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Month: July 2026

‘Monaco and the Automobile’ exhibition attracts over 30,000 visitors so far

by: Virginia D’Umas
28/07/2026

The Grimaldi Forum is currently filled with polished chrome and vintage leather. More than 30,000 visitors have already explored the galleries, turning the seasonal display into one of the Principality’s most popular attractions.

Running until 6th September 2026, ‘Monaco and the Automobile’ looks beyond modern Formula 1 races. Instead, the exhibition explores the century-long relationship between Monaco and the motor car, starting all the way back in 1893.

Rather than just a row of vintage vehicles, the rooms tell a story. Visitors can see rare cars that show how design has changed over the decades, along with local stories and photos that bring the history to life. It appeals to both serious car fans and anyone curious about how the automobile shaped Monaco.

Charles Leclerc’s winning Ferrari on display. Photo credit: Cassandra Tanti

Beyond the main exhibition

The experience continues outside the main gallery. On the esplanade, guests can try out a driving simulator, browse the exhibition shop, or grab a drink at the Pantone bar.

Guided tours and extras 

For those looking to explore the history in greater depth, the venue offers public guided tours twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays, alongside private group bookings in French and English. High-end visitors can also arrange exclusive ‘Just for You’ evening tours after the exhibition closes, complete with optional cocktails, while standard audioguides are available at the ticket desk.

The exhibition runs daily from 10am to 8pm, with late-night opening until 10pm on Thursdays. 

Tickets and tour bookings are available through the Grimaldi Forum website or by phone. 

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Main photo credit: Cassandra Tanti

Prince Albert II voices solidarity with wildfire-hit communities, urges climate action

by: Virginia D’Umas
28/07/2026

As Western Europe battles its worst heatwave season on record, resulting in massive wildfires across France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene have issued an official communiqué offering their profound support to all those affected.

As of Tuesday 28th July, the situation remains extremely volatile. More than 330,000 people have been forced to flee their homes across France and Spain. In southwestern France, the massive Gironde wildfire has destroyed over 42,000 hectares, prompting authorities to issue fresh evacuation orders for campsites and tourist areas around Lacanau as a new wave of heat pushes temperatures toward 40°C. Meanwhile, severe blazes in Spain’s Madrid and Ávila regions have displaced tens of thousands.

The Princely Palace shares a message of compassion

Deeply moved by the vast human toll and environmental devastation unfolding across borders, Prince Albert II addressed the international community directly:

“As violent fires affect numerous regions of the world, notably in France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, Princess Charlene joins me in extending our most sincere support to all those suffering the consequences,” the Prince said in his official statement, adding: “Our thoughts are with the affected families, those forced to leave their homes, and all communities mobilised in the face of this ordeal.”

Honouring frontline heroism

With thousands of firefighters and emergency personnel working day and night under extreme conditions – battling erratic winds and walls of flame – Prince Albert II paid a special tribute to their relentless bravery, saying: “We salute the remarkable courage of the firefighters, rescue teams, and all those who work tirelessly to protect populations and preserve threatened territories.”

A call for urgent environmental action

The Prince said that beyond putting out the fires, the severe damage is connected to climate change and asked countries to team up to protect nature: “These fires also affect precious natural environments and a fragile biodiversity. They result in part from the major disruptions affecting our climate, and more than ever call for courageous responses. Protecting our environment is an urgency that must unite us all. In these difficult moments, our solidarity accompanies each and every person affected.”

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Main photo: the wildfires as seen from Brue-Auriac, credit: Thomas Delacoste

New European Union laws order businesses to label AI content

by: Virginia D’Umas
28/07/2026

From Sunday 2nd August, businesses operating within the European Union must clearly label artificial intelligence-generated content, including deepfakes, chatbots, and synthetic imagery, under new visibility standards. 

The mandate forms part of the EU’s phased artificial intelligence legislation, designed to help consumers instantly distinguish authentic material from machine-generated media.

A new era of transparency

Companies are required to embed digital watermarks, metadata, or visible disclaimers into professional tools and public-facing outputs. Private individuals using AI for personal reasons remain exempt, while artistic, creative, satirical, and fictional works also hold exemptions. Text intended to inform the public on general interest topics must carry labels unless it undergoes direct human editorial oversight. 

Existing systems have until 2nd December 2026 to achieve full compliance. Firms face large fines if they don’t comply.

Combating synthetic disinformation

EU officials defended the directive against criticism regarding compliance hurdles. “Generative AI enables disinformation to be created at unprecedented scale, tailored to specific audiences, and disseminated with remarkable speed,” an EU official said, adding that: “Since AI is making it increasingly difficult for all of us to distinguish what is real from what is synthetic, the EU’s rules seek to preserve citizens’ ability to trust what they see, hear, and read.

Industry concerns and compliance challenges

Industry figures have raised concerns over the administrative burden. Ashley Casovan of the International Association of Privacy Professionals acknowledged the friction, telling Agence France-Presse (AFP): “We have heard that it is going to be very, very difficult to implement. But I think we often hear this with compliance requirements. And yet, the world turns and we figure these things out.”

Meanwhile, major technology firms have warned that overlapping mandates could create counterproductive outcomes. Google’s Karen Massin cautioned against ‘regulatory complexity’ that risks confusing the people these rules are meant to help. “If online content is flooded with overlapping AI labels and legal disclosures, it becomes harder for people to get the clear context they need,” Massin to AFP. 

Big tech adaptation

Major platforms have already begun deploying proprietary markers ahead of the enforcement date. TikTok has mandated creator labels for synthetic images, audio, and video for years, reporting that detection tools have already flagged over three billion items. Meta has introduced ‘AI Info’ label across Instagram and Facebook, while Google has signed the EU’s voluntary code of conduct on AI transparency, collaborating with developers such as Nvidia, OpenAI, and Apple on standardised digital tagging infrastructure.

