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Month: June 2026

Monaco United finish runners-up at Marscup in Marseille

by: Kayla Sauceda
19/06/2026

Monaco United closed out their monumental first season this past weekend at the Marscup, a friendly tournament held in Marseille. The event featured matches of two 20-minute halves, giving teams opportunities to compete against new opponents in a friendly yet competitive environment.

For Monaco United, this tournament also provided an opportunity for different players to get playing time. Monaco opened the competition with a 2-0 victory over SMUC before defeating SC Toulon 5-0, securing their place in the semi-finals.

This matchup saw Monaco face off against the second team of Olympique de Marseille, with Monaco earning a 2-1 victory to qualify for the final against FC Rousset.

Monaco arrived at the tournament already missing several players, while others suffered injuries in the earlier matches. As a result, Monaco United fell 3-0 to FC Rousset in the final.

Despite this defeat, Monaco United finished as runners-up in a tournament featuring strong opposition, reaching the final after winning three consecutive matches. This result marked another positive achievement for the club and provided valuable experience as the team closed out their dominant season.

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Photo credit: Monaco United Women’s Football Club  

Monaco launches hands-on AI workshops for businesses with new Digital LabImpact programme

by: Cassandra Tanti
19/06/2026

The Princely Government has launched a new format of practical digital workshops for Monaco businesses, building on the success of its existing Digital FlashUP awareness sessions.

The Digital LabImpact workshops are run by the Délégation Interministérielle chargée de la Transition Numérique (DITN) through the Extended Monaco Entreprises programme and are designed to take participants beyond introductory awareness into practical application — helping businesses identify, test and integrate generative AI and other digital tools into their day-to-day operations.

Where the Digital FlashUP sessions offer 45-minute accessible overviews of major digital issues for managers and employees, the new LabImpact format takes a small-group workshop approach, giving participants space to work through the implications of those topics for their own professional activity. Each session combines interactive exchanges with local experts, hands-on exploration of generative AI, and collective reflection on digital practices within businesses.

The first workshops launched in late April and have already attracted nearly 100 participants from across different sectors of the Principality’s economy, with more than 40 having already attended a session. Five workshops have been completed to date, with ten more scheduled before the end of the year.

The programme will run alongside the Digital FlashUP calendar throughout 2025, with the two formats designed to complement each other — awareness sessions feeding into deeper practical work.

Further information on upcoming sessions is available through the Extended Monaco Entreprises programme.

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Photo credit: Stephane Danna, Government Communications Department 

 

Monaco bounces back in Game 2 to even Betclic Elite Finals against Paris

by: Kayla Sauceda
19/06/2026

After a difficult collapse to end Game 1 of the Betclic Elite Finals, Monaco faced off against Paris on 17 June at the Adidas Arena seeking revenge. Building an early lead and maintaining it throughout allowed the Roca Team to secure a 102-90 victory, leveling the series at 1-1 before returning to Monaco for Games 3 and 4.

It was evident that Monaco arrived with intentions to win as they opened the game with early baskets, holding Paris scoreless until nearly three minutes into the game. Despite Monaco’s early lead, a lack of defensive rebounds allowed Paris to generate frequent second-chance opportunities, reducing the lead Monaco so efficiently had built.

Paris and Monaco appeared to trade momentum throughout the first half, with the start of the second quarter seeing a quiet Monaco side for the first two minutes of the quarter, mirroring Paris’ slow start in the game’s opening. By the midway point of the second quarter, it appeared both teams had settled into a rhythm and rediscovered their shots after suffering earlier mistakes and turnovers.

Monaco extended their lead to 20 points with only a couple minutes remaining in the half thanks to their efficiency beyond the arc. The final minute of the half, however, proved costly, as Paris was able to quickly cut the deficit from 20 points to 12 heading into halftime.

Going into the second half, one thing was clear: the Roca Team could not repeat the mistakes made in Game 1 of the series.  Although they came out with a strong start, restoring their 20-point advantage, Paris was persistent and capitalized on moments to reduce the gap.

With only a 12-point lead going into the final quarter, Monaco was not in the clear yet, especially having given up a 9-point lead in the final quarter just days before. Both sides came out very aggressive, clearly recognizing the importance of those final minutes. Although Monaco’s rebounding struggles seemed to resurface, allowing Paris to go on runs, the Roca Team answered every meaningful push from the home team.

Monaco managed to maintain their 12-point lead through the end of the game to secure a 102-90 victory. Alpha Diallo and Matthew Strazel each contributed 22 points, while Elie Okobo added 17 for the Roca Team.

