From the timeless Joséphine Baker and Charles Aznavour to modern day icons Prince and Lady Gaga, the concert halls of Monaco have, over the last 100 years, welcomed many of the world’s finest musical acts to its stages. In a new exhibition, Monaco On Stage: 100 Years of Concerts in Monaco, the Principality honours a century of these artists, who have performed in its prestigious venues such as the Salle des Etoiles and the Opéra Garnier.
The exhibition is being supported by Société des Bains de Mer and the Direction des Affaires Culturelles de Monaco with Composer and ProducerAlex Jaffray and Scenographer Rudy Sabounghi curating a ‘backstage’ experience for visitors.
Step behind the velvet curtains of the stage and discover the behind-the-scenes workings of these great concerts and listen to moving extracts from the performances themselves, including The Beatles, the Police and Supertramp.
Hosting this special exhibit is the Salle d’Exposition on Quai Antoine Ier. The exhibition is free to all and can be visited Tuesday through to Sunday from 1pm to 7pm until 31st December 2022 (exceptional closures on 19th November and 25th December).
French workers’ unions have called on their members to participate in wide-reaching strikes on Tuesday 18th October. Hardest hit are set to be public transport networks, the education sector and other public services.
Already dubbed a ‘Mardi Noir’ by French news outlets, the strikes come hot on the heels of protests in Paris over the weekend that sought to fight against the rising cost of living.
One of the leading voices in the calls for strike action is Catherine Perret of the CGT union, which just days ago turned down a pay increase for protesting fuel workers. In a circulated statement, Perret said the day of strikes is necessary to ‘increase salaries and defend the right to strike’.
While it is still too early to tell how severely the rail network will be affected, initial predictions suggest 50% of union members will be on strike. Transport Minister Clément Baune has tried to reassure the public that at least one out of every two TGVs will be running on Tuesday, but the latest from the SNCF is that all passengers should check ahead before travelling.
No action has been reported by the Lignes d’Azur bus and tram network in Nice as yet.
Technical colleges are expected to join in with strike action. According to the Nice Matin, a protest has been organised in front of the Lycée Pasteur in Nice at 10.30am. A blockade at the Lycée d’Estienne d’Orves is also likely. Further strikes to the education sector are yet to be announced.
Other public services, notably those provided by the Mairie de Nice, the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur and the CCAS (Centre Communal d’Action Sociale), may also be threatened.
Monaco Life travelled with the AS Monaco squad for their Europa League tie against Trabzonspor last Thursday, allowing us to witness first-hand the fervour that grips this football-mad city on the Black Sea.
Arriving in Trabzon, you get the impression that so many of its 244,000 residents live vicariously through their team. The ubiquity of the club’s flag and its colours, which are also that of the city itself, are an unmistakable symbol of the importance of Trabzonspor.
By day, the suburbs of the Black Sea city is awash with serenity. Flags draped from any and (almost) every pitching post, from windows, from rooftops and from balconies, gently sway in the afternoon wind. The city is a complete architectural mish-mash, which is a metaphor for Trabzon itself.
Just 170km from Georgia and 288km from the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, one gets the impression of being not only near a physical border, but at a frontier of cultures and of ideologies. My visit to the city of Trabzon, a city that lies on the Silk Road, feels timely. Ahead of the Qatar World Cup, arguably the most divisive tournament in the history of the game, it is a reminder of the power of football to transcend difference. As football grapples with the impacts of globalisation, which inherently provokes tensions between, at the least different, and at worst incompatible values, Trabzonspor is a case in point. The magic of the city is in the ability of its club to act as a unifying force. In the words of Trabzonspor fan Yiğit Türk: “The city lives for football”.
During the daytime, that is felt most acutely in the centre of the city, where the traditional charm of the city meets a modernised, globalised world; it is a veritable nexus. Sights of household Western brands: McDonald’s, Burger King and ING shake you out of the trance that the city lulls you into in a moment of psychological dissonance.
Even in the early afternoon, there is an unmistakable sense of calm before the storm. Wherever you look, there is a supporter donning the iconic claret and sky blue of Trabzonspor. In the central square, there is a statue of the club’s crest; an impressive, five-metre tall mural depicting a fishing boat in storm, an image emblematic of this Black Sea port city, below the club’s crest; and the club’s boutique. The central location of the elements are an unmistakable metaphor for the spiritual position that the club holds in the hearts of its residents.
