5th to 7th June, with Coldshivers performing a Coldplay tribute show. The programme includes dinner and live music packages, with performances running later on Friday and Saturday and an earlier Sunday schedule.

Four Kicks performing for a yacht party organised by Hunter Moss during the Monaco Grand Prix. Photo courtesy of Lion Stone Events

Yacht parties remain Monaco’s most exclusive after-hours scene

No Grand Prix weekend in Monaco is complete without the yacht parties in Port Hercule, widely seen as the centre of the action once the racing ends. While terraces around the circuit, from Casino Square to the harbourfront, offer prime viewing and lively daytime atmospheres, it’s the port itself where the energy builds into the night.

Throughout the weekend, superyachts line the track, hosting trackside hospitality during the day before transforming into private party spaces after sunset. Many of these events are invitation-only or tied to high-end hospitality packages, often including open bars, DJ sets and late-night entertainment on deck.

Access is typically controlled through guest lists or premium bookings, with security at marina entry points. Even from the quayside, the atmosphere is unmistakable, with music carrying across the water and a steady flow of guests moving between yachts and nearby venues.

A city-wide soundtrack to Grand Prix weekend

From Sunset’s beachfront stage at Le Méridien to Jimmy’z late-night sessions, Twiga’s international names and Lilly’s club line-up, to Shellona’s electronic beach atmosphere and live music at New Moods, the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix is once again as much about the music and social weekend as the sporting event.

With race action taking place from 4th to 7th June and Monaco hosting the first European round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, the Principality is preparing for four days in which every terrace, yacht, club and beach venue becomes part of the spectacle.

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Art Monte-Carlo marks a decade with new ambitions and a fresh curatorial vision

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/05/2026

Ten years after its founding, Art Monte-Carlo returned to the Grimaldi Forum from 29th April to 1st May with its most expansive edition yet — 26 international galleries, a brand-new curatorial section, and a spring calendar designed to signal the fair’s arrival as a fixture on the European art market circuit.

Under the High Patronage of Prince Albert II, the anniversary edition also marked a structural shift: Art Monte-Carlo’s integration into Informa Prestige, the luxury division of Informa — the world’s largest exhibitions organiser — placing it alongside the Monaco Yacht Show, Top Marques Monaco and BOAT International Media.

“With the support of Informa Prestige and with Stefano’s artistic guidance, Art Monte-Carlo is proud to mark this 10th anniversary edition by announcing a new chapter,” said Charlotte Diwan, Director of Art Monte-Carlo.

Salon Monte-Carlo: a fair within a fair

The most significant development of the 2026 edition was the launch of Salon Monte-Carlo, a new curatorial section conceived by architect and curator Stefano Rabolli Pansera — a figure who curated the Angola Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, where it won the Golden Lion, and who since 2022 has directed the Bangkok Kunsthalle and Khao Yai Art Forest. Housed in a space adjoining the Grimaldi Forum, Salon Monte-Carlo brought together contemporary art galleries, design studios and interior architecture workshops in an approach that transcends the conventional fair format, creating an immersive environment where visual creations, objects and fittings interact in a coherent aesthetic whole.

The section, titled Earthly Delights, took its departure point from Luis Buñuel’s writings on the bar as a space of solitude and contemplation — understanding pleasure not as spectacle but as a patient, attentive practice. Works on show included pieces by Francis Alÿs, Marcel Dzama, Martin Kippenberger, Ed Ruscha and Leonora Carrington, among many others. Among the highlights noted by critics were two canvases by Martin Kippenberger, a small Ed Ruscha work titled Real Estate Opportunities — chosen as a wry nod to Monaco’s notoriously inflated property market — and several sculptures by Hans Josephsohn, including a 1969 piece.

Returning names and new arrivals

Faithful returnees to the fair’s main section included Almine Rech, Galleria Continua, Cortesi, Semiose, Van de Weghe, Voena and Wilde. Joining for the first time were Cecilia Hillström Gallery from Stockholm, Lee & Bae from Busan, Fabienne Levy from Lausanne, and Secci from Milan, alongside two Monaco-based galleries: Hartford Fine Art – Lampronti Gallery and M.F. Toninelli Art Moderne.

Despite the absence of some heavier-hitting contemporary names, the fair maintained a high standard, with a more pronounced emphasis on modern art and 20th-century contemporary work — a format that, in its deliberate boutique scale, allows visitors to spend more time with individual stands.

Conversations, Piaget and the art week beyond

A programme of talks ran across the three public days, featuring photographer Juergen Teller in conversation with Thierry Consigny, designer Ron Arad with Opera Gallery’s Federica Beretta, and collector Batia Ofer with auctioneer Simon de Pury. A panel titled Rendez-vous d’Été gathered representatives from the NMNM, the Fondation Maeght, the Villa Arson and the national Chagall and Picasso museums to preview the season’s upcoming Riviera exhibitions.