With the series now tied at one game each, Monaco will return home to Salle Gaston Médecin looking to take control of the series and put themselves in position to win the championship on home court.

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Photo credit: AS Monaco Basket

UPaint to return for 10th edition this June

by: Virginia D’Umas
18/06/2026

The Promenade du Larvotto is best known for its sun-drenched pebbles and glittering Mediterranean views, but for five days this June, it will become the epicentre of the international urban art world. From 21st to 25th June, the UPaint Monaco festival returns for its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of a uniquely Monegasque cultural phenomenon: high-end street art created live under the open sky, entirely for the benefit of the planet.

When founder Alberto Colman launched the initiative in 2017, the concept of bringing raw, spray-painted street culture to the pristine shores of the Principality raised a few traditional eyebrows. Yet, over the last nine editions, the festival has established itself as a cornerstone of Monaco’s summer season. It has successfully bridged the gap between subcultural grit and high-net-worth philanthropy, hosting nearly one hundred international artists, producing over two hundred original pieces, and raising more than 300,000 euros for environmental causes.

Demystifying the creative process

The secret to UPaint’s longevity lies in its immersive nature. Unlike static gallery exhibitions, the festival strips away the barrier between the creator and the public. Passers-by walking the promenade are invited into the creative process, watching complex murals evolve from blank canvases into striking visual statements over several days. The 2026 edition promises an even deeper level of community engagement, transforming the central UPaint Village into a social hub where live DJ sets, interactive installations, and casual artist meet-and-greets blend seamlessly into the coastal landscape.

A definitive reunion of urban pioneers

To celebrate this historic milestone, Colman has curated a retrospective lineup that reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the festival’s history, bringing back seventeen of its most iconic past contributors. Among those returning to the Larvotto waterfront are Chanoir and PEZ, whose vibrant characters and intricate, illustrative styles have long captivated local crowds.

They will share the space with Italian artist Andrea Ravo Mattoni, famed for using modern spray cans to recreate classical masterpieces, effectively turning contemporary graffiti into a dialogue with art history. Monaco’s own street art pioneer, Mr. One Teas, will also return to his home turf, alongside an elite international contingent including RYLSEE, Cacao Rocks, Harry James, Theo Lopez, and Tim Marsh, ensuring the anniversary showcase spans a dizzying array of geometric, abstract, and nature-inspired disciplines.

Art under the hammer for global conservation

The artistic marathon culminates in a high-stakes finale on the evening of Thursday 25th June. In partnership with the Hôtel des Ventes Monte-Carlo, the live-created works will go under the hammer at 6pm, inviting both local collectors in the village and digital bidders from around the globe to compete for a piece of Monaco’s urban art history.

Crucially, the financial success of the auction serves a much larger purpose. As has been the tradition since its inception, the proceeds are channelled directly into the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, funding tangible global initiatives dedicated to ocean conservation, forest protection, and the preservation of biodiversity.

Launching concurrently with the Fête de la Musique on 21st June, this anniversary edition represents something far greater than a milestone birthday for a local festival. It stands as a testament to ten years of artistic innovation, proof that open-air creativity can foster deep community connection, and a reminder that art, at its best, has the power to protect the world it depicts.

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Photo: Prince Albert II with Mr One Teas at UPaint Monaco 2024, credit: Manuel Vitali, Government Communications Department 

 

Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo wins Condé Nast Traveler Triple Crown

by: Cassandra Tanti
18/06/2026

The Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo has been named a laureate of the new Condé Nast Traveler Triple Crown — becoming the first and only Monaco hotel to receive the distinction in the award’s inaugural edition.

Launched in June 2026, the Triple Crown recognises hotels that have earned all three of the magazine’s principal accolades over the past three decades: the Hot List, which rewards the best new hotels; the Gold List, chosen by the magazine’s editors; and the Readers’ Choice Awards, selected by readers. The combination of editorial and reader recognition across thirty years makes it one of the most demanding distinctions in the hotel industry.

“Being recognised by the Triple Crown of Condé Nast Traveler in its very first year is an extraordinary honour for our entire team,” said Klaus Kabelitz, the hotel’s new General Manager. “This distinction reflects our constant commitment to excellence and the deep trust our guests place in us.”

