Registration now open for Pink Ribbon Monaco Walk

After being forced to cancel last year due to the pandemic, breast cancer awareness organisation Pink Ribbon Monaco is hosting its 10th Pink Ribbon Walk in February, encouraging participants to turn out in their pinkest kit to exercise for charity.

France had 58,083 new cases of breast cancer in 2020, making it the second most common cancer in the country behind prostate cancer. Worldwide, one in eight women will be affected by the disease in their lifetime.

Studies have shown that physical activity can reduce the risk of recurring cancer by as much as 25% and may improve survival rates by 30%.

Since 2011, Pink Ribbon Monaco, founded by Natasha Frost-Savio, has been putting the word out to raise awareness on early screening methods and prevention through a variety of campaigns and events. Their flagship event is the Pink Ribbon Walk.

The 5km fun walk takes participants from Port Hercule, past many iconic Monegasque buildings such as the Prince’s Palace, the Cathedral, the Oceanographic Museum, and the terraces of the Monte-Carlo Casino.

Walkers will be asked to wear bibs with messages of support or tribute to those who have or had the disease rather than numbers. The event is not designed to be a competition, but more of a celebration, with the goal being to have as many active participants as possible showing their backing whilst getting out for a bit of exercise with friends.

The walk is also a show of solidarity for the women affected by breast cancer. Men are encouraged to join in, as well. As husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers of the woman battling the disease, they are affected too.

This year’s co-partners in the event are SBM Offshore and the Monegasque Athletics Federation (FMA).

The Pink Ribbon Walk starts at 10am on Sunday 13th February at Port Hercule. Pre-registration is open on 12th February from 10am to 5pm, and again before 10am on the 13th on the esplanade of the port. Alternatively, walkers can go online and register. The cost is €30 with all proceeds going to support breast cancer awareness.

Children are welcome and are free to enter under the age of 13. Those in wheelchairs or with pushchairs may need assistance in certain areas. Raffle tickets will be on sale for €10 for a book of five, and a t-shirt is being offered to all walkers courtesy of SBM Offshore.

For more information, or to register for the walk online, visit the website at www.pinkribbon.mc

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Jodie Foster headlines Pink Ribbon event in Monaco

 

 

Photo source: Pink Ribbon Monaco

 

 

 

 

Rose Ball 2022: new date

This year’s Rose Ball has been pushed back a few months to July to increase the chances of it going ahead, after the high-profile event was cancelled last year due to Covid.

The Salle des Etoiles at the Sporting Monte-Carlo will again set the scene for one of the year’s most anticipated social events, the Rose Ball (Bal de la Rose). Created in 1954 by Princess Grace, it is usually held in March, but due to ongoing problems associated with the pandemic, organisers decided to postpone the event until 8th July to ensure guests will be in total comfort and safety. Due to Covid, last year’s Rose Ball was cancelled completely.

Each year, the Rose Ball brings together the social elite for a night of splendour and is currently presided by Prince Albert II and Princess Caroline of Hanover, but at the heart of the event is an internationally accepted charity event.

The auction prizes are legendary and include paintings and sculptures from renowned artists with all proceeds going to the Princess Grace Foundation, of whom Princess Caroline is president. Since 1964, the Foundation has taken steps to help children in need through philanthropic and humanitarian projects.

The theme of the Rose Ball changes every year and is decided upon by a big-name personage. This year, the chosen one is none other than high-end footwear maker Christian Louboutin, whose theme of “The Twenties, The Return” is sure to be one for the history books.

Guests will be asked to step back in time to the oh-so chic 1920’s, so expect intricately beaded dresses, smart black-tie suits and people dancing the Charleston. No doubt, many fashionista guests will also be sporting his gorgeously crafted shoes, made notable by their distinguishing red lacquered soles.

Louboutin has other reasons to be in Monaco in July, as his summer retrospective, L’Exhibition(niste), opens its doors the day after the ball on 9th July at the Grimaldi Forum. The exhibit will run through to 28th August.

The Rose Ball is already a sell-out, but there is a waiting list for those who are willing to attend last minute. For more information or to get on the wait list, call +377 98 06 63 41. 

 

Photo of 2019 Rose Ball by Eric Mathon, Prince’s Palace

 

 

 

Chanel celebrated in exceptional ballet

Modanse, starring prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova and members of the Bolshoi Ballet, will present two exceptional performances dedicated to dance, music and beautiful costumes this April.

As far as spectacles go, this one rates high on the charts. Acclaimed Bolshoi prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova will be on stage two nights at the Grimaldi Forum in April, for not just one, but two strikingly different dances in one single performance.

