Sunset Monaco: 3 days of celebrations with a "friends & family" atmosphere for the Grand Prix

On the programme: some twenty musical artists.

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For ten years now, they have been a major part of the special atmosphere that surrounds the Monaco Grand Prix. The Sunset Monaco days and evenings, founded by Thomas Peeters and Cédric Houdrouge, are organised over the three days of the Formula 1 competition, from midday to midnight.

“Originally, it was a private event, with friends, in a house,” says Cédric Houdrouge. “It was an opportunity to invite friends from abroad to experience Formula 1 in Monaco. We started out with 30 people, then over the years it grew to 100, 200, 300 people… When we started to push the limits of a private event, we decided to turn it into a public event. We took over the beach at Le Meridien and our first event was in 2013.”

sunset monaco cedric houdrouge thomas peeters — *Cédric Houdrouge and Thomas Peeters co-founded the event in 2013 – © Sunset Monaco*

A very electric programme

On the menu: a very eclectic musical programme, ambitious artistic performances, but above all a ‘chic and relaxed’ atmosphere. “Each year, we focus on a musical angle that really represents Sunset. We don’t go with the hype or international trends. We book artists who speak to us, who we are into, whether they are well-known or not. (…) Sunset is a cross-generational party that parents and children from the same family can go to. You will find all your favourite types of music at Sunset, with house music, live acts or deep house from different countries, with a logical progression as the event goes on,” Cédric Houdrouge explains.

sunset monaco — *The Sunset evening events stop at midnight, so that partygoers can make the most of the Grand Prix the following day – © Camille Dufosse*

soirees sunset monaco — *The Sunset evening events stop at midnight, so that partygoers can make the most of the Grand Prix the following day – © Camille Dufosse*

Some twenty artists will be there this year, including, for example, Carlita, “a big name, the biggest trending DJ at the moment,” Jayda G “a Canadian artist that we have wanted to sign up for a long time” or Crazy P Soundsystem, “who will be in a duo with a DJ and a live singer.” And the scenography will be as colourful as it is eccentric.

Celebrities in attendance

And every year, the event attracts its share of celebrities. F1 drivers, actors, singers and models such as Jason Deluro, Adrian Brody and Bella Hadid for example. “We are happy to have them and we welcome them like normal people: that’s what makes Sunset special. Everyone is treated the same here. It’s a pretty democratic party, where we want people to have fun and dance,” says Cédric with a smile.

He remembers the year he and Thomas Peeters hosted the famous Justin Bieber. “He arrived an hour before the opening, to rest on the sofa and have a drink. We were even able to organise a boat trip for him, it was incredible. The fact that he came to Sunset and started dancing like we know he can, was memorable,” says the event’s co-founder.

But his fondest memories are undoubtedly to do with Nico Rosberg. Because the German driver and local resident celebrated his three consecutive Monaco Grand Prix victories from 2013 to 2015 at Sunset. “We kind of see ourselves as Nico’s good luck charm,” jokes Cédric Houdrouge.

sunset nico rosberg — *Every year, Sunset welcomes its share of celebrities – © Wepixu Camille Dufosse*

celebrites sunset monaco — *Every year, Sunset welcomes its share of celebrities – © Wepixu Camille Dufosse*

After ten years of parties and people, Cédric and Thomas hope to be in the Principality for the next ten years, while branching out internationally. The concept was already exported to Miami last year and again this year, just a few weeks before the Monaco Grand Prix.

“Once we have a complete command of the two existing Sunsets, we would like to do between three and six other international Grand Prix events,” says Cédric, who does not want to rush things, since these events require a lot of organisation.

“Sunset is a pop-up with 150 people in-house. They all work on the event for much longer than three days. It’s quite incredible to have a team of that size, not to mention the service providers. It’s a family that you don’t always know, but that you have to work with towards a common goal: to create a fabulous artistic event and keep the clients happy. It is a huge collective work of art,” he says.

Useful info:

Dates : 26 to 28 May 2023
Times : noon to midnight
Location: Méridien Beach Plaza, 22 avenue Princesse Grace, Monaco
Reservations are strongly advised via the event’s website.
Individual rate: from 30 to 150 euros, depending on the day.
Table prices: from 1,000 to 20,000 euros, depending on the day and placement.