The 77th Monaco Red Cross Gala will forgo the guest-star concert that has closed its recent editions when it returns to the Sporting Monte-Carlo on 18th July, in the presence of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, President and Vice-President of the Monaco Red Cross. In place of the headline act, the Salle des Étoiles will host the preview of a production staged in-house by Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, part of a reworked running order for the association’s principal annual fundraiser.
The edition will also draw two senior figures from the wider movement, with Kate Forbes, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Dr Caroline Cross, President of the French Red Cross, both expected to attend, a sign of Monaco’s standing in the international Red Cross network.
A show in place of a headline act
Where the 2025 gala ended with a concert by Billy Idol, this year the Sporting stage will preview ‘SOUL!’, a production first run by Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer in 2025 and returning with new material. The performance traces the development of Afro-American music, moving from the rock’n’roll of Chuck Berry and Little Richard through funk to the R’n’B of Alicia Keys and Beyoncé. Guests will arrive to a 360-degree set-up in the lobby, new to this edition, and the evening will carry on at Jimmy’z Monte-Carlo, reworked as a speakeasy with a jazz band.
The dinner and raffle
The dinner has been created by double Michelin-starred chef Marcel Ravin and prepared by Thierry Saez Manzanares, chef of the Sporting Monte-Carlo, with the resort’s kitchen and wine teams; dessert falls to pastry chef Cédric Grolet. Model and actress Estelle Lefébure and presenter Marc Toesca will host a raffle of four prizes, preceded by the customary fireworks fired from the sea. Tickets are priced at €1,900 a head, covering dinner and a half-bottle of Grand Cru champagne.
An artwork for the Red Cross
As at previous galas, an artwork will be handed to the Monaco Red Cross during the evening. This year it is ‘Eloge de l’Espoir’, a hand-modelled ceramic wall sculpture by the Belgian artist Johan Creten, built around the emblem of the red cross. Creten, born in 1963, is among the sculptors credited with reviving ceramics in contemporary art, and the piece belongs to his ‘Odore di Femmina’ series, which has been shown at the Louvre and the Centre Pompidou. The painted and glazed cross is intended to echo the improvised emblems used in war zones and disaster areas, where urgency takes precedence over formal perfection.
The Monaco Red Cross
Founded on 3rd March 1948 by Prince Louis II and recognised the same year by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Monaco Red Cross is one of the 191 national societies of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It was chaired by Prince Rainier III from 1949 to 1958 and by Princess Grace until 1982, and has been led by Prince Albert II since December 1982. Its work runs from assisting vulnerable people and saving lives to disaster preparedness and humanitarian awareness, both in Monaco and abroad.
Some of the world’s most beautiful and valuable Arabian horses will take centre stage in Monaco this week as the Global Champions Arabians Tour makes its debut in the Principality on 9th and 10th July, bringing leading breeders, owners and handlers from across the Middle East, Europe and beyond to Port Hercule.
Launched in 2024, the Global Champions Arabians Tour has rapidly established itself as the premier international championship dedicated exclusively to Purebred Arabian horses. The series visits some of the world’s most prestigious destinations, offering the highest prize money in the sport while promoting excellence in breeding, presentation and competition through a transparent international ranking system.
The Arabian horse is one of the oldest and most influential horse breeds in the world, celebrated for its beauty, intelligence and endurance. For centuries it has been prized throughout the Middle East, where it remains an important symbol of heritage and culture. Today, elite Arabian horses regularly command multi-million-euro valuations, with international competitions attracting many of the sport’s most prominent owners and breeders.
Beyond the arena, visitors in Monaco can explore an event village featuring hospitality lounges, luxury brand activations and exhibitions celebrating the history and legacy of the Arabian horse. The programme has been designed to appeal not only to dedicated equestrian enthusiasts but also to visitors discovering the breed for the first time.
The championship is led by the Global Champions Arabians Tour organisation, headed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Nasser Al Thani, Deputy CEO of the Tour, who has described the series as a platform to elevate Arabian horse sport internationally while preserving the heritage of one of the world’s most celebrated breeds.
The Monaco event forms part of a wider international championship that culminates in an overall season title, with competitors earning points at each stage of the tour. With its spectacular waterfront setting at Port Hercule, the Principality promises one of the most visually striking stops of the 2026 calendar.
The Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix took place on Saturday 4th July, with Brazilian rider Stephan de Freitas Barcha emerging victorious after an intense competition. He became only the second Brazilian rider in history to win in the Principality.
The final stretch of the jump-off required immense focus before Barcha celebrated with a shout and raised fist as victory was confirmed. The emotion continued as he listened to Brazil’s national anthem play against the backdrop of Port Hercule. This victory secured his “Golden Ticket” to the Super Grand Prix in Riyadh later this year.
World number 37 de Freitas Barcha claimed the title following a nine-rider jump-off. Riding Dinozo Imperio Egipcio, a 13-year-old Selle Français stallion by Diamant de Semilly, bred by Danielle Prince, de Freitas Barcha delivered an outstanding performance. Having finished fifth at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with Chevaux Primavera Imperio Egipcio, Brazil’s top-ranked rider recorded the biggest victory of his career.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” he said, visibly emotional. “Winning my first five-star Grand Prix here on this historic Monaco arena is amazing. This victory is for everyone around me. My horse is the ‘special one.’ He always wants to go clear and always gives his best. I feel so lucky to experience this.”
Despite setting the time to beat early, Barcha had to wait until the final jump of the last rider to celebrate his win. French rider Kevin Staut, riding Vida Loca Z, came close to securing a fourth consecutive French victory. However, a slight touch on the final obstacle resulted in a fault that dropped him down the standings.
The podium also featured Italy’s Piergiorgio Bucci in second and Germany’s Christian Ahlmann in third. After eight rounds on the Longines Global Champions Tour, Belgium’s Abdel Saïd retained first place ahead of Austria’s Max Kühner and Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander.
Before the Grand Prix, Belgium’s Pieter Devos, riding his 12-year-old mare Jarina J, won the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer – Casino de Monte-Carlo Trophy. “My mare jumped really well today. When she’s feeling good, she’s extremely competitive and very fast,” said Devos.
The final CSI2* event, the Grand Prix Institut Esthederm, was won by American rider Kaitlin Campbell. She edged out Monaco’s 21-year-old Kristina Klebanova by just three hundredths of a second.
The 2026 edition of the Longines Global Champions Tour once again showcased world-class show jumping in Port Hercule, bringing together many of the sport’s leading riders at one of the season’s most prestigious competitions.
From helping launch Formula E to co-founding Team Monaco, entrepreneur Chris Taylor has spent much of his career backing ideas that challenge convention. Ahead of the Principality’s first home race in the UIM E1 World Championship, he tells Monaco Life’s Cassandra Tanti why Monaco’s newest racing team is about much more than winning on the water.
When Prince Albert II changed his schedule to attend Team Monaco’s debut race in Jeddah earlier this year, Chris Taylor admits he became emotional.
“It actually brought a tear to my eye,” he says. “When the Head of State turns up to support your team, it means something. The other teams have actors, celebrities and famous names behind them. But we represent a nation, and we had the Sovereign Prince of Monaco standing there supporting us. That was incredibly special.”
For Taylor, that moment represented far more than the launch of another racing team. It validated an idea that has occupied him for the past two years: that Monaco deserves a team capable of representing the Principality in one of the world’s newest and most ambitious electric racing championships, while championing innovation, sustainability and entrepreneurship at the same time.
That ambition arrives on home waters on 17th and 18th July, as Team Monaco prepares for its first E1 race in the Principality.
A career built on backing disruptive ideas
Chris Taylor is no stranger to spotting industries before they become mainstream. Although many people know him as one of the entrepreneurs behind the global success of Polly Pocket, the British businessman has spent much of the past decade investing in electric motorsport.
After selling the company behind Polly Pocket in 2007, he says retirement lasted only briefly. “I thought I was finally going to enjoy a quiet life,” he laughs. “But it didn’t quite work out that way.”
Instead, he became involved in Formula E during its formative years, helping shape many of the ideas that distinguished the championship from Formula One. Among them were innovations he says were designed to make electric racing more accessible to spectators, including LED communication systems on the cars which he says he developed and patented.
“I was constantly asking why things had to be done the way Formula One did them,” he says. “If Formula One did something one way, I’d ask whether we could do it better.”
