The 74th Monegasque Red Cross Gala welcomes Robbie Williams

Presided over by HSH Prince Albert II and HSH Princess Charlene, Vice-President of the Monegasque Red Cross, the 74th Monegasque Red Cross Gala will take place on Saturday 29 July 2023 in the Salle des Etoiles at Sporting Monte-Carlo.

This evening will highlight the daily actions of the Red Cross to help the most vulnerable people, without respite for 75 years. It is a vibrant tribute to the donors of the Monegasque Red Cross, whose generosity makes it possible to prevent and alleviate the suffering of those in need.

Founded on March 3rd, 1948 by Prince Louis II, the Monegasque Red Cross was recognised the same year by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It is one of the 192 national societies of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and respects its seven fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

The mission of the Monegasque Red Cross is to assist the most vulnerable people, impartially and without discrimination, to save lives and prepare the population for disasters and to carry out humanitarian awareness and prevention activities. It operates both nationally and internationally.

From 1949 to 1958, the Monegasque Red Cross was presided over by Prince Rainier III, then from 1958 to 1982 by Princess Grace. Since 17 December 1982, it has been presided over by H.S.H. Prince Albert II, whose 40th anniversary as President was celebrated in December 2022.

The show and the work of art

Donors to the Monegasque Red Cross will be welcomed at 8 p.m. in the legendary Salle des Etoiles, where the evening will take place before a magnificent fireworks show.

In the presence of H.S.H. Prince Albert II and H.S.H. Princess Charlene, the dinner will be hosted by Alice Taglioni and Yann-Antony Noghès. Images symbolising the work of the Monegasque Red Cross will be projected before the guests, along with a film showing its activities in 2023.

Following a raffle with six prestigious prizes, this year the Monegasque Red Cross welcomes Robbie Williams, the artist who has sold 85 million albums, and who will give a concert during which he performs revisited versions, or as Robbie might say, “reworked, re-imagined and re-loved” versions of his oldest song, “Angels”, and his most recent, “Lost”.

For the 74th Monegasque Red Cross Gala, Belgian artist Philippe Geluck is offering one of his works: “Red Cross cat”. With more than 8,000 drawings in the press and 23 albums, Philippe Geluck is also a presenter, with more than 1,500 programmes bearing the stamp of his humour on France 2 or with Ruquier’s gang in “On a tout essayé”.

After numerous exhibitions, Philippe Geluck is actively preparing for the opening of the “Musée du Chat et du dessin d’humour” in Brussels, scheduled for 2026.

In the meantime, the travelling exhibition of 20 monumental sculptures, Le Chat déambule, was inaugurated in March 2021 on the Champs-Élysées, and the statues will subsequently be placed in Caen, Geneva, Monaco and Montreux.