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Month: August 2026

Pogačar to chase his missing Grand Tour, starting in Monaco

by: Cassandra Tanti
04/08/2026

Tadej Pogačar, the five-time Tour de France champion who lives in Monaco, will ride the Vuelta a España this month, a race that begins in the Principality on 22nd August, as he attempts to complete a clean sweep of cycling’s three Grand Tours.

His team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, confirmed the news on Monday, ending weeks of speculation about whether the Slovenian would race so soon after winning a record-equalling fifth Tour de France in Paris on 26th July. It will be Pogačar’s first Vuelta in seven years: on his Grand Tour debut in 2019, aged 20, he won three stages, finished third overall and took the young rider’s classification.

The one that is missing

The Vuelta is the only Grand Tour Pogačar has yet to win, having already claimed the Tour five times and the Giro d’Italia in 2024. Victory in Spain would make him only the ninth rider in history to win all three. He will not have it easy, with a field expected to include the reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard and the double Olympic time-trial champion Remco Evenepoel, on a demanding route built around six summit finishes.

A home start in Monaco

For Monaco, the race is a considerable coup. The 81st Vuelta will open on 22nd August with a 9.6-kilometre individual time trial through the streets of the Principality, tracing the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit, with the second stage also setting off from Monaco the following day. The route then crosses France and Andorra before reaching Spain, finishing in Granada on 13th September rather than the traditional Madrid. It is the first time Monaco has hosted the start of the race, taking over from Turin, and the announcement was made at a press conference at One Monte-Carlo attended by Prince Albert II. Official festivities begin on 20th August.

“I’m excited to say I’m going back to La Vuelta,” said Pogačar, who described his 2019 debut as an amazing experience and the race as a major goal with which to end his season. He will be supported by a UAE line-up including João Almeida, Jay Vine and Pavel Sivakov.

The timing is tight: the Vuelta finishes just two weeks before the World Championships road race in Montreal on 27th September, where Pogačar will defend his title.

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Photo source: UAE Team Emirates

Wildlife at risk as fresh heatwave fuels wildfire danger in the region

by: Virginia D’Umas
03/08/2026

As temperatures climb toward 37°C and 1,500 firefighters battle persistent blazes in the neighbouring Var department, authorities are enforcing strict restrictions across the region.

Both the Alpes-Maritimes and neighbouring Var departments face a challenging Monday under a strict orange heatwave alert, with extreme heat, strong winds, and an exceptionally high risk of wildfires keeping emergency services on maximum alert.

Blazes and extreme weather stretch emergency services

Temperatures are climbing toward 37°C inland and hovering between 30°C and 35°C along the coast this week. Adding to the dangerous weather conditions, Météo-France has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for parts of the Alpes-Maritimes hinterland—including Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée and Tende—running from midday until 8pm.

Just to the west, the Var department faces another tough day on the fire lines. Firefighters are closely monitoring the massive Gros Bessillon wildfire, which has scorched roughly 1,800 hectares of vegetation during its recent intense flare-up. Although overnight cooling helped 1,500 personnel stabilise the perimeter and dampen persistent hot spots, the fire remains contained rather than fully fixed.

A sudden flare-up south of Correns was swiftly met by ground crews and water-bombing aircraft early this morning, forcing precautionary evacuations. Erratic wind gusts reaching up to 45 km/h continue to threaten fresh outbreaks across the parched landscape. Because of the severe fire danger, access to several major forest massifs in the Var—including the Sainte-Baume, Maures, Estérel, Haut-Var, and the Hyères Islands—remains strictly banned, alongside local restrictions on carrying fuel and gas lighters.

Photo credit: Union Régionale Sapeurs Pompiers Sud Méditerranée

In the neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes, the prefecture has placed the Estérel-Tanneron massif under red alert for a ‘very severe’ wildfire risk. Consequently, all access, circulation, and work are formally prohibited in this zone, while the rest of the department remains at a low-to-moderate risk level. Authorities remind the public that prevention is vital: never light fires near wooded areas, do not throw cigarette butts from vehicles, and immediately report any smoke or flames by calling 18 or 112 with a precise location.

Wildlife caught on the frontline

Beyond the immediate danger to homes and infrastructure, environmental groups have raised urgent alarms over the heavy toll the disaster is taking on local animals.

