1.
Monaco
–
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate, located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. France borders the country on three sides while the other side borders the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco has an area of 2.02 km2 and a population of about 38,400 according to the last census of 2015. With 19,009 inhabitants per km², it is the second smallest, Monaco has a land border of 5.47 km, a coastline of 3.83 km, and a width that varies between 1,700 and 349 m. The highest point in the country is a pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires Ward. Monacos most populous Quartier is Monte Carlo and the most populous Ward is Larvotto/Bas Moulins, through land reclamation, Monacos land mass has expanded by twenty percent, in 2005, it had an area of only 1.974 km2. Monaco is known as a playground for the rich and famous, in 2014, it was noted about 30% of the population was made up of millionaires, more than in Zürich or Geneva. Monaco is a principality governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, although Prince Albert II is a constitutional monarch, he wields immense political power. The House of Grimaldi have ruled Monaco, with brief interruptions, the official language is French, but Monégasque, Italian, and English are widely spoken and understood. The states sovereignty was recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite Monacos independence and separate foreign policy, its defense is the responsibility of France, however, Monaco does maintain two small military units. Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with the opening of the countrys first casino, Monte Carlo, since then, Monacos mild climate, scenery, and gambling facilities have contributed to the principalitys status as a tourist destination and recreation center for the rich. In more recent years, Monaco has become a major banking center and has sought to diversify its economy into services and small, high-value-added, the state has no income tax, low business taxes, and is well known for being a tax haven. It is also the host of the street circuit motor race Monaco Grand Prix. Monaco is not formally a part of the European Union, but it participates in certain EU policies, including customs, through its relationship with France, Monaco uses the euro as its sole currency. Monaco joined the Council of Europe in 2004 and it is a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. Monacos name comes from the nearby 6th-century BC Phocaean Greek colony, according to an ancient myth, Hercules passed through the Monaco area and turned away the previous gods. As a result, a temple was constructed there, the temple of Hercules Monoikos, because the only temple of this area was the House of Hercules, the city was called Monoikos. It ended up in the hands of the Holy Roman Empire, an ousted branch of a Genoese family, the Grimaldi, contested it for a hundred years before actually gaining control
2.
Opening ceremony
–
A grand opening is a publicized event at which a new establishment announces its official opening to the public. Depending on the nature of the establishment, a party atmosphere may be promoted by use of food, music, prizes, balloons, giveaways, festive signs, searchlights, a ribbon cutting ceremony is a common ritual, symbolically opening the facility to the public. Before the grand opening there are usually media previews, such openings may be by invitation only, or may welcome visitors made aware of it by word of mouth. Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing, fans Not Customers, How to create growth companies in a no growth world
3.
Albert II, Prince of Monaco
–
Albert II is the reigning monarch of the Principality of Monaco and head of the princely house of Grimaldi. He is the son of Prince Rainier III and the American actress Grace Kelly, Prince Alberts sisters are Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and Princess Stéphanie. In July 2011, Prince Albert married Charlene Wittstock, Prince Albert II is one of the wealthiest royals in the world, with assets valued at more than $1 billion, which include land in Monaco and France. Albert was born in the Princes Palace of Monaco and he has ancestry from Ireland, Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Belgium, and Monaco. His godmother was the Spanish queen Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg, Albert graduated with distinction from the Lycee Albert Premier, in 1976. He was a camper and later a counselor for six summers at Camp Tecumseh, on Lake Winnipesaukee, Moultonborough, New Hampshire and he speaks French, English, German, and Italian. He spent the summer of 1979 touring Europe and the Middle East with the Amherst Glee Club, Albert also undertook an exchange program with the University of Bristol, at the Alfred Marshall School of Economics and Management in 1979. Albert was a sportsman, participating in cross country, javelin throwing, handball, judo, swimming, tennis, rowing, sailing, skiing, squash. He is a patron of Monacos football teams, Albert competed in the bobsleigh at five consecutive Winter Olympics for Monaco, taking part in both the two-man and four-man events. In the two-man bobsleigh Albert finished 25th at the 1988 games in Calgary, 43rd at the 1992 games in Albertville, and 31st at the 2002 games. In the four-man bobsleigh Albert finished 27th in 1992, 26th at the 1994 games in Lillehammer, Albert was Monacos flag bearer at the 1988,1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics. Albert took part in the 1985 Paris–Dakar Rally, but did not finish it and he also became a judo black belt. On 7 March 2005, Alberts father was admitted to a hospital in the principality, the Prince was being treated for breathing, kidney, and heart trouble. This decision was reached by the Crown Council of Monaco, a made up of notable local figures with residual powers to make judgments about certain constitutional matters. On 6 April 2005, Ranier III died and Albert succeeded him as Albert II, the first part of Prince Albert IIs enthronement as ruler of the Principality was on 12 July 2005, after the end of the three-month mourning period for his father. A morning mass at Saint Nicholas Cathedral presided over by the Archbishop of Monaco, afterward Albert II returned to the princely palace to host a garden party for 7,000 Monégasques born in the principality. In the courtyard, the Prince was presented with two keys of the city as a symbol of his investiture, the evening ended with a spectacular fireworks display on the waterfront. The second part of his investiture was on 19 November 2005, Albert was enthroned at Saint Nicholas Cathedral
4.