Maison Piaget returned as the fair’s horological and jewellery partner, presenting a survey of past and present creations that underlined the house’s longstanding dialogue with artists from Salvador Dalí to Andy Warhol.

The fair formed part of the eighth Monaco Art Week, which ran from 27th April to 1st May under the same patronage, with 14 galleries, auction houses and arts organisations — among them Artcurial, Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Almine Rech — staging parallel exhibitions and events across the Principality’s neighbourhoods.

See also:

Monaco Art Week 2026: from rare masterpieces to bold contemporary visions

 

Monaco International Dog Show returns to Fontvieille this weekend

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/05/2026

One of Europe’s most storied canine competitions returns to the Principality this weekend, as the Monaco International Dog Show takes over the Espace Fontvieille ‘Le Chapiteau’ on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th May.

This year’s edition brings together 1,358 dogs representing 258 breeds from 27 countries, judged by a panel of nine international judges drawn from Cyprus, France, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Spain and South Africa. The four breeds of honour for 2026 are the Bichon Frise, Chinese Crested Dog, Havanese and Poodle — all members of FCI Group 9 — which will receive special recognition across the two days.

Competitions for all ages

The show features dedicated judging categories for dogs at every stage of life: Minor-Puppy (3 to 6 months), Puppy (6 to 9 months), Jeunes (9 to 18 months) and Veterans (7 years and over). A Junior Handler competition for young human participants is also on the programme, divided between two age groups — 5 to 9 years and 10 to 17 years — offering the next generation of handlers a competitive platform on an international stage.

A century of royal patronage

The Monaco Kennel Club, which organises the show, has deep roots in the Principality’s royal history. Founded in 1927 by Princess Charlotte, who chaired the show until 1950, it passed to her daughter Princess Antoinette, and then to Baroness Elizabeth-Ann de Massy, who held the post from 2011 until her death in 2020. The current president, Mélanie-Antoinette de Massy — granddaughter of Princess Antoinette — has led the club since 2020, having served as vice-president since 2011.

Practical information

Catering on site is provided by Monte-Carlo Catering, with a snack bar by Amore Mio. Admission is €10, with free entry for children under 12. Full details are available at monacokennelclub.com.

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Photo credit: Manuel Vitali, Government Communications Department

Prince Albert II joins European leaders in Yerevan for eighth EPC Summit

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/05/2026

Prince Albert II travelled to Yerevan on Monday to attend the eighth Summit of the European Political Community, joining more than 40 heads of state and government from across the continent for a high-level gathering centred on stability, security and European cooperation.

The summit was co-chaired by António Costa, President of the European Council, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and held under the motto ‘Building the Future: Unity and Stability in Europe’.

It marked the largest international political event Armenia has hosted since its independence. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended as a guest — the first time a non-European country has participated in a European Political Community summit.

The European Political Community in Yerevan 2026, photo credit: Michael Alesi, Prince’s Palace

Ecological transition and economic security

Prince Albert II took part in a roundtable titled ‘Strengthening connectivity and economic security in the context of the ecological transition’, in which he argued that ecological transition, economic security and development are inseparable goals that must not be set against one another. According to a Palace statement, the Prince stressed the need to reinforce European strategic autonomy while avoiding new dependencies, particularly in the energy sector, and called for sustainable growth models grounded in innovation, the circular economy and responsible resource management.

Prince Albert II was joined by his newly appointed Chief of Staff Oliviera Wenden (left) at the European Political Community. Photo credit: Michael Alesi, Prince’s Palace

Fighting drug trafficking across Europe

The Prince also participated in a session dedicated to the European Coalition Against Drugs (ECAD), an initiative launched at the Copenhagen summit in October 2025 to strengthen cooperation between European states and institutions in combating narcotrafficking, illicit financial flows, and the development of prevention and harm-reduction policies.

Bilateral meetings on the sidelines

On the margins of the summit, Prince Albert held bilateral meetings with Romanian President Nicușor Dan and Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, with discussions including the upcoming Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union, which begins on 1 July 2026. President Dan also presented the candidacy of former Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș for the post of Secretary General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. The Prince additionally met with Xavier Espot Zamorra, head of government of Andorra, reflecting the two small European states’ shared commitment to closer bilateral cooperation.

Prince Albert II shaking hands with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photo credit: Michael Alesi, Prince’s Palace

The previous evening, Prince Albert attended a state dinner hosted by Prime Minister Pashinyan and Armenian President Vahagn Khatchatourian in honour of the summit’s participants.

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Main photo credit: Michael Alesi, Prince’s Palace