AS Monaco Basketball are one step closer to the Betclic Elite final after beating Bourg-en-Bresse (96-79) on Monday in the first match of a five-match semi-final series.
The Roca Team made light work of Strasbourg in the quarter-finals to advance after a comfortable 2-0 series win. Now they find themselves on the right side of the draw: Monaco’s two closest challengers, Boulogne-Levallois and Lyon-Villeurbanne, will face off against each other in the other semi-final.
Kevin Durant once again in attendance
Monaco’s team is therefore a strong favourite to reach the final. The first match against Bourg-en-Bresse was wrapped up before halftime, and the Roca Team headed back to the dressing rooms with a 16-point advantage (48-32). That lead was never eaten into.
Donatas Motiejunas (20 points) inflicted much of the damage, whilst Mike James (12 points), Elie Okobo (13 points) and Jordan Loyd (12 points) shouldered the creative burden in front of Kevin Durant, who is becoming something of a regular at the Salle Gaston Médecin.
“From the opening minutes, we played with the aggression that we needed. The players have really come into this match in playoff mode,” said Sasa Obradovic post-match.
The Roca Team were wasteful in the final quarter, unnecessarily losing possession on multiple occasions and being hit in the transition, but there was no chance of a comeback as Obradovic’s men professionally sealed the win (96-79).
Monaco will be hoping to double their lead at the Salle Gaston Médecin on Wednesday. A victory would leave them within one win of the Betclic Elite final, which will take place later this month.
The chequered flag has only just been waved on the 80th edition of the Monaco Grand Prix, but the future of the iconic race is already being called into question and Prince Albert II has admitted that “compromises” may have to be found.
Since Liberty Media’s takeover of Formula One early in 2017, the sport has made a discernable departure from its past strategy. It is notably less Europe-centric, with an increasing number of races taking place in the Middle East and, this season, there are three races in the United States alone.
“With our American friends, tradition doesn’t mean a lot to them. We’re facing people from a different culture,” said Michel Boeri, who has been the head of the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) since 1972, during an interview with L’Équipe. “Until then [when Liberty Media took over], there was always a European tradition. Money was money, but only to a certain point.”
Indeed, Monaco, like many of the classic and rightly iconic European races such as Spa-Francochamps, cannot compete with the explosion of costs in recent years, which has notably been driven by the hosting of Grand Prix in the Middle East.
Photo source: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
While the exact figure that Monaco pays to host the Grand Prix is unknown, rumours in the paddock suggest it is between €18m and €20m. Qatar pays €50m, as does Saudi Arabia.
The specificities of hosting a Formula One race within the tight, narrow streets of the relatively small Principality mean that rivalling such offers will be impossible.
Italy’s Monza can pack between 300,000 and 400,000 people into the grandstands over the course of the race weekend, but Monaco can only host 27,000 per day, and 7,000 of which are standing only.
“There is a disproportion that everyone can understand. It’s violent to make us pay the same amount,” said Boeri.
Compromises have already had to be made, and as revealed by Monaco Life, the superyachts within Port Hercules have already been targeted to raise further income. Given that over the course of the three-year contract, signed last year, Monaco will face “significant increases” in the cost of hosting the Grand Prix year-on-year, in the words of Boeri, further streams of income may need to be found going forward.
“If you don’t align with our prices, there won’t be a Monaco,” Boeri was reportedly told during tough negotiations to retain Monaco’s place on the calendar.
Michel Boeri to be sidelined in future Formula One negotiaitions
Being priced out of hosting the Grand Prix in the future is an omnipresent fear, but one that the ACM and Prince Albert II are hoping to avoid. There remain two Grand Prix events before the end of the current contract, at which time a new contract will have to be drawn up and a new relationship defined.
“There will be a re-evaluation of everything as far as I know on the sponsors’ side of things, the production and the merchandising,” said Prince Albert II in a recent interview with Monaco Matin.