2005 Games of the Small States of Europe
–
The 2005 Games of the Small States of Europe, or the XIth Games of the Small States of Europe, were held in Andorra la Vella, Andorra from May 30 to June 4,2005. Andorra la Vella previously hosted the games in 1991, administration of the games was done jointly by the Andorran government and the Andorran Olympic Committee. Joan Enric Vives Sicília, one of the Co-Princes of Andorra, the 2005 edition of the Games of the Small States of Europe was one of the largest ever and were attended by all eligible countries. Eligible nations are European states with less than 1 million citizens,793 total athletes from the eight eligible nations competed, the highest since 803 attended the 1993 Games in Valletta. The host nation Andorra brought 132, iceland and Luxembourg had 120 and 118 participants respectively. San Marino brought 94 athletes, while Monaco brought 76, malta participated with 66 athletes, and Liechtenstein brought 37. Competitions in the 2005 Games were held in ten disciplines, a total of 120 events were held in ten disciplines. There was one change in disciplines since the 2003 Games, Squash was removed from competition and it was replaced in Andorra by Taekwondo. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of events contested in each sport
5.
2009 Games of the Small States of Europe
–
The opening ceremonies were on June 1, and the closing ceremonies on June 6. The games were held in Cyprus, twenty years after the first Games held there in 1989, Malta was scheduled for 2009 in the rotation, but were selected to host the games early in 2003. The organizing committee estimates the cost at 1.5 million euros for all events, the opening ceremony took place at the New GSP Stadium. A world premiere composed by David Foster was performed by tenor Mario Frangoulis on Monday 1 June 2009, the principal sponsor of the event was Coca-Cola in a deal worth €140,000. Participating countries were, Andorra Cyprus Iceland Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Monaco San Marino Montenegro, although eligible, a record 1,500 athletes were expected to participate in the event. The official logo and the mascot, Tefkros the dove were revealed on the website on May 14,2008. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of events contested in each sport. The majority of events were held in venues in Nicosia, the southern city of Limassol hosted Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics, Sailing and Swimming, whilst the Mountain Bike events were held at the National Park of Machairas at an average altitude of 700m. Lumiere TV and the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation covered the event, live transmission through Hellas Sat of many events was covered in High Definition. Two daily summaries were also released
6.
Games of the Small States of Europe
–
The Games are held at the end of May or beginning of June, and feature competition in nine Summer Olympic sports. The games are organized by the members of the European Olympic Committees, from its initial forming at the 1984 Olympics through 2009 there were eight members, the groups ninth member was added in 2009. Members all have a population of less than one million people, participating countries are, Montenegro became the ninth GSSE country on 1 June 2009. The Faroe Islands are also seeking to compete at the Games, however, unlike the other participants, Games of the Small States of Europe – History of athletics results
7.
Montenegro
–
Montenegro is a sovereign state in Southeastern Europe. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Old Royal Capital. In the 9th century, three Slavic principalities were in the territory of Montenegro, Duklja, roughly corresponding to the half, Travunia, the west, and Rascia. In 1042, archon Stefan Vojislav led a revolt that resulted in the independence of Duklja, Duklja reached its zenith under Vojislavs son, Mihailo, and his grandson Bodin. By the 13th century, Zeta had replaced Duklja when referring to the realm. In the late 14th century, southern Montenegro came under the rule of the Balšić noble family, then the Crnojević noble family, large portions fell under the control of the Ottoman Empire from 1496 to 1878. Parts were controlled by Venice and the First French Empire and Austria-Hungary, from 1515 until 1851, the prince-bishops of Cetinje were the rulers. The House of Petrović-Njegoš ruled the country from 1697 to 1918, from 1918, it was a part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which was succeeded by SFR Yugoslavia in 1945, FR Yugoslavia in 1992, and subsequently by the state union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. On the basis of a referendum held on 21 May 2006. Montenegro is also a candidate negotiating to join the European Union, on 2 December 2015, Montenegro received an official invitation to join NATO, whereby it would be the 29th member country. This invitation was meant to start accession talks. The countrys name in most Western European languages reflects an adaptation of the Venetian Montenegro, many other languages, particularly nearby ones, use their own direct translation of the term black mountain. Examples are the Albanian name for the country, Mali i Zi, the Greek name Μαυροβούνιο, the Chinese name 黑山, all Slavic languages use slight variations on the Montenegrin name Crna Gora, examples include the Czech Černá Hora and the Polish Czarnogóra. Chechen and Ingush people call the country Ӏаьржаламанчоь, the name Crna Gora came to denote the majority of contemporary Montenegro only in the 15th century. The aforementioned region became known as Old Montenegro by the 19th century to distinguish it from the acquired territory of Brda. Its borders have changed little since then, losing Metohija and gaining the Bay of Kotor, the ISO Alpha-2 code for Montenegro is ME and the Alpha-3 Code is MNE. By 1000 BC, a common Illyrian language and culture had spread across much of the Balkans, interaction amongst groups was not always friendly – hill forts were the most common form of settlement – but distinctive Illyrian art forms such as amber and bronze jewellery evolved. In time, the Illyrians established a federation of tribes centred in what is now Macedonia
8.