That philosophy naturally led him to E1.
Team Monaco’s racebird
A team two years in the making
Taylor first encountered the championship at its launch in Como, where he met kite foiling world champion Maxime Nocher — a 31-year-old Franco-Monegasque athlete who holds 11 world titles in the discipline and who had been sponsored by the Yacht Club of Monaco for much of his career. Together they saw an opportunity. “We both looked at the project and thought there was something really special about it.”
Nocher’s experience on the water is complemented by his co-pilot Oban Duncan, at 20 the youngest pilot in the championship and the only one who arrived already knowing E1 inside out. “She’s been absolutely fantastic for us,” Taylor says. “She’s helped Max get up to speed with how the championship works. Max has extensive experience with hydrofoils — he used to supply foils to the French Olympic team — but Oban has been invaluable when it comes to race strategy and understanding how E1 weekends unfold.” Taylor smiles at the symmetry of it. “It’s quite an interesting dynamic. We have a very young pilot helping an experienced world champion adapt to the championship.”
Securing the right to race as Team Monaco took almost two years. Approvals had to be obtained, trademarks secured and partnerships established before the team could officially join the championship for its third season. “We simply weren’t ready to join at the very beginning,” Taylor explains. “The other teams already have two seasons of experience behind them, so we’re slightly behind the curve.”
Despite arriving as newcomers, Team Monaco has already shown it can compete with the championship’s established teams, coming within sight of a podium finish in Dubrovnik before an electrical failure forced retirement while running near the front of the field.
Team Monaco pilots Oban Duncan and Max Nocher
Racing for Monaco
For Taylor, representing Monaco carries a significance that extends well beyond motorsport. “I think Monaco brings a real cachet to the championship,” he says. “The series already has world-famous celebrities involved — Will Smith, Tom Brady, LeBron James, Rafa Nadal — but I felt Monaco added something even more special because we’re representing a nation – 38,000 people – not just a celebrity brand.”
Having become a resident of Monaco in 2020, Taylor says he increasingly sees the team as a platform for promoting the Principality internationally. “I wanted to give something back to the community where I now live.”
E1 racing weekend in Dubrovnik
Sustainability beyond the race
Like Formula E before it, E1 is built around clean technology. But Taylor believes the championship has an opportunity to make a tangible contribution to marine conservation. One of Team Monaco’s partners is developing technology capable of analysing water quality during race weekends. “We’ll actually analyse the cooling water from the RaceBird batteries to measure how many microplastics are present at each venue,” Taylor explains. “That gives us immediate environmental data that we can use as part of our wider sustainability programme and help raise awareness of the issues affecting our oceans.”
The initiative aligns closely with the environmental mission of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which Taylor describes as a major inspiration for the team.
Building Monaco’s next generation
Team Monaco’s engineering team first came together while competing in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, where they won as university students. “It’s a wonderful full-circle story,” Taylor says. “They’re incredibly proud to represent Monaco, and they’ll be returning to the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge as mentors for the next generation.” The team also plans to work with schools across the Principality, introducing children to electric marine technology through radio-controlled RaceBird models and engineering workshops. “We want to inspire the next generation — not only to become drivers, but engineers, technicians and innovators.”
Team Monaco
The future of electric racing
Taylor readily admits that E1 remains in its infancy. “It would be unrealistic to pretend we’re already Formula One,” he says. “But the potential is enormous.” He also points to a forthcoming documentary series, ‘Champions of Water’, produced by Box to Box Films — the creators of ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive’ — as something that could dramatically increase the championship’s global reach. “If it has anything like the impact ‘Drive to Survive’ had on Formula One,” he says, “it could make an enormous difference.”
One ambition
As Team Monaco prepares for its first home race, Taylor isn’t making extravagant predictions. “When we first started this project, Max told me we were going to win the championship in our first season,” he laughs. “I told him I’d be delighted if we could achieve a podium.” After coming agonisingly close in Dubrovnik, standing on the podium in Monaco would carry a different significance entirely. “If we could get a podium in Monaco,” he says, “that would be beyond special.”
