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Maserati MSG Racing unveil their 2023 Formula E challenger

by: Luke Entwistle
07/12/2022

On the eve of the Gen3 Formula E era, Monégasuqe team Maserati MSG Racing have unveiled their 2023 challenger, the Maserati Tipo Folfore, which it hopes will steer them to the championship.

Formerly ROKiT Venturi Racing, Maserati MSG Racing narrowly missed out on the title last year and their lead driver Edoardo Mortara also narrowly missed out on the drivers’ title.

With Formula E pre-season testing beginning on Wednesday 7th December, the Maserati Tipo Folgore was revealed on the streets of Maserati’s home in Modena, Italy. The electric car features the “timeless and iconic blue tone” for which Maserati are world-renowned.

While the performance of the new car remains a mystery for now, new team principal James Rossiter believes that the partnering of Monaco Sports Group (MSG) with Maserati is “a winning combination”.

Maserati Tipo Folgore by Maserati MSG Racing

“After months of anticipation, it’s a great feeling to lift the covers off the Maserati Tipo Folgore. With the prestige of Maserati and the experience, success, and diligence of MSG, we believe we have a winning combination. At this stage, it’s very difficult to make any predictions, but with a competitive package and Edo (Mortara) and Max (Günther) behind the wheel, we’re confident that we can have a successful season,” said Rossiter in a press release.

Mortara, who so narrowly lost out on the title last season, shared the caution of his team principal ahead of pre-season testing in Valencia.

“Over the past few months, we’ve been going through our development cycle and so far, things look good, but it’s too early to really tell. Pre-season testing will be a key opportunity for us to validate our work as we continue to refine and optimise our performance ahead of the start of the season,” said the Swiss driver.

The 16-race-long calendar, which sees Formula E visit 12 cities across five continents, begins in Mexico City on 14th January 2023.

 

Photo by Maserati MSG Racing

Photos: Last month to see ‘100 years of concerts in Monaco’

by: Cassandra Tanti
07/12/2022

The exhibition ‘Monaco On Stage – 100 years of concerts in Monaco’ will be open exceptionally for two nights this December, before the stage is packed up for good at the end of the year.

Monaco has had a special relationship with music for almost a century. Famous names such as Tom Jones, Cher, Ray Charles, Lady Gaga and Prince have all performed on Monte-Carlo’s legendary stages.

The immersive exhibition features corridors lined with photographs, many signed by the artists themselves, including Edith Piaf, Cher, Tom Jones, Ray Charles, Liza Minelli and Elton John. There’s a photo of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III with Frank Sinatra, and another of Sammy Davis Jr posing on the steps of the Hôtel de Paris.

The exhibition, at the Salle d’Exposition on Quai Antoine 1er, has been created by the Department of Cultural Affairs in collaboration with Monte-Carlo SBM, which has operated the Principality’s legendary concert halls for decades. It has been curated by Alex Jaffray, a composer, producer aand music journalist, and Rudy Sabounghi, a set designer for major European theatres.

Visitors are able to listen to guitars playing iconic riffs, go behind the scenes into dressing rooms of the stars who have performed in Monaco, and experience the magic of going on stage.

The exhibition opened on 15th October and runs until 31st December, and for two exceptional evenings, on 13th and 20th December, it will remain open until 9pm for a unique, nighttime experience.

Click on the gallery below to see more pictures from the ‘Monaco On Stage – 100 years of concerts in Monaco’ exhibition, all photos by Monaco Life…

 

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Energy Crisis: Selective power cuts possible in Monaco

by: Elsa Carpenter
07/12/2022

Monaco is steeling itself against the threat of electrical power cuts this winter, an outcome of the ongoing energy crisis that is looking increasingly likely. 

While France prepares for rolling two-hour blackouts across the country from January 2023, Monaco’s Société Monégasque de l’Electricité et du Gaz (SMEG), which manages the Principality’s electrical and gas supply, is readying itself for a similar scenario.  

As explained by Monaco Life, these temporary power cuts – délestage in French – are being looked on as a solution to an overloaded and undersupplied grid. They will be applied selectively across France, targeting specific regions and départements in an effort to maintain supply to the rest of the country and thus avoid an uncontrollable, total and national blackout.  

Since October, SMEG has been regularly reporting the health of Monaco’s electrical supply via a forecasting system on its website. The projections cover the four coming days in green, orange or red according to the daily demands on the grid: green for normal consumption through to red for a very precarious situation in which power cuts are “inevitable”.  

In the case of a red alert appearing on the horizon, SMEG promises to notify customers by email, SMS or via its app a minimum of three days before the event of a planned power cut to encourage them to curb their usage and relieve the pressures on Monaco’s supply.  

Monaco’s network is fed from France and, like in France, it is the month of January that is causing the most immediate concern. Sylvain Didierjean, the director of SMEG, has said that the Principality will follow the decisions made over the border in France in relation to selective power cuts.  

“We will not cut all of Monaco, it will concern around 10% of the country,” Didierjean has told the local French press. “It is out of the question to cut [power] to a hospital.” 

The last month has seen the Monegasque government repeatedly urging residents to conserve power and reduce their usage – whether at home or work – and introduce a price cap on energy prices. The government has also put forwards a number of financial support packages to help those living in Monaco to replace outdated appliances and collective heating systems. 

 

 Photo source: Amira El Fohail for Unsplash

Roca Team do the double over ASVEL thanks to attacking masterclass

by: Luke Entwistle
07/12/2022

AS Monaco Basketball stunned Lyon-Villeurbanne with a first-quarter frenzy on their way to beating their nemesis twice in the space of a week (97-78) and moving top of the Betclic Elite in the process. 