Athletic Association of Small States of Europe
–
The Athletic Association of Small States of Europe is a transnational organization representing the athletic interests of smaller European nations. It was created following a proposal by the Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the official formation of AASSE took place during the 1994 European Athletic Association Congress in Venice in presence of the EAA president Carl-Olaf Homen. The Constitution Rules were signed by the representatives of Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the association only accepts membership applications from European states with a population under one million. All eligible states are members with the exception of Vatican City. The AASSE states played as a team in the European Cup. The AASSE members also host and participate in the Games of the Small States of Europe, the Games were held in Iceland in 2015 and will be held in San Marino in 2017. AASSE official website Monaco 2007 GSSE Cyprus 2009 GSSE
9.
Andorra
–
Created under a charter in 988, the present principality was formed in 1278. It is known as a principality as it is a monarchy headed by two Co-Princes – the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell in Spain, and the President of France. Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe, having an area of 468 km2 and its capital Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, Andorras tourism services an estimated 10.2 million visitors annually. It is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is the official currency and it has been a member of the United Nations since 1993. In 2013, the people of Andorra had the highest life expectancy in the world at 81 years, the origin of the word Andorra is unknown, although several hypotheses have been formulated. The word Andosini or Andosins may derive from the Basque handia whose meaning is big or giant, the Andorran toponymy shows evidence of Basque language in the area. Another theory suggests that the word Andorra may derive from the old word Anorra that contains the Basque word ur, another theory suggests that Andorra may derive from Arabic al-durra, meaning The forest. Other theories suggest that the term derives from the Navarro-Aragonese andurrial, la Balma de la Margineda found by archaeologists at Sant Julia de Loria were the first temporal settled in 10000 BC as a passing place between the two sides of the Pyrenees. The seasonal camp was located for hunting and fishing by the groups of hunter-gatherers from Ariege. During the Neolithic Age the group of humans moved to the Valley of Madriu as a permanent camp in 6640 BC, the population of the valley grew cereals, raised domestic livestock and developed a commercial trade with people from the Segre and Occitania. Other archaeological deposits include the Tombs of Segudet and Feixa del Moro both dated in 4900-4300 BC as an example of the Urn culture in Andorra, the model of small settlements begin to evolved as an complex urbanism during the Bronze Age. We can found metallurgical items of iron, ancient coins and relicaries in the ancient sanctuaries scattered around the country, the inhabitants of the valleys were traditionally associated with the Iberians and historically located in Andorra as the Iberian tribe Andosins or Andosini during the VII and II centuries BC. Influenced by Aquitanias, Basque and Iberian languages the locals developed some current toponyms, early writings and documents relating this group of people goes back to the second century BC by the Greek writer Polybius in his Histories during the Punic Wars. Some of the most significant remains of this era are the Castle of the Roc dEnclar, lAnxiu in Les Escaldes and it is known the presence of Roman influence from the II century BC to the V century AD. The places found with more Roman presence are in Camp Vermell in Sant Julia de Loria, people continued trading, mainly with wine and cereals, with the Roman cities of Urgellet and all across Segre through the Via Romana Strata Ceretana. After the fall of the Roman Empire Andorra was under the influence of the Visigoths, not directly from the Kingdom of Toledo by distance, the Visigoths remained during 200 years in the valleys, a period in which Christianization takes place within the country. The fall of the Visigoths came from the Muslim Empire and its conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, Andorra remained away from these invasions by the Franks
10.
Cyprus
–
Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel and Palestine, north of Egypt, the earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia. Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC, Cyprus was placed under British administration based on Cyprus Convention in 1878 and formally annexed by Britain in 1914. While Turkish Cypriots made up 18% of the population, the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders, following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960. On 15 July 1974, a coup détat was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta in an attempt at enosis and these events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute. The Cyprus Republic has de jure sovereignty over the island of Cyprus, as well as its territorial sea and exclusive economic area, another nearly 4% of the islands area is covered by the UN buffer zone. The international community considers the part of the island as territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces. The occupation is viewed as illegal under law, amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the European Union. Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean, on 1 January 2008, the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone. The earliest attested reference to Cyprus is the 15th century BC Mycenaean Greek
Monaco
Cyprus
Iceland
Luxembourg
Malta
Andorra
San Marino
Liechtenstein