The negotiations will look different next time in the hopes of avoiding the same clash of cultures that mired the last round of talks, and Prince Albert has confirmed that Boeri won’t be leading the future negotiations.
“We are no longer in the Bernie Ecclestone era. Boeri hasn’t managed to adapt and maybe didn’t want to have sustained discussions,” said the Prince, who nonetheless expressed his “respect” for the man that has headed the ACM for over half a century. Michel Ferry, the vice president of the ACM, is likely to take the lead, as he did at times during the previous talks.
On Prince Albert II’s part, there is also an admittance that certain concessions may have to be made in order to conserve Monaco’s place on a growing Formula One calendar.
“If we are able to make compromises, we will find compromises,” he said.
Will Las Vegas replace Monaco?
However, Liberty Media ultimately holds all the cards, and the future of the Monaco Grand Prix may ultimately hang on the importance attributed to continuing tradition.
“They (Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media and Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula One) told me off the record that they can’t envisage an F1 season without Monaco. They can’t say that publically, but I can,” said Prince Albert II.
Actions will speak louder than words, and money ultimately rules the roost at Liberty Media, while the ACM is increasingly aware that it cannot compete financially.
“If a Middle Eastern state puts six times more money on the table than us, we’re dead,” said Boeri.
2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, source Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
The Middle Eastern money is a threat, but so is the growth of the sport in the USA, which is, at least in part, due to the popular Netflix series Drive to Survive.
Eyes are already being drawn to the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix later this year, which is a potential future competitor for the Monaco Grand Prix. Both bring together street racing and glamour, and amongst the paddock, it is questioned whether the former could replace the latter.
“We still believe in tradition,” concluded Boeri. Whether or not Liberty Media does too could prove pivotal for the future of the Monaco Grand Prix, the crown in Formula One’s calendar.
This weekend, the Rendez-Vous aux Jardins festival will see over 2,000 spectacular parks and gardens open up to the public, with everything from guided tours to workshops on the programme.
For two decades, the Rendez-Vous aux Jardins event has given the public a chance to visit thousands of parks and gardens in full bloom, many of which are usually private. This year, some 580 extra never-before-seen sites are also joining the roster.
This year’s theme, Music of the Garden, invites guests to come and listen to the sounds of the great outdoors, from the wind in the trees to the buzzing of bees, and to enjoy the richness and beauty of these unique green spaces.
LOCAL PARTICPANTS
Locally, in the Alpes-Maritimes, the public can enjoy several spots including: the Jardin Exotique d’Eze in Eze; La Citronneraie, the Jardin Serre de la Madone, the Jardin Botanique Exotique du Val Rahmeh and the Jardin Fontana Rosa, all in Menton; and the Villa Arson, the Jardin Botanique and Parc Pheonix in Nice. Additionally, just over the border in Italy, the Giardini Hanbury, also known as the Villa Hanbury, is welcoming visitors.
Originally a French-conceived event, the idea has spread like wildflowers and now includes 400 green spaces from 19 other European nations. An interactive map of all locations is available here.
WORKSHOPS, WALKS AND MORE
Far from simply wandering around these lush landscapes, the event’s organisers have countless activities planned – workshops, guided tours, how-to demonstrations, musical walks, concerts and more – for garden enthusiasts of all ages and levels.
Awareness raising is also on the agenda, with opportunities to learn more about ways to restore and create gardens, as well as conservation methods to keep them looking beautiful and productive all year round.
The Rendez-Vous aux Jardins festival runs from 2nd to 4th June. For more information, please click here.
Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.
If you love all things Italian and cucina italiana, mark the first Friday of June down in your diary!
Did you know that Monaco has three different markets? There’s the Condamine Market just off the Place d’Armes, the Marché de Monte-Carlo over on Avenue Saint-Charles and a brand-new addition in the form of the Petit Marché de Monaco Ville up on the Rock, which happens just once a week, but is steadily growing in popularity with locals and visitors alike.