For the first time, Monaco will have a team of its own to support in the UIM E1 World Championship, and Taylor hopes residents will turn out in force. Spectators can watch the racing free of charge from several points around the circuit, including the Jetée Lucciana, Mareterra and along sections of the harbour. “Bring a Monaco flag,” he says with a smile. “We want everyone waving flags and cheering the team on. We want to out-support all the other teams. That’s part of what makes representing Monaco so special.”
The Yacht Club de Monaco will host the 13th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge from 8 to 11 July, bringing together 54 teams from 21 countries to showcase technologies that could shape the future of yachting.
Supported by the Prince Albert II Foundation, the competition combines engineering, innovation, sustainability, and on-water performance as students test prototypes powered by electric, hydrogen, or methanol propulsion systems, alongside hydrofoils, onboard artificial intelligence, energy management systems, and bio-sourced materials.
The event, held under the Monaco, Capital of Advanced Yachting initiative, challenges young engineers to “imagine and design innovative solutions, then test them at sea alongside industry professionals,” according to Yacht Club de Monaco Director and General Secretary Bernard d’Alessandri. “This hands-on experience is what makes it so effective as an open-air innovation laboratory dedicated to the yachting sector’s energy transition.”
Open to the public from 9 to 11 July, the event offers free admission from 10am to 6pm daily, giving visitors the opportunity to explore the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge Village. Alongside live racing, guests can participate in a Winch Challenge, try a boating simulator, and see these new technologies up close. Visitors will also be able to move freely through the paddock, watch prototypes being prepared to race, and speak directly with young designers.
Throughout the competition, teams will face a series of real-world tests in Monaco’s waters. Speed, endurance, and manoeuvrability will all be put to the test as the teams compete for the championship.
This year, teams from EPFL, Politecnico di Torino, the University of Genoa, Exocet Polytechnique Montreal, Hainan University, École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers, and Cambridge University will be present, along with a US delegation made up of Columbia University (New York), George Washington University, Howard University (Washington DC), and Florida International University.
Through its Corporate Mentoring Programme, this challenge pairs 20 professionals with 22 teams to support their project development. “The Monaco Energy Boat Challenge is a fantastic opportunity to build alliances between the new generation of engineers and our industry. We are convinced that combining our efforts to evolve performance, responsibility, and design, we can build a better future for yachting,” said Paris Baloumis, Director of Strategic Alliances at Oceanco.
This event also provides a platform for discussions about the future of the yachting industry. The Advanced Yachting Technology Conference on 9 July will focus on innovation and emerging technologies, while the Alternative Fuels & Sustainable Yachting Conference on 10 July will explore decarbonization pathways, including nuclear propulsion, wind power, methanol, next-generation batteries, and electric power.
This challenge has also become an important tool for accelerating innovation. Italian startup CompetR is one example. Born from a collaboration with the UniBoat team, the company presented its electric outboard motor in 2024 before being spotted by MonacoTech. It now supplies several teams with its counter-rotating propeller propulsion system, designed to improve energy efficiency while reducing weight and consumption.
Since its launch in 2014, the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge has involved over 6,500 students and roughly 50 universities, with several technologies showcased at the event now being used across the industry.
As the future of yachting moves towards cleaner propulsion and sustainability, the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge offers visitors the opportunity to see tomorrow’s boating technologies being tested today.
Monaco’s annual summer street festival, ‘L’Été au Port Hercule’, is expanding this year with a second site on the Promenade du Larvotto, opening for the first time on the east side of the Principality. The Larvotto site opened on Friday 3rd July and runs until 16th August, while the original Port Hercule site on the Quai Albert 1er opens progressively from 10th July.
The new Larvotto site offers trampolines, a duck fishing game, an iris photography stand, a braiding and temporary tattoo stand, a hot-dog food truck and a shaded green relaxation area by the sea. All stands and games are open from 4pm to 10.30pm, with food stalls open from 11.30am to 10.30pm.
Port Hercule opens in stages
The Port Hercule site will open in two phases to accommodate the major events taking place on the Quai Albert 1er this summer. The first section, on the Ubaldi side, opens from 10 July, with the full site extending to the Stade Nautique Rainier III from 24 July. Fairground rides, sports activities and food outlets will be available until 9 August.
Both sites are free to access. Full information is available at mairie.mc.