The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur branch of the League for the Protection of Birds warns that slow-moving species—such as reptiles, amphibians, insects, and nestlings—are exceptionally vulnerable to the rapid advance of the flames. Animals that manage to survive the fires face a desperate struggle due to lost habitats and a severe lack of food and water, with regional rescue centres reporting an influx of creatures suffering from exhaustion, severe dehydration, and burns.

Conservation experts advise the public to follow simple safety guidelines: never enter burnt or dangerous zones to search for animals, and place any distressed wildlife found outside danger zones gently into a ventilated cardboard box without extra handling. Rescuers stress that people should never try to force-feed or give water to an injured animal before calling a professional wildlife rescue centre for instructions. To help local fauna cope with the intense heat stress, residents are encouraged to place clean, shallow containers of water in shaded areas outside.

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Photo credit: Union Régionale Sapeurs Pompiers Sud Méditerranée

Reclaiming the canvas: Inside FAMM’s new rehang

by: Virginia D’Umas
03/08/2026

Europe’s first private museum dedicated exclusively to female creators has refreshed its permanent collection in Mougins, bringing nearly 75 newly installed works to its galleries.

Spanning four floors within the walls of the Femmes Artistes du Musée de Mougins, this permanent collection update traces a chronological journey from impressionism to the twenty-first century, introducing powerful new acquisitions and rarely seen pieces.

From impressionism to surrealism

The ground-floor galleries trace the early foundations of modern art through the women who shaped them. Alongside core works by Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, and Marie Bracquemond, the display features Julie Manet’s Modèle en Rouge (c. 1900). Daughter of Berthe Morisot and niece of Édouard Manet, Manet grew up at the heart of the impressionist circle before dedicating her life to preserving its legacy. She is joined by works from Blanche Hoschedé-Monet, Claude Monet’s stepdaughter and sole pupil, highlighting the direct lineage of en plein air painting.

Moving upward, the rooms transition into the fantastical shapes of surrealism. Leonora Carrington, Jane Graverol, Mimi Parent, Marion Adnams, and Dorothea Tanning are exhibited alongside Leonor Fini, highlighted by Fini’s 1952 oil on canvas Dans la tour (Autoportrait avec Constantin Jelenski), secured following a major record acquisition by The Levett Collection.

Eperdument, 1962 (oil on canvas) by Dorothea Tanning. Photo credit: Virginia D’Umas

Abstract expressionism and the body

On the first floor, the focus shifts to post-war abstraction to highlight overlooked women artists. The galleries showcase works by American artists active in New York during the 1950s and 1960s—such as Sonia Gechtoff, Pat Passlof, Ethel Schwabacher, Miriam Schapiro, Michael Corinne West, and Perle Fine—who worked shoulder-to-shoulder with male peers like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko without achieving the same fame. 

Other notable additions include a 1970 canvas by Finnish artist Iria Leino from her ‘Buddhist Rain’ series, created after she left a high-fashion modelling career for Balmain and Dior to develop a meditative, poured-acrylic abstraction in New York. The floor also features newer works by Kirsty Chan, Woo Min Jung, and Navajo-rooted abstract artist Emmi Whitehorse.

The upper galleries explore identity, the body, and self-portraiture. A powerful curatorial dialogue places Carolee Schneemann’s 1986 tribute ‘Hand-Heart for Ana Mendieta’ directly alongside an original 1973 piece by Mendieta. Nearby, the display features two expressive upper-body sculptures by Nice-born artist Nicole Farhi, who transitioned from a celebrated career as a high-end fashion designer to focus full-time on the human form. 

This is complemented by a dedicated drawings wall bringing together works on paper by Lee Krasner, Alice Neel, and Cecily Brown, alongside a photographic feature wall featuring rare portraits by Lee Miller, Kati Horna, and Dora Maar, proving they supported each other before the art world noticed them.

Two upper-body sculptures by Nice-born artist Nicole Farhi. Photo credit: Virginia D’Umas

Continuing the legacy

The tour concludes in the contemporary galleries with 21st-century works by artists such as Clare Rojas, Anj Smith, Chloe Wise, and Rita Maikova, and Lalla Essaydi. Essaydi is a Moroccan-born multidisciplinary artist whose photography and painting explore womanhood, identity, and the Muslim world, often challenging traditional 19th-century Orientalist perspectives.