The award comes shortly after the completion of a major renovation, with all rooms and suites redesigned by Jacques Garcia, completed at the end of 2025. The hotel also recently inaugurated a new Spa by Guerlain, adding to an offering that includes the two-Michelin-starred Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac, the Japanese restaurant Yoshi, and the poolside Odyssey in a Karl Lagerfeld-designed setting.

The Métropole Hotel has been a fixture of the Carré d’Or since 1886.

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Photo source: Hotel Metropole 

 

Palace opens exhibition marking 70 years since ‘wedding of the century

by: Cassandra Tanti
18/06/2026

The Prince’s Palace of Monaco has opened a major exhibition dedicated to the 1956 marriage of Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly, marking the 70th anniversary of a week of celebrations that drew an audience of 30 million television viewers and reshaped Monaco’s place in the world.

Titled ‘The Wedding of the Century’, the exhibition runs in the State Apartments of the Prince’s Palace from 18 June to 25 September 2026. It brings together photographs, film footage, jewellery, gowns, wedding gifts, and previously unseen archival material to reconstruct the eight days of festivities that began with Grace Kelly’s arrival aboard the SS Constitution on 12 April 1956 and concluded with the princely couple’s departure for their honeymoon on 19 April.

Eight days, ten rooms

The exhibition is arranged across the Palace’s historic rooms, each dedicated to a different aspect of the celebrations. Visitors move through spaces covering Grace Kelly’s arrival in Monaco, the principal figures and supporting cast of the wedding party, the civil ceremony in the Throne Room, the religious wedding at Monaco Cathedral, and the popular festivities staged for the Monegasque public across three evenings.

The Chambre de Bellérophon introduces the key protagonists — among them Grace Kelly’s father John B. Kelly, a three-time Olympic rowing gold medallist, and Prince Rainier III’s mother Princess Charlotte, who had renounced her place in the order of succession in favour of her son in 1944.

The wedding’s musical dimension is also explored: Nadia Boulanger, Master of the Chapel at the Palace since 1947, directed the musical programme for the religious ceremony, drawing exclusively from the early music repertoire. Léo Ferré, who had grown up in Monaco and sung in the cathedral choir as a child, wrote to the Prince in January 1956 offering to compose a mass — a gesture the Sovereign accepted, before ultimately deferring to Boulanger’s programme.

Gowns and jewels

The exhibition gives considerable attention to the question of dress. Helen Rose, head costume designer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — the studio to which Grace Kelly was contracted — designed both the wedding gown worn for the religious ceremony and the champagne-coloured silk taffeta suit worn at the civil wedding on 18 April. Edith Head, who had dressed Grace Kelly across four Paramount productions, had hoped to design the wedding dress and produced several sketches, but the commission went elsewhere. She was ultimately responsible for the suit Grace Kelly wore when the couple departed for their honeymoon.

For the gala evening at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 18 April, Grace Kelly wore a gown by the House of Lanvin, designed by Antonio Castillo and embroidered with more than 600,000 mother-of-pearl sequins and beads — a process requiring some 600 hours of hand embroidery.

The exhibition also traces the jewellery gifted to the new Princess. Monaco’s National Council and Council of the Commune jointly selected a diamond rivière necklace of more than 64 carats by Cartier and a diamond bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels, presented on behalf of the Monegasque people. The Société des Bains de Mer gave a Cartier parure of ruby clip brooches that could be worn on a diamond necklace or mounted as a tiara.

Gifts, media, and myth

The Antichambre Royale and Chambre Royale sections display a selection of the couple’s wedding gifts, which ranged from a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud from the Monegasque people, to a sea scooter from Commander Jacques-Yves Cousteau — then director of the Oceanographic Museum — and two beavers named Pierre and Pierrette from Granby Zoo in Quebec.

A dedicated section in the Bibliothèque examines the extraordinary media operation that surrounded the event. Some 1,800 journalists and photographers travelled to Monaco for the ceremonies, and a press centre was established on the Rock to accommodate them. The colour documentary ‘Le Mariage de Monaco’, filmed in part by a young Jacques Demy as technical adviser to director Jean Masson, was released in French cinemas on 2 May 1956.

The current exhibition was curated by Thomas Fouilleron and Vincent Vatrican, with scenography by Marine Hayek and Antoine Loudot of Bureau Walter.

‘The Wedding of the Century’ is open daily in the State Apartments of the Prince’s Palace. Opening hours are 10am to 6pm in June and September, and 10am to 7pm in July and August. Tickets and further information are available at visitepalaisdemonaco.com.

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All photos credit: Cassandra Tanti, Monaco Life