Monaco

Monaco is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe on the northern central coast of the Mediterranean Sea, having a land border on three sides only with France, and being about 16 km (9.9 mi) away from Italy. Its size is just under 2 km² with an estimated population of almost 33,000. Monaco is the world's most densely populated sovereign country, and the world's smallest French-speaking country. An average person takes less than an hour to walk the entire length of the country.[citation needed] Monaco is the name of the country as well as the name of its only and capital city. It is often regarded as a tax haven, and many of its inhabitants are wealthy and from foreign countries, making up a majority of the population, at around 84%


Sport and entertainment
Formula One

Formation lap for the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix.Since 1929, the Monaco Grand Prix has been held annually in the streets of Monaco. It is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. The erecting of the Circuit de Monaco takes six weeks to complete, and the removal after the race another three weeks. The circuit has many elevation changes and tight corners, along with a tunnel. This together with being incredibly narrow and tight makes it perhaps the most demanding Formula One track. Only two drivers have ever crashed into the harbour, the most famous being Alberto Ascari in the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix. (Ascari lost his life four days later at Monza). The other was Paul Hawkins, during the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix.

Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally has been held since 1911, having originally been held at the behest of Prince Albert I and is, like the principality's Grand Prix, organised by the Automobile Club de Monaco. It has long been considered to be one of the toughest and most prestigious events in rallying and from 1973 to 2008 was the opening round of the World Rally Championship.

Football
AS Monaco FC plays at Stade Louis II and has been one of the more successful French sides of recent times. Because of the popular appeal of living in Monaco and the lack of income tax, many international stars have played for the club, such as Jürgen Klinsmann, Oliver Bierhoff, George Weah, John Collins, Fernando Morientes, Thierry Henry, Fabien Barthez, Rafael Márquez, Javier Saviola, David Trezeguet, Patrice Evra, Valur Guðnason, Shabani Nonda, Emmanuel Adebayor, Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen, Jan Koller and Park Chu-Young. The club reached the UEFA Champions League Final in 2004, led by the likes of Morientes, Evra, Akis Zikos, and Ludovic Giuly, losing 3-0 to Portuguese team, F.C. Porto. The Stade Louis II also plays host to the annual UEFA Super Cup, which is played between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

Rugby

Monaco's national rugby team, as of June 2009, is 88th in the International Rugby Board rankings.

Other sports

View of the Port of Hercules, La Condamine, MonacoThe Monte Carlo Masters is currently held annually in neighbouring Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, as a professional tournament for men as part of tennis' ATP Masters Series. The tournament has been held since 1897. Golf's Monte Carlo Open was also held at the Monte Carlo Golf Club at Mont Agel in France between 1984 and 1992. Monaco has also competed in the Olympic Games, although, as of 2008, no athlete from Monaco has ever won an Olympic medal.

In 2009, the Tour de France, the world's premier bicycle race, started from Monaco with a 15 km closed-circuit individual time trial starting and finishing there on the first day (4 July) and the 182 km second leg starting there on the following day and ending in Brignoles, France.

Monaco also stage part of the Global Champions Tour (International Show-jumping). Acknowledged as the most glamorous of the series, Monaco will be hosting the world's most celebrated riders, including Monaco's own Charlotte Casiraghi, in a setting facing out over the world's most beautiful yachts, and framed by the Port Hercule and Prince's palace. In 2009, the Monaco stage of the Global Champions tour takes place between 25 June - 27 June.

The Monaco Marathon is the only marathon in the world to trascend three separate countries, those of Monaco, France and Italy. The 2010 event takes place on March 21. Runners complete the race by returning to the Stade Louis II.Grand Prix is an annual international sports car race through Monte Carlo's elegant streets.

The Monaco Ironman 70.3 triathlon race is an annual event with over 1000 athletes competing and attracts top professional athletes from around the world. The race includes a 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike ride and 21.1 km run.
Official event webpage: http://www.monaco-ironman.com/indeximmc.htm

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