Lalla Essaydi’s ‘Harem #1’, 2009 – Three chromogenic prints (Marrakech b. 1956). Photo credit: Virginia D’Umas

Many of the artists featured in FAMM’s permanent collection are currently starring in major international museum exhibitions, including retrospectives for Leonor Fini at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Leonora Carrington at the Musée du Luxembourg, and Cecily Brown at the Serpentine.

By showcasing these women artists and connecting them to major exhibitions happening right now around the world, the museum is helping ensure that female creators are recognised as a vital, ongoing part of the main story of art.

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From left to right: Le petit pont de Giverny by Blanche Hoschedé-Monet and Julie Manet’s Modèle en Rouge. Photo credit: Virginia D’Umas 

Italy reinstates border checks for travellers arriving from Spain

by: Cassandra Tanti
03/08/2026

Travellers flying or sailing from Spain to Italy will face temporary border checks after the Italian government reintroduced controls on arrivals in response to the recent migrant crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

The measure, which came into force at the end of last week, applies to arrivals by air and sea and marks a temporary suspension of normal Schengen free movement rules between the two countries. Italy says the checks are necessary to protect national security following the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants in Ceuta after a mass crossing from neighbouring Morocco.

What it means for travellers

For most holidaymakers, the impact is expected to be limited.

Italian authorities are carrying out identity checks at airports and ports on passengers arriving from Spain. Travellers should allow extra time for border formalities and ensure they are carrying valid identification, even if travelling within the Schengen Area.

The controls are targeted primarily at non-EU nationals, although authorities may conduct spot checks on any traveller. Italian officials have stressed that the move is intended to minimise disruption during the busy summer travel season.

Response to the Ceuta crisis

The decision follows an unprecedented migrant surge into Ceuta, Spain’s autonomous city on the North African coast, where between 50,000 and 60,000 people crossed from Morocco in just a few days. The crisis prompted emergency discussions across Europe and renewed debate over the management of the EU’s external borders.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the temporary controls as a measure permitted under Schengen rules to safeguard public security. France has also announced tighter checks along its border with Spain while offering support to Spanish authorities in managing the situation.

Advice for Monaco residents

For Monaco residents travelling to Italy after visiting Spain, whether by flight or ferry, the advice is: carry your passport or national identity card, arrive at airports and ports earlier than usual, and be prepared for possible document checks on arrival.

While the additional controls are not expected to significantly affect most travellers, they could result in longer queues during the peak summer holiday period.

Monaco Life is produced by qualified, multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok. 

Image: AI generated by Monaco Life

 

Afro-house star Blondish comes to Jimmy’z Monte-Carlo

by: Cassandra Tanti
03/08/2026

The Canadian DJ and producer Blondish will bring her melodic, Afro-house-leaning sound to Jimmy’z Monte-Carlo on Saturday 15th August, headlining a special-guest night at one of the Riviera’s most storied summer nightclubs.

Born Vivie-Ann Bakos and raised in Montreal, Blondish has become one of the most recognisable figures in organic and Afro house, known for long, genre-fluid sets that build from deep, downtempo grooves into percussive, world-inflected peaks. She is the founder of the Abracadabra event series and record label, holds a headline residency at Pacha in Ibiza, and appears regularly on the bills of festivals such as Coachella, Tomorrowland and Burning Man. Her debut album, ‘Never Walk Alone’, was released in 2025.

More than a DJ

Away from the decks, Blondish is also known for her environmental activism. In 2018 she founded ‘Bye Bye Plastic’, a non-profit that works to rid clubs, festivals and the wider music industry of single-use plastics, part of a broader ethos she carries into her events around the world.

The details

The Monaco date, billed as ‘Blondish X Jimmy’z MC’ and presented by the promoter TANTRÜM, runs from 11pm to 5am as part of the club’s 2026 summer season. Jimmy’z, on Avenue Princesse Grace, has long been one of the Principality’s landmark nightspots. Tickets are available through Shotgun, with table bookings handled directly by the organisers.

Monaco Life is produced by qualified, multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok. 