Photo by Monaco Life
Despite the language barrier being particularly pronounced throughout the visit, the language of football is seemingly transcendental. In the club boutique, with very few words the employees convey an unfavourable evaluation of the club’s season so far: “Very bad, very bad”.
After winning the Turkish Süper Lig for the eighth time last season, and the first time in 38 years, Tranzonspor currently languish in fifth. Whilst the club have secured some impressive results, they have struggled to find a level of consistency this term under coach Abdullah Avci.
Such is the fervour for the club, the passion can often oscillate. In times of fruition, a Trabzonspor match is the hottest ticket in town. However, Trabzonspor are not living in such a moment, and during such periods, fans speak with their feet. We’re told that only 26,000 fans will be in attendance at the 40,000-capacity Medical Park Stadium, the club’s form is certainly a factor. But make no mistake, 26,000 Turkish fans are more than capable of creating a deafening atmosphere.
As is often the case in the modern game, the club has been delocalised from the city centre, and the new stadium is located on the outskirts of the city. Whilst the city’s mayor announced plans in 2021 to connect the stadium to the city centre with a sea-front tram line, the easiest way for now is to arrive by car, or by the constant procession of buses that file down the shore-side motorway.
These out-of-city stadiums often inhibit attendance – but not in Trabzon. The atmosphere builds early. By the time the players arrive on the coach, a sizable crowd has already gathered, and they are greeted by an impressive pyrotechnic display. There is such fanfare, such theatre around the match that it becomes easy to forget that 22 men will soon contest a match that is vital to the European aspirations of both teams.
Fans arrive at Trabzon, photo by Monaco Life
The theatrics continue within the stadium pre-match. Tifos are unfurled, pre-game anthems are blared at full volume over the stadium tannoy, and conductors standing on tables within the stands dictate the tempo of this fervent crowd. The relentlessness, hecticness and vivacity of the composition is evocative of Vivaldi’s Presto, but unlike the short classical composition, this piece will last a full 90 minutes.
Like the swish of a baton the on-pitch conductor, the referee, instantaneously changes the atmosphere with the blowing of his whistle to signal the start of the match. The pre-match anthems give way to whistles, directed not only towards the Monaco players, who exercise a statistical dominance over their opponents for the first 25 minutes of the encounter, but also towards their own players. Every Trabzonspor mistake in possession is met with very audible disapproval, that reverberates around the stadium and echoes across the large expanse of the Black Sea, located just behind the stadium.
Whilst Trabzonspor can’t be described as having been abject in the opening minutes, they certainly weren’t imposing themselves on the tie. They sat behind Monaco by three points going into the tie. Defeat would have provided a huge blow to Avci’s side, potentially a fateful one for their aspirations of reaching the knockout stages, but that didn’t show. There was a nervousness and passivity to their game, which translated into the stands.
But in football, dominance doesn’t always translate into goals, and Monaco found that out the hard way in Thursday’s match. Another maxim of football is that dominance is fragile, and the momentum of any match can turn on the most innocuous of turning points. However, there was nothing innocuous about the way in which Trabzonspor took the lead.
Alexander Nübel’s misjudged pass out from the back struck Malang Sarr, who was retreating to provide a passing option. Before Nübel could even react, the ball was in the back of the net, and the crowd were revived.
Gone was the sterility and passivity in Trabzonspor’s game. Roared on by the 12th man, they pushed relentlessly in the minutes leading up to the break. Half-time didn’t derail Trabzonspor’s momentum as they went on to score a second, third and a fourth before the 70th minute. The game won, the home side took their foot off the accelerator. The fans entertained themselves with DIY light displays and a unique audio Mexican wave that flowed gradually across the stands.
Photo by Monaco Life
The final whistle sounds at midnight, and heralds the Turkish victory that had long since been apparent; the on–pitch and off-pitch celebrations begin; the players dance in front of their fans in the centre circle, and the pre-match anthems are sung with even greater gusto. In a city whose mood seems so intrinsically linked to the fate of its football club, the taste of victory breathes life into the city. The claret and sky blue shirts disseminate throughout this sprawling port city, filling café’s and restaurants that remain open despite the hour.
To these pre-match and post-match rituals, there is a feeling of permanence, which is odd for a club founded only 55 years ago. Its creation has unified a city that now lives and breathes for Trabzonspor, and whilst they may breathe hot and cold, the fervour around this football-mad Turkish city feels immortal.
Photo above by Monaco Life
More 3D printed meats are on their way to Europe thanks to Giraudi
Monaco-based Giraudi Meats has struck a major strategic deal with Redefine Meat to drive European distribution of its New-Meat plant-based products, and as Riccardo Giraudi told Monaco Life, the decision makes perfect business sense.
