The Grimaldi Forum has been forced to cancel its summer event ‘Monaco and the Automobile, from 1893 to the Present Day’, the biggest exhibition of 2020.
The exhibition was three years in the making and was due to be held from 11^th July to 6^th September. However, in a statement released on Monday 20^th April, organisers said it was “impossible” to go ahead given the coronavirus crisis.
“Monaco and the Automobile, from 1893 to the Present Day, was the perfect exhibition to celebrate our 20th anniversary, and it is with great sadness that we had to make the decision to cancel it,” says Sylvie Biancheri, Director General of Grimaldi Forum. “The health security of visitors and staff remains the top priority for the management of the Grimaldi Forum Monaco. Faced with the uncertainties weighing on the organisation of this enormous summer event, both in terms of technical feasibility and conditions of visit, it was decided by the Grimaldi Forum, in consultation with the Monegasque authorities and the Prince’s Palace, to cancel it.”
The exhibition was to be the first of its kind for Monaco, which has a long and treasured history of racing. A number of rare items were to be shown, including 50 unique vehicles and never-before seen photographs and videos connected with the Princely family, Monegasque drivers and two legendary races – the Monaco Grand Prix and the Monte-Carlo Rally.
Around 1,300 visitors a day were due to walk through the doors of the Grimaldi Forum this year, figures that were achieved for 2019’s Dali, a history of painting exhibition, which saw a total of 80,000 visitors over three months.
While the Grimaldi Forum is exploring “other avenues” for the automobile exhibition to go ahead, “it is still too early to determine their feasibility.”
In the meantime, a 320-page book will be published in its place in July, a catalogue of vehicles and items planned for the Monaco and Automobile, from 1893 to the Present Day exhibition, in French and English. It is already available for pre-order, priced at €29, by emailing the Grimaldi Forum: gf@grimaldiforum.com / Tel +377 99 99 20 00
Pre-purchased tickets to the exhibition will be refunded.