BRIGHT PROSPECTS The recently-opened Grimaldi Forum is a major new landmark with facilities that are attracting increasing numbers of business visitors to the Principality

BUSINESS tourism is big on the Côte d’Azur, and Monaco has taken steps to increase its already generous share of it. The Principality already attracts about 30 percent of visitors coming to the region for conferences and seminars—hosting around 700 such events annually.

This represents around 30 percent of arrivals and hotel nights in the Principality, and is expected to rise to 40 percent over the next few years.
Monaco has numerous facilities for business events, including the Monte Carlo Convention-Auditorium Center and the Center for International Meetings, but the building of the new Grimaldi Forum has raised its profile as a venue for business meetings to new heights.

Built at the instigation of Prince Rainier, and opened in June 2000, the Forum is one of the most striking and adaptable multi-purpose complexes in Europe, and a major new landmark for the Principality.

A striking blend of contemporary architectural style and adaptable functionality, it enables Monaco to host large-scale events, allowing the Principality to compete with rivals in the European conference market such as Barcelona, Amsterdam and Vienna.

The quality of the facilities and, of course, the prestigious location are expected to draw increasing numbers of business travelers to Monaco, and to produce a corresponding increase in hotel occupancy rates.
The six-level complex is situated on the shore between the Japanese Garden and the beaches. Architects Fabrice Notari and Frederic Genin incorporated all the facilities needed for tomorrow’s event market.

The Forum boasts 376,344 square feet of usable space, and has been designed to host the biggest conventions, symposiums, exhibitions, trade fairs, and banquets. Exhibition space extends over 107,562 square feet, and is on several levels.
The Forum is more than just the perfect venue for any business event, however. It is also there to be enjoyed by the Principality’s residents and by its visitors, as an important venue for arts and entertainment.

There is an amphitheater that seats 1,900, two auditoriums seating 400 and 800, 24 meeting rooms, two restaurants, a foyer bar, a 4,200 square meter pillarless hall, a TV recording studio, dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, an ultra-modern business center with state-of-the-art communication systems, and postal and banking services.

Since its opening, the Forum has presented a variety of prestigious events. Leading companies have used it for product launches, sales conferences and trade shows. It has hosted the Monte Carlo Television Festival, the International Festival for Digital Images, and the European IT Exhibition.

The Forum has also welcomed tennis greats like John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Pat Cash for the new Delta Tour of Champions Senior Tennis Tournament. Concerts, ballets, and operas have been staged and Pavarotti has performed there.