Due to Boulogne-Levallois’ defeat, Sasa Obradovic’s men take top spot in the domestic championship with 10 wins in just 12 matches, the only defeats coming against Limoges and Dijon.

Mike James was imperious on the night, scoring 19 points in the first half (26 points in total and six assists) as Monaco stormed into an early and unassailable advantage. With an 18-point lead after the first 10 minutes (33-15), ASVEL couldn’t muster a response, and Monaco simply managed the game out. A semblance of a response was evident on the return from the dressing rooms, but nothing of the proportions necessary to overhaul such a deficit.

Obradovic’s men then responded in the final quarter, reversing ASVEL’s advances, and securing a fifth successive victory. Lyon-Villeurbanne meanwhile, are on a dreadful streak of eight defeats in nine matches. At this moment in time, they don’t look like Monaco’s biggest challenger for the domestic title, as they were last year.

“The players showed big motivation. Having just one day to prepare for this match isn’t easy, as it will be for almost the entire month of December. From entering the court, we applied the right defensive aggression and that allowed us to increase our lead quickly with a transition game. James was very focused and was our guide tonight,” said Obradovic post-match.

The Roca Team is traversing a difficult month. The players face a trip to the Spanish capital to face Real Madrid on Thursday, before meeting their closest challenger in the Betclic Elite, Boulogne-Levallois on Sunday.

 

Photo by AS Monaco Basket

Fofana and Disasi last Monaco players standing at World Cup

by: Luke Entwistle
07/12/2022

Breel Embolo, Takumi Minamino, Ismaïl Jakobs, and Krépin Diatta all made their exits from the World Cup during the Round of 16, but Youssouf Fofana and Axel Disasi advance to a quarter-final meeting against England. 

AS Monaco’s Fofana continued his streak of competing in every one of France’s World Cup campaign as he came on in a comfortable 3-1 win for Les Bleus against Poland. Despite failing to impress in his only start of the tournament, a 1-0 defeat to Tunisia, the former Strasbourg midfielder retains the confidence of Didier Deschamps, who brought him on for the final 25 minutes of Sunday’s match.

Disasi also featured in the closing stages of the match. The versatile Monaco defender, who due to an injury to Ruben Aguilar earlier in the season was made to deputise at right-back, once again came on towards the end of the match. The Aguilar injury inadvertently helped Disasi earn the initial call-up, and the poor performance of Benjamin Pavard in the World Cup opener against Australia has seen him promoted up the pecking order. Behind Jules Koundé, Disasi now looks like Deschamps’ second-choice right-back.

France next face England in the quarter-finals on Saturday. Miraculously, it is the first time that the two teams have met in the knockout stages of a major tournament.

England advanced thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win against Senegal, which saw Jakobs and Diatta become the first AS Monaco players to leave the tournament. The “Lions of Teranga” looked dangerous in the opening stages, but were pulled apart on the counter-attack. England will therefore face France, with the winner then going on to face either Morocco or Portugal in the semi-finals next Wednesday.

Portugal earned their place in the next round thanks to a resounding 6-1 win against Switzerland on Tuesday. Having got on the scoresheet twice in the tournament, Embolo couldn’t impact the fixture as Portugal cut through the Swiss defence with ease. Only Portuguese profligacy stemmed the damage.

On Monday, Minamino was dumped out of the competition in heartbreaking fashion. Japan held Croatia, the losing finalist in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with the game ultimately going to penalties. The Monaco forward missed Japan’s opening penalty, as his side went on to lose 3-1, leaving the former Liverpool player in tears.

Of the six Monaco players who departed the Principality for Qatar, only two remain, and they face a fight on their hands to help Deschamps’ side progress further.

 

Behind the scenes of the Grimaldi Forum expansion

by: Jessica Tatam
06/12/2022

Works on an ambitious project that will double the size of the Grimaldi Forum are due to be completed in 2025, but guests at a recent IBTM business travel expo in Barcelona were treated to a preview of how the future building will look in a brand-new video. 

The dramatic expansion of the Grimaldi Forum is part of the broader offshore extension project currently being undertaken by the Principality. It will see the leading events and conference centre establishment gain an additional 6,000m2 of modular space, resulting in a 50% increase to exhibition capacity. This will allow the Grimaldi Forum to cater to a much larger audience, host a greater number of events simultaneously, and facilitate more original and creative events.  

The spacious new extension will be divided into three main internal zones: the Diaghilev Gallery, the Carré and Patio rooms located on the seaward side of the current building, and the Pinède Hall, with over 3,000m2 of flexible space.  

The new layout also boasts more than 2,000m2 of extra outdoor space, which will make the most of the Mediterranean climate and the centre’s prime location over five separate terrace and patio areas. This includes the spacious Emeraude forecourt and the impressive Ravel Terrace, the latter of which enjoys unobstructed sea views.   

Being completed as part of the Mareterra land reclamation project means that the Grimaldi Forum expansion will need to comply with the very strict environmental requirements imposed. The Forum itself has been certified ISO 14001 since 2008 and, thanks to the existing 1,500 photovoltaic panels on its roof, can already produce enough electricity to supply power to numerous surrounding buildings in the upcoming eco-district.  

The Grimaldi Forum is Monaco’s largest event centre, hosting around 100 events and 250,000 guests each year. 

 

Photo source: Grimaldi Forum