Redefine Meat has spent years studying the unique properties of animal meat and believes that it has perfected cutting edge technologies – including 3D food printing – to develop plant-based products that “provide the full sensory experience of meat, including flavour profiles, texture and aroma, without compromise.”
The start-up raised €170 million in a series A financing round this year and operates large-scale meat printers at its Rehovot headquarters south of Tel Aviv, and a new factory in the Netherlands, hoping to establish its products as an alternative to conventionally produced meat.
It’s New-Meat range includes minced meat products, premium muscle cuts, and an entirely new category of pulled meat – beef, lamb and pork. Many of the products are already being served up by leading chefs at hundreds of restaurants, hotels and other foodservice locations in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Israel. In Israel, they are also commercially available in retail channels such as butcher shops.
Redefine Tenderloin, Flank and Striploin
As Europe’s largest importer of high-end meat, Giraudi Meats is marking an historic milestone with this collaboration. The company has a presence in over 30 countries and an industry-leading sales, marketing and distribution network in hospitality comprising over 300 meat distributors and wholesalers. With this partnership, Giraudi Meats plans to drive the rapid expansion of New-Meat across European food services – starting with France immediately, followed by Italy, Greece and Sweden later this year, and dozens more countries to follow.
“Working intimately with the European food services industry, we’re seeing fast growing demand for more flexitarian products to satisfy the needs of meat-lovers,” says Riccardo Giraudi, CEO of Giraudi Group. “We’ve been searching for a high-quality meat alternative to add to our high-end meat portfolio to address this growing market, and I have to say that New Meat is in a category of its own. We believe that with this level of quality, combined with the product versatility across beef, lamb and pork, New-Meat will enable us to drive significant new revenue streams in the high-end meat market.”
Giraudi Meats will distribute New-Meat to its existing customer base, as well as prospecting new customers to sell Redefine Meat products. It will also add New-Meat products to the menus of it’s chain of Beefbar restaurants across Europe, including where it all began – here in Monaco.
Redefine Pulled Pork
Endorsed by world-leading chefs, the people behind New-Meat say that it achieves what was previously considered impossible in the culinary world: plant-based products with a level of quality suitable for high-end chefs and butchers.
“The synergies between Redefine Meat and Giraudi Meats lays in our love and passion for meat, and the uncompromising shared vision to serve the world only top-quality meat,” says Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, CEO and Co-Founder of Redefine Meat. “Having such a prestige meat importer as Giraudi Meats – working with the best chefs and butchers all over Europe – integrate our New-Meat into its portfolio of exclusive high-end meat alongside the likes of Angus and Kobe beef, exemplifies why New-Meat is defining a new category of high-end product in the meat industry. Giraudi Meats’ proven track record of creating new categories in the European meat market and its ability to continuously change and innovate makes it a great partnership, which will significantly accelerate the proliferation of New-Meat across Europe.”
All Redefine Meat Products are based on non-GMO, plant-based ingredients, are antibiotic and cholesterol free, and do not contain any animal-based ingredients or by-products.
It was recently described by legendary chef Marco Pierre White as “one of the cleverest things I have ever seen in all my years of gastronomy”.
“I wanted to collaborate because when I tried the product I was totally amazed.”
Q&A with restaurant guru Riccardo Giraudi, CEO of Giraudi Group
Monaco Life: As a high-end meat importer who knows good meat, and assuming you have tried the New-Meat products – what is it about them that made you want to invest in this partnership?
Well, first of all, when I first saw Instagram posts about New-Meats I was extremely curious and wanted to learn more. We met via social media with the owner, funnily enough, and I just thought it was a great addition to my meat portfolio, as yes, I do specialise in high-quality meats and logically, at this point in time, plant-based meats are clearly also a small portion of the “meat” business. But the most important reason why I wanted to collaborate is that when I tried the product I was totally amazed. It is something totally different than what there is currently on the market. It’s so much more forward, clean and simply delicious. I am very difficult with my suppliers selection in the meat or in the plant-based meats division, as I want only to excel in my portfolio.
This is obviously a smart business decision on your part – given the perilous nature of the future food industry – but it is also a win for the environment. Is that how you see this collaboration?
Yes and no. I am more of an entrepreneur who sees a demand for this type of new movement and I try to fulfill such a demand. I am also very creative and I think I can educate our distributors via our restaurant structure, which is key. The fact that it’s good for the environment is extra, but I see myself more of a “lets bring something new to the market” kinda guy.