 

 

Save the dates: Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo maps out a season of signatures and guest stars

by: Cassandra Tanti
03/08/2026

Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo has unveiled its 2026-2027 season, opening at the end of October with the 30th anniversary of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s ‘Roméo et Juliette’ and running through to the following summer with a programme that pairs the company’s own repertoire with a run of international guests and a New Year staging of ‘Ma Bayadère’.

Presented under the presidency of the Princess of Hanover, the season unfolds across the company’s two main homes — the Salle Garnier at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and the Grimaldi Forum — and once again folds in the Monaco Dance Forum, the international showcase Maillot founded in 2000. Maillot, the company’s choreographer-director since 1993, anchors the programme with several of his own works.

An anniversary opening

The season opens with ‘Roméo et Juliette’, Maillot’s account of the Shakespeare tragedy, first created in 1996 and returning to mark three decades, at the Salle Garnier from 29th to 31st October and on 1st November 2026. In December, the company pairs ‘Bronia’, a work by Antonio De Rosa and Mattia Russo of the Spanish company Kor’sia, with Maillot’s ‘Altro Canto’ at the Grimaldi Forum from 19th to 21st December.

The turn of the year belongs to ‘Ma Bayadère’, Maillot’s large-scale reworking of the classic ‘La Bayadère’, danced to Minkus’s score with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra under Garrett Keast. It runs at the Grimaldi Forum from 28th to 31st December and on 2 ndJanuary 2027, with the New Year’s Eve performance offered as a gala outside the subscription.

The Monaco Dance Forum returns

April brings the Monaco Dance Forum and a season within the season. The British-Indian dancer Aakash Odedra opens it with ‘Songs of the Bulbul’ on 22nd April, and the Spanish flamenco artist Israel Galván presents his reading of Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’, danced to two live pianos, on 26th April, both at the Salle Garnier. The Scirocco company gathers an international cast — among them Diana Vishneva, Polina Semionova, Gil Roman, Igone de Jongh and Marijn Rademaker — for a double bill of ‘Death in Venice’ and John Neumeier’s ‘Bridge of Sighs’, while Cécile Martinez and Compagnie 6ème Sens contribute an inclusive-dance creation, ‘Lever les yeux’.

The forum closes with a Bartók evening pairing Maillot’s ‘Le Mandarin Merveilleux’ (The Miraculous Mandarin) with Alexeï Ratmansky’s ‘Le Prince de Bois’ (The Wooden Prince), performed with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic under Elias Brandy, at the Grimaldi Forum from 27th to 30th April and on 2nd May.

Through to summer

Beyond the forum, the company will take part in the opening ceremony of the Games of the Small States of Europe at the Place du Palais on 17th May, before the Académie Princesse Grace holds its annual gala on 18th and 19th June. Maillot’s ‘La Mégère apprivoisée’, his ‘Taming of the Shrew’ first made for the Bolshoi, follows from 24th to 27th June, and July brings a double bill of Paul Lightfoot’s ‘See You’ and Balanchine’s ‘Violin Concerto’ from 8th to 11th July. The season closes with Maillot’s ‘Cendrillon’, his ‘Cinderella’, from 22nd to 25th July, all at the Salle Garnier.

Beyond the main stage

Away from the main auditoriums, the company continues its ‘Pas Croisés’ performances at the Musée National Marc Chagall in Nice, with principal dancer Mimoza Koike, on 20th November and 21st May. There is a free screening of Stanley Donen’s ‘Funny Face’, with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, on 25th April at the Grimaldi Forum, a family dance workshop in December, and a run of studio performances, ‘Les Imprévus’, reserved for five-show subscribers, alongside the company’s educational projects.

Tickets and information

Individual tickets range from €25 to €39, with a flat €15 rate for under-25s, rising to between €45 and €59 for the New Year’s Eve gala. Subscriptions start at €99 for three performances and €170 for five. Booking is through the Grimaldi Forum and the Atrium of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and online at balletsdemontecarlo.com and montecarloticket.com. A 20 per cent reduction is available for those with reduced mobility, and a coach shuttle, ‘La Voiture Ballet’, runs from Nice for selected performances.

Monaco Life is produced by qualified, multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok. 

Photo source: Ballets de Monte-Carlo