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Photo credit: Zulfugar Karimov – Unsplash

Sea views, a baroque basilica and world-class music: Menton’s festival is back

by: Cassandra Tanti
28/07/2026

One of Europe’s oldest classical music festivals is under way just along the coast from Monaco, where the 77th Festival de Musique de Menton is staging a fortnight of open-air concerts on the parvis of the Basilica Saint-Michel-Archange until 7 August. Held each summer in the baroque heart of the old town, overlooking the Mediterranean, the festival opened on 25 July with the cellist Gautier Capuçon and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, conducted by Lionel Bringuier, in a programme of Saint-Saëns and Beethoven.

The event traces its origins to August 1949, when the Hungarian-born impresario André Böröcz heard Bach drifting from a radio across the deserted parvis of Saint-Michel and resolved to bring music to the setting. The first festival followed on 5 August 1950, when the Végh Quartet performed Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven beneath the church’s polychrome façade. In the decades since, the parvis has hosted many of the century’s most celebrated musicians, among them Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Isaac Stern, Wilhelm Kempff and Maria-João Pires. The festival has been led since 2012 by the conductor Paul-Emmanuel Thomas, its artistic director.

This year’s programme

The 2026 edition brings together more than 150 artists across fourteen main concerts and a series of free events, spread between the parvis, the Palais de l’Europe and open-air esplanades. Evening concerts on the parvis form the centrepiece, while the Palais de l’Europe hosts a run of recitals and chamber programmes.

Among the highlights still to come are the violinist Leonidas Kavakos with the pianist Enrico Pace on 4 August, and the pianist Alexandre Kantorow, who closes the festival on 7 August with a solo recital ranging from Bach and Beethoven to Chopin. The programme also reaches beyond the classical canon. The baroque is represented by the cellist Nicolas Altstaedt with Ensemble Jupiter and the lutenist Thomas Dunford on 29 July, and by Ensemble I Gemelli under the tenor Emiliano Gonzalez Toro on 5 August, while jazz arrives on 28 July with The Amazing Keystone Big Band performing Gershwin. On 6 August, the marimba player Vassilena Serafimova and the pianist Thomas Enhco give a duo recital at the Palais de l’Europe.

Free concerts and a Monaco connection

Alongside the ticketed programme, the festival stages a number of free concerts intended to involve the town and its residents. These include a pre-opening performance by Ensemble Spark, whose ‘From Bach to the Beatles’ concert was given on the Esplanade des Sablettes, as well as the Festival Mass on 2 August and a concert by the Sirba Octet on 3 August. For Monaco audiences, the free bill also features Monaco Brass, which performed on 27 July, and a concert by the laureates of cellist Gautier Capuçon’s foundation the same evening.

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Photo source: Menton Music Festival

Argerich and Dutoit reunite for Prince’s Palace summer concert

by: Cassandra Tanti
28/07/2026

The Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo returned to the Cour d’Honneur of the Prince’s Palace on Sunday 26 July for the latest of its summer concerts, performing works by Manuel de Falla and Sergei Prokofiev in the presence of Prince Albert II. The evening was conducted by Charles Dutoit and featured the pianist Martha Argerich as soloist, with the soprano Alexandra Marcellier also taking part.

The concert opened with the Interlude and Dance from de Falla’s opera La Vida breve, a work rooted in the composer’s native Andalusia. Argerich then joined the orchestra for Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, one of the most frequently performed of his five concertos and a piece the pianist has named among her favourites. The programme closed with the ballet suites from de Falla’s Le Tricorne, or The Three-Cornered Hat, written for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

A long-standing partnership

Dutoit and Argerich have performed together for decades, and their appearances at the Prince’s Palace are among the most anticipated of the OPMC’s summer season. The concert was one of several in the 2026 series to sell out well in advance, with the orchestra offering only a waiting list in the days before the performance.

Photo credit: Frédéric Nebinger, Prince’s Palace

About the series

The Concerts au Palais Princier were created by Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace and have been held in the Cour d’Honneur for more than 60 years. Each summer, the Prince invites the OPMC and leading international conductors and soloists to perform in the open-air setting. The 2026 season runs from 9th July to 6th August, with the orchestra led across the series by figures including Philippe Jordan, Simone Young and Juraj Valčuha.

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Photo credit: Frédéric Nebinger, Prince’s Palace

Monaco’s Embassy in Brussels celebrates Prince Albert II’s accession

by: Virginia D’Umas
28/07/2026

The Embassy of Monaco in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands hosted its annual reception at the embassy headquarters in Brussels on 8th July to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the accession of Prince Albert II.

Addressing the guests, Ambassador Frédéric Labarrere talked about the strong ties Monaco shares with Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, saying that many people from all three countries live in Monaco, creating a bond that goes back a long way. To highlight these historic links, he pointed to Antwerp, which is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Monaco’s local consulate this year.

The Ambassador also touched on European and global topics, welcoming the “steady, trusting relationship Monaco maintains with European Union institutions”.

In addition, he spoke about Monaco’s broader role on the world stage and the fact the Principality is currently leading the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for the first time. He reminded guests of the government’s main goals abroad: protecting human rights, working together internationally, safeguarding the environment, and backing global cooperation.

To end the evening, guests enjoyed tasting traditional food and products from Monaco.

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Photo: The Ambassador (third from the left) and the team from the Embassy of Monaco in Brussels on the evening of the reception. Photo Credit:  Samyan Otero – Monaco Embassy