Zakharova, who is notable for being the first and only Russian Etoile at La Scala, will be dancing in a double bill by MuzArts entitled Modanse. The show commences with Come un Respiro (Like a Breath), a celebration of George Frideric Handel’s Baroque style music complemented by a dance choreographed by Mauro Bigonzetti and elegant costumes designed by Helena de Medeiros.

The second part of the performance will be the ballet Gabrielle Chanel, a tribute to the fashion icon and legend. The show takes the audience through Coco Chanel’s journey from an obscure provincial singer to becoming an enduring household name in the world of fashion and design. Her connection to the ballet was cemented over the years through her collaborations with great artists and choreographers including Serge Diaghilev, founder of Ballets Russes.

The show will feature over 80 costumes that were specially designed by Chanel Creative Studio Creative Director Virginie Viard and will use archived photos and videos to further enhance the beauty of the event.

Svetlana Zakharova will be joined on stage by a star-studded cast of dancers from the Bolshoi ballet, including Jacopo Tissi, Vyacheslav Lopatin, Mikhail Lobukhin, Denis Savin, Anastasia Stashkevich and Ana Turazashvili.

Modanse, organised by Luxpro and Valna Management Muzarts Production, is coming to the Grimaldi Forum’s Salle des Princes on the 7th and 8th April.

 

 

Fight AIDS Cup returns

The Fight AIDS Cup charity match, organised by Louis Ducruet and Romain Goiran, is returning for a second edition, pitting Prince Albert’s Barbagiuans against Princess Stephanie’s Circus Football Club.

“In the first year after the creation of this match, only our team was reinforced by former professional players. We had to allow Circus FC to do the same, in order to attract more public and sponsors,” said Louis Ducruet, president of the Barbagiuans.

“This year again, the legends of football have responded, on both sides. We have the unconditional support of all these players and especially Sébastien Frey, captain of Circus FC, who facilitated the arrival of some of his friends. We are delighted.”

The charity football match will be held on 24th January and will be hosted by, amongst others, former Bien Sports journalist Alexandre Ruiz, who will keep fans abreast of the action on the pitch as well as review former glories of local and international football.

The Fight AIDS Cup is an extension of the historical match between the Barbagiuans and Circus FC that has been ongoing for over 40 years. The new name has created a direct link between sport and charitable values in the Principality.

“With my partner Romain Goiran, who is a child of the Barbagiuans, we decided to formalise this match to help my mother’s association, Fight AIDS Monaco. When this event took place at the Cap d’Ail stadium, on the sly with the Circus Festival, big names in football were already invited. We found it a shame not to share the potential of such a sporting event with charity,” Ducruet added.

The 2020 version attracted some big names including several former AS Monaco players. In addition to Sébastien Squillaci, Didier Deschamps, Gaël Givet, Andrea Raggi and Manuel Dos Santos, the fans particularly appreciated seeing Ludovic Giuly on the field.

The triumph of the last event puts the pressure on to make sure this year’s is equally thrilling and well-received.

 

 

Photo source: Fight AIDS Monaco

 

 

 

 

Nice Carnival and Menton Lemon Festival still on track

After disappointing cancellations last year, it has been confirmed that both the Nice Carnival and the Menton Lemon Festival will go ahead in February, albeit in abridged forms. 

Maybe 2022 really is going to be that year, the year where things gradually begin to shift back toward normal, allowing beloved events to take place and for life to have some semblance of the way it used to be.

Tuesday’s announcements by the mayors of Nice and Menton declaring that both the Nice Carnival and Menton Lemon Festival are going ahead has brought some joy, and relief, to the masses.

Before anyone gets too overexcited, it also has been announced that both events will be held in revised ways to accommodate the health situation, though it is unclear what exactly that means at present.

Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi said on Tuesday afternoon that Carnival will take place on the scheduled dates of 11th to 27th February, but conceded that “given the health situation at the beginning of January, we will not necessarily have an edition such as in the past. We will have to show adaptation and agility, depending on the sanitary conditions of the period.”

“There will be an event-driven, reasonable, reasoned and organised policy. There will not be Carnival as you have known it before but there will be Carnival according to the constraints which will be decreed by the government. It may be that there is no parade at all,” admitted Estrosi, who optimistically followed up by saying, “But in any case, nothing would justify depriving the local economy, the people of Nice, and the people of Nice of this event.”