These markets are vibrant places, but given the countless other attractions in the Principality, they sometimes fall off the visitor map. So, as part of a project to revive and revitalise these community hubs for residents and tourists, the Mairie de Monaco has, for several months now, been organising evening and specialty events within the market halls. After truffles, chestnuts, regional wines and cheeses, and even sea urchins, now it’s time for that family favourite, Italian cuisine, to take centre stage.
On Friday 2nd June from 7.30pm, market traders at the Condamine will come together for a night of traditional Italian cooking accompanied by live music from the Serena Sforzi & Fabio Paxia Duet.
In the past, many of these events have been sold out, so it’s imperative to make a reservation directly with the stores taking part next time you’re in the market.
Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.
Photo source: Klara Kulicova for Unsplash. This article was originally published 22nd May.
Artist Ramtin Zad’s Last Ceremony on show this June
A collection of works by Iranian artist Ramtin Zad that feature mythical and fictional characters in contemporary settings will be on exhibition at the Kamil Art Gallery in June.
Artist Ramtin Zad was a graphic designer by trade, but turned his hand to fine art in order to share the challenges of everyday living that humans endure.
Using fictional characters such as Pinocchio, Don Quixote and Romeo and Juliet, his approach is to “restate the story of human condition with humour, tragedy, lies and romance, while engaging with both historical and contemporary narratives”.
Tehran-based Zad admits to being obsessed with timelessness – the themes of life, death and resurrection are recurrent throughout his work – but it is nature that is his biggest source of inspiration.
Last Ceremony, this new exhibit, was curated by London-based Fereshte Moosavi, who has also led two other similar exhibitions in Monaco in recent years: Contemporary Iran: A Historiographical Review on the Relation Between Art and Public at Art Monte-Carlo and Animal Party at Kamil Art Gallery.
Last Ceremony will be on display from 6th to 26th June at the Kamil Art Gallery on Avenue Princesse Grace. A private vernissage will take place on 5th June.
Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.
Photo of Ramtin Zad’s Romeo & Juliette, 2021
“Choking on plastics”: Talks of a global treaty underway in Paris
With cities producing an estimated 75% of all plastic waste, the Paris International Forum to End Plastic Pollution in Cities summit is seeking to unify solutions and establish a treaty for action.
“Our planet is choking on plastics”, said the United Nations in a recent report. The situation is at its worst in large urban centres, where populations are dense and consumption is higher.
On the back of this damning statement came the first ever Paris International Forum to End Plastic Pollution in Cities summit on Friday 26th May. It was an in-person and online event that gathered together mayors from every continent as well as scientists, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and intergovernmental and philanthropic associations and organisations that are committed to fighting plastic pollution.
It is being followed up with meetings held from Monday 29th May to Friday 2nd June with the 55-nation coalition of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), which was set up in December 2022 by the UN.
The goal is to develop an official plastics treaty aimed specifically at limiting production and favouring recycling.
CLOSE, BUT NOT THERE YET
In early May, the UN’s Environment Programme (UNEP) released a proposal to reduce plastic waste by 80% by 2040 that focused on three key areas: reusing, recycling and finding solid alternatives to plastic packaging. This approach is being picked up for the potential contents of the treaty, which could also include outright bans on certain plastics that are hard to recycle as well as making improvements to waste management.
The UNEP report identified 13,000 chemicals associated with plastic production, over 3,000 of which it considers to be dangerous, and with many nations already citing plastics as a public health risk, this aspect will be addressed by treaty-makers over the course of this week too.
“We have a responsibility to protect human health from the most harmful polymers and chemicals of concern through the treaty,” said Rwanda’s Environment Minister, Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, who is the co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution.
“Real solutions to the plastics crisis will require global controls on chemicals in plastics and significant reductions in plastic production,” echoed Dr Therese Karlsson, a science advisor with the International Pollutants Elimination Network.
There are still issues that need to be resolved before any treaty came become reality. These include figuring out how to finance new policies as well as how to implement and police them once they are enacted.
What all agree on, however, is that a solution to the world’s plastic’s problem can’t come soon enough.
