Monte Carlo is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to a larger district, the Monte Carlo Quarter, which besides Monte Carlo/Spélugues also includes the wards of La Rousse/Saint Roman, Larvotto/Bas Moulins and Saint Michel. The permanent population of the ward of Monte Carlo is about 3,500, while that of the quarter is about 15,000. Monaco has four traditional quarters. From west to east they are: Fontvieille, Monaco-Ville, La Condamine, and Monte Carlo.
Rainier III was the Prince of Monaco from 9 May 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest ruling monarchs in European history.
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, unicyclists, as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term circus also describes the performance which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus. In 1768, Astley, a skilled equestrian, began performing exhibitions of trick horse riding in an open field called Ha'Penny Hatch on the south side of the Thames River. In 1770, he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and a clown to fill in the pauses between the equestrian demonstrations and thus chanced on the format which was later named a "circus". Performances developed significantly over the next fifty years, with large-scale theatrical battle reenactments becoming a significant feature. The traditional format, in which a ringmaster introduces a variety of choreographed acts set to music, developed in the latter part of the 19th century and remained the dominant format until the 1970s.
Princess Stéphanie Marie Elisabeth of Monaco is the youngest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly. She is the younger sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Caroline, Princess of Hanover. Currently 14th in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, she has been a singer, swimwear designer and fashion model.
Caroline, Princess of Hanover, is the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly. She is the elder sister of Prince Albert II and Princess Stéphanie. Until the births of her niece and nephew, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques, in December 2014, she had been heiress presumptive to the throne of Monaco since 2005, a position which she previously held from 1957 to 1958.
Fontvieille is the southernmost ward in the Principality of Monaco. It was developed by an Italian architect, Manfredi Nicoletti, between the 1970s and the 1990s.
Pauline Grace Maguy Ducruet is a Monegasque diver and niece of Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Valentin Gneushev is a Russian circus director and choreographer.
The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Monaco:
Circus Knie is the largest circus of Switzerland, based in Rapperswil.
Karyne and Sarah Steben, also known as the Steben Twins, are Canadian twin trapeze artists. The pair were the first female innovators of the feet-to-feet catching technique.
David Larible is an Italian clown.
Encho Keryazov is a Bulgarian acrobat.
The Golden Nymph Award(s) are the prizes awarded to the winners of the Official Competition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
Peter Shub is an American actor, clown and vaudeville show director who moved to Europe in the 1980s. He has worked with a number of distinguished international organizations and artists and went on tour with well known circuses such as the German Circus Roncalli, the Big Apple from New York and the Canadian Cirque du Soleil. He has won a Silver Clown of Monte Carlo award and went on tour with his own show as well as with other vaudeville shows throughout Europe. He has been called a "legend", a "modern master", and a "fixture of the German Varieté world."
Matéo Mornar is a French sculptor of contemporary art. He lives and works in the Principality of Monaco.
The Berousek family is a Czech family, originally from Vilémov, with members who have been circus performers for two centuries. Skills include comedy, puppetry, acrobatics, equestrianism, bear training, tight rope walking, and juggling.
Erika Lemay is an international artist, dancer, actress, acrobat and performer. She is the creator of Physical Poetry.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Doveyko Jr. is a Soviet and Russian circus artist, acrobat, director. He was awarded the People's Artist of the Russian Federation in 2000.