Mayor Estrosi now has 15 days to clarify what these adaptations will be specifically. Amongst the possibilities are limiting grandstand occupation to 5,000, holding several performances each day, holding some events at the Opera de Nice, and spreading the exhibitions out to different parts of the city to allow visitors to partake in an appropriately socially distanced way.

“Carnival has 30 million economic benefits. It is a very important financial windfall in the winter season,” said Frédéric Gintrand, Vice President of the UMIH Nice Côte d’Azur.

Jacques Joussin, who runs the Hotel Massena, told France 3 that he has 60% to 70% occupancy levels for the second half of February, including groups and tour operators from all over Europe.

“We are ready,” he told the French media station. “We want to welcome our customers in good conditions, even at a reduced level, and with the protocol we have put in place. All the hotels are playing the game on the Côte d’Azur.”

Meanwhile in Menton, Mayer Yves Juhel has said that whilst the show will still go on, it will definitely not be business as usual.

“The corsos and the gardens of lights, which are very high in attendance, are cancelled in order to avoid an excessive concentration of spectators strongly discouraged during this period of pandemic,” he said in a City of Menton press release. 

The citrus exhibitions in the Bioves Garden will be on display, though, and will be accessible to all. Merchants and restaurant workers are encouraged to wear lemon yellow to show their festive spirit and solidarity.

UPDATE: It was announced late Wednesday that the other pending event, the Prom Classic, has been cancelled. The first major sporting event of the year in Nice was due to take place on 9th January. The 10km race usually sees 10,000 participants running along the Promenade des Anglais and is a highlight of the new year. 

Meanwhile, the other running race which was to take place between Nice and Cap d’Ail on 30th January, the Course du Soleil, is also cancelled, it was announced on Tuesday by the organisers. Runners who are already registered will be reimbursed.

 

 

Photo of the 2019 Nice Carnival by Marc Luczak on Flickr

 

 

 

‘Tremblings’ at the NMNM

The Nouveau Musée National de Monaco’s new exhibition is bringing together a selection of works collected over the past decade by recently retired Museum Director Marie-Claude Beaud.
Villa Paloma is the setting for a new exhibit, ‘Tremblings – Recent Acquisitions of the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco’, which showcases a hand-picked collection of works acquired by former Museum Director Marie-Claude Beaud, who left in April 2021.
The exhibition was the brainchild of Célia Bernasconi, Chief Curator of the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (NMNM), and features works by 17 contemporary living artists, nine of whom are women, from 12 different countries. The common thread between the pieces is that the artists all had a similar response to the definition of “trembling thinking”.
It is summed up by French Caribbean poet Edouard Glissant, who said, “First of all, it must be said that trembling is not uncertainty, that it is not fear, that it is not what paralyses us. Trembling thinking – and to my mind, all utopia passes through this thought – is first of all the instinctive feeling that we must refuse all categories of rigid thinking and all categories of imperial thinking.
“Thought that organises itself into a system and tries to put order, its own order, into the world, is a thought against which we can raise this trembling thinking, which is the knowledge or the attempt at real knowledge of what is happening in the world today. In the Whole-World, everything trembles. The Whole-World trembles physically, geologically, mentally, spiritually, because the Whole-World is looking for this point, I would not say this station, but this utopian point where all the cultures of the world, all the imaginations of the world, can meet and hear one another without being dispersed or getting lost.”
After having directed institutions as diverse as the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, the American Centre, the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the Mudam in Luxembourg, Marie-Claude Beaud developed her vision of the contemporary museum in Monaco inspired by the poetry of Édouard Glissant and his aesthetic of the Whole-World.
The collections of the NMNM have thus been enriched in a transdisciplinary and inclusive manner, and in constant dialogue with contemporary artists. While ensuring the study and preservation of works of art linked to the Monaco of the past and the modern era, the NMNM has developed a heritage that includes interesting contemporary art. Based on themes defined by taking into consideration the history of Monaco and its territory, its acquisition policy has made it possible to support and represent a great diversity of views and voices within the national collections.
Video installations, sculptures, paintings, and photographs by diverse artists Yinka Shonibare, Sylvie Blocher, Arthur Jafa, Helen Johnson, Clément Cogitore, Candice Breitz, Latifa Echakhch, Petrit Halilaj, Brice Dellsperger, Pauline Boudry, Renate Lorenz, Nan Goldin, Steve McQueen, Apostolos Georgiou, Hans Schabus, Katinka Bock and Laure Prouvost will offer visitors committed visions of the world and highlight the fragilities of society.
The exhibition will run through 15th May 2022 at the Villa Paloma.