Société des Bains de Mer 150 Years Anniversary

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Extravagant Monaco: An overview of Monaco’s most incredible events

Published on August 25, 2023Updated on November 21, 2024

Glittering yet unexpected, glamorous yet intimate, elegant yet welcoming... Monaco is the land of possibilities. “Here, we make dreams come true...,” François Blanc, founder of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, said in 1863. And it’s clear that the legend lives on... With art, sport and spectacular festivals, Monaco has the unusual and excellence in its DNA.

Monaco: So Arty!

F(ê)aites de la danse!

It was 2017, on the night of the 1st July... On an initiative of the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Place du Casino was transformed into a huge open-air dance floor open to the public. Amateurs and professionals gathered to get people waltzing, twisting and shimmying to the rhythm of ballroom and retro dancing, frantic tarantellas and other wild dances from around the world! The final session was held on 8 and 9 July 2023 and it was a resounding success!

Alicia Keys in Place du Casino and Lady Gaga at Bar Américain

A regular visitor to Monaco... In 2022, American singer Alicia Keys made her fourth visit for the 73rd edition of the eagerly awaited Gala de la Croix-Rouge Monégasque. An exceptional open-air concert for some 2,000 spectators in Place du Casino. A magical moment at the bottom of the Jardins des Boulingrins!

More intimate, but just as grandiose... It was the summer of 2015. The Monte-Carlo Summer Festival was in full flow. On the poster for 4 July, a surprising duo: crooner Tony Bennett and the outrageous Lady Gaga. But yet more unexpected: the concert organised by the diva the following day, in the Bar

Américain at the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo. A completely improvised two-hour show by the queen of pop. Unforgettable!

Monaco, the land of cinema

Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief, a thriller at the height of glamour starring the duo formed by Grace Kelly and Cary Grant; Jacques Demy’s Bay of Angels, with a platinum blonde Jeanne Moreau as queen of the casino; not to mention the adventures of suave 007, played by Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again and Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye. By unveiling its extraordinary setting on camera, Monaco has written some of the finest pages in the history of the seventh art.

Monaco in cruise mode

After the swimsuits and light dresses of the 2013 Dior Croisière (Cruise) runway show in Monte-Carlo Harbour, it was the turn of Chanel to present its Chanel Cruise collection here in 2022. Highly symbolic given the affection Coco Chanel had for Monaco!

Monaco & sporting thrills

For the love of automotive excellence

No fewer than seven automotive events are organised in Monaco each year, starting with the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix. Its legendary track is laid out around the streets, making it one of the most demanding races in the world. But what about the WRC Monte Carlo Rally held on the roads of the hinterland? A legendary event! And let’s not forget the incredible “prancing horses” in Place du Casino in June 2022: over 120 Ferraris assembled to close the 2022 Ferrari Cavalcade.

Mini-court for maxi-champions

The red ochre of its clay courts and the azure of the Mediterranean, not to mention its idyllic setting, make the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters one of the favourite tournaments of the seeds on the ATP circuit. Just like Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka who, in 2022, agreed to play in a friendly mini-tennis match on a temporary court... in Place du Casino. An unforgettable meeting in one of Monaco’s most emblematic locations!

Hooves in the water... or almost

At the foot of Monaco City (“The Rock”), amongst the yachts of Port Hercule and the frescoes of the Prince’s Palace, this one-of-a-kind Monte Carlo International Show Jumping Event takes place, an important stage in the Longines Global Champions Tour. Each year, under the gaze of an expert audience, the tricky courses of this prestigious competition bring together the world’s finest horses and riders.

Port Hercule, the temple of yachting

The largest international yacht show! Moored in the unique setting of Monte Carlo Harbour, over 120 exceptional superyachts and megayachts, from 25 to 100 metres long, stretch out before you: marvels of architecture and naval engineering intended for an exclusive clientèle, curious onlookers and potential buyers.

Boxing and Adrenaline

In 2019, in a temporary ring in the illustrious Salle Médecin at the Monte Carlo Casino, the Monte Carlo Boxing Showdown was held, a not-to-be-missed evening for the English Boxing world championship co-organised with Matchroom Boxing. Just as prestigious, the Monte Carlo Boxing Bonanza set up home in the gilded Casino Monte-Carlo. Two world-class sporting events that dazzled fans of the noble and ancient sport.

Life’s a party in Monaco

Princely festivities

55 years after the marriage of Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly, HRH Prince Albert II of Monaco and Ms Charlene Wittstock tied the knot on 1 July 2011. To celebrate the civil and religious ceremonies taking place in the Throne Room, a packed weekend of festivities in Monaco City, in the square and in the courtyard of the Prince’s Palace.

Indian Union

To delight his future wife, a wealthy Indian took over the heart of Monaco for four days. Place du Casino de Monte-Carlo was transformed into the venue for a lavish wedding, with him arriving on a white horse, accompanied by... an elephant, and her in a white, elegantly dressed Rolls-Royce.

150 years of dreaming...

The Société des Bains de Mer began in 1863. 150 years later, in 2013, Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer paid tribute to the excellence of its establishments and professions over an extraordinary weekend and a year full of events. Just like the “Dîner sur l’herbe” created by Alain Ducasse, Michelin-starred chef at Le Louis XV Alain Ducasse, took over Place du Casino, transforming it into a Mediterranean garden where 500 special guests had the chance to experience an unforgettable evening.

25 years of culinary creativity at Le Louis XV Alain Ducasse

Very Alain Ducasse... 200 chefs joined him in 2012 to celebrate 25 years of his prestigious Le Louis XV Monte-Carlo. A delicious gathering of 300 Michelin stars! It took no less to honour someone who, for a quarter of a century, in the kitchens of his three Michelin-star establishments, has creatively championed Monaco’s sun-kissed flavours.

Extravagance and fine dining

Another exceptional meeting place, Monte Carlo Casino. In 2017, L’Art du Jeu (the Art of Gaming) and Le Jeu de l’Art (the Game of Art) were celebrated at a surrealist dinner served in the casino’s prestigious Salle Médecin. A magical gala evening on the theme of Lewis Carroll and play, orchestrated by brilliant Brussels designer Charles Kaisin, in conjunction with Michelin-starred chef Marcel Ravin. The young man repeated the event a few months later on the theme of Le Jeu de l’Amour et du Hasard (the Game of Love and Chance), a fun, gastronomic voyage featuring baroque music and paying tribute to the Belle Époque. Other memorable evenings: the fantastic gala evening

Lights of Gaming, in 2018, a private dinner in four acts in the style of a runway show. And the 2019 Secret Games speakeasy, which combined luxury, gaming and delight on an exclusive VIP roaring twenties evening.

Let the party begin!

From the Gala of the Croix-Rouge Monégasque to the Monte Carlo Gala for Planetary Health at the Prince’s Palace, from the Rose Ball in the prestigious Salle des Étoiles of Sporting Monte-Carlo to the Monte-Carlo Festival of Stars, not forgetting the eternal New Year celebrations... in Monaco, life is illuminated year after year, marking these unique events in ever-sumptuous settings.