How long do you think it will be before we really see plant-based meat alternatives like this alongside meat based products in all hospitality sectors in the world?
Many European countries, such as Germany, or the UK are much more ahead of southern countries when it comes to serving plant-based meats in their menu. I think it’s a cultural choice, and I think it will follow the same trend as high-quality meats. It took us a long time to get there, but once we get to the final consumer and they are happy with the progress, they definitely come back. I definitely think, having tried myself these products, that it’s a new type of protein coming to the market. You can consider it as a new meat category.
And finally, the last time we spoke you were planning on opening the Leafbar this summer – do you have an update on that project for us?
Absolutely. It took us a lot longer because we decided to make the restaurant bigger. We had to acquire the unit next-door and of course, as you know, it takes a lot of time with regards to the building permits. We just wanted to do things well. But I can officially tell you Leafbar will open before summer next year!
The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation has brought together experts, sports clubs and federations for a conference on concussions in sport, raising awareness and looking at the latest medical advancements in this field.
More than 50 people gathered for this first conference at the Meridien Beach Plaza on 13th October. The Foundation, alongside its partners in the medical sector, wanted to strengthen the sharing of information on concussions and microtraumas in the sports world, the treatment of which is crucial.
The event featured expert speakers in the subject of concussions including Dr. Nicolas Capet, Neurologist at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre (CHPG), Dr. Yann-Erick Claessens, Doctor and Head of the Emergency Department at the CHPG, Dr. Renaud David, Psychiatrist at the Center Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice and expert for the French Football Federation, the National Rugby League and the Federation of Combat Sports and Martial Arts, and Prof. Pierre Fremont, Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation at the Faculty of Medicine, Laval University in Quebec. As a clinician and researcher, he has developed extensive expertise in implementation issues related to concussion prevention, detection and management in settings ranging from youth developmental sport to international competition.
Photo credit: Eric Mathon, Prince’s Palace
A number of representatives from sports entities, such as clubs and associations, came to listen to their expert opinions.
Professor Pierre Fremont, a recognised specialist in Canada and around the world, insisted on the need for prevention and detection among young sports people, especially those engaging in contact sports.
For Dr. Nicolas Capet, “it is important to emphasise that concussions are frequent events in the lives of athletes exposed to contact, but they rapidly develop favourably in the vast majority of cases if their care is organised. The optimal management of these seemingly innocuous traumas is based on a specific multidisciplinary care system but also on the information and training of sports educators, school teaching teams and parents from early childhood.”
Through the Sport and Education program, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation works to relay the positive values of sport and to promote health through sport. For several years, the Foundation has also supported initiatives related to concussions, in particular with the British association Love of the Game, which funds the research and development of solutions to help in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of concussions and related issues.
Photo above credit: Eric Mathon, Prince’s Palace
Monaco set to celebrate the return of the International Circus Festival
The 45th International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo and the 10th New Generation Festival are back in 2023 with all the usual magic and a few surprises!
After two years of cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival is returning in January to celebrate its 45th edition, along with the 10th anniversary of the New Generation Festival, showcasing young, up-and-coming talent.
The organising committee, headed up by Princess Stephanie, has an exciting show lined up including a fusion of the two events, where numbers from the New Generation event will be integrated into the International Circus festival, giving guests a chance to see the best of the best in circus entertainment.
As ever, a jury will be on hand to select the bronze, silver and gold winners of the coveted Clown Awards, given to the most creative and unique acts by the show’s jugglers, magicians, clowns, equilibrists and animals. Equally, the New Generation performers will receive similar awards for their efforts, and both groups will be honoured at the Gala Awards Ceremony which will be held on Tuesday 24th January.
The circus, started by Prince Rainier III in 1974, was formed to create a place where traditional circus performers and their families could be supported and showcase their talents to audiences. This small idea has gone on to blossom into the largest circus festival in the world, and has spawned other circus-related events in Monaco, such as the summer workshops, which lets kids try their hands at juggling, acrobatics and other fun activities, as well as the celebration of World Circus Day.
The International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo will be held from 20th to 29th January 2023 at the Chapiteau de l’Espace Fontvieille. Tickets, which are on sale now, as well as more information, can be found online at www.montecarlofestival.mc and www.francebillet.com/ or at the ticket office of the Chapiteau from Monday to Friday, 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6pm.
Photo source: International Circus Festival of Monaco
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