This year Monaco’s Grand Prix is celebrating its 80th anniversary. You simply cannot imagine the most glamorous race in the world without following events and parties.10 years on the row Sunset remains the most wanted unmissable beach party during the iconic Formula 1 event. Festival vibe with a luxurious environment, A-list celebrities, eclectic international crowd and an impressive music line up. What makes this event so special? We spoke with Cedric Houdrouge, co-founder of Sunset, about the story of a famous party, a crush on a DJs and the secret of success.
How did you start with the idea of Sunset?
Sunset started before the Sunset that we all know. We were gathering our friends and family around that special time of the year – The Monaco Formula One Grand Prix. For the first time I decided to organize a party for 30 people in my house. The goal of this reunion was to invite international friends to experience Formula 1 in Monaco.
So, over the years that 30-people reunion turned into 100 people, then year after – 200 people and the last year about 300. When we reached this point we started to think that the parties here were not what we were looking for. We decided to stop this private event and do a proper party.
What was the main concept?
Me and Tom (Thomas Peeters, co-founder of Sunset) had a big focus on music and artistic direction. The music content was probably the number one thing that was missing for us, but also the magic that comes around an event.
We wanted to bring a family and friendly vibe into a more professional and structured event, adding up artists and performances. We always wanted to be part of the beachfront and to make sure that the venue could be accessed right after the qualification and right after the race and Le Meridien Beach Plaza Hotel in Monaco took the box. We were lucky enough to work with Manuel De Vasconcelos, who was the GM of the hotel at that time. He trusted us on instinct and gave birth to Sunset.
Thomas Peeters, co-founder of Sunset
Every year the Sunset party is one of the most “wanted” events during Formula 1. What is your secret of success?
We are from Monaco and we’ve been experiencing the parties and the nightlife for the last 20-25 years. We understand the dance floor and it’s is a very important aspect of this business. What you need to know is how the dance floor works, how to create a vibe, and how to put people dancing and smiling. The whole idea was an organic idea. There was no business plan or strategy, there was just a will to make an event happen, an event we loved.
How do you select the DJs?
Me and my partner Thomas have a strong sense of music taste. Obviously, music taste is different for everyone. But we book an artist only if we have a crush. When we travel the world, when we go to clubs, when we go to festivals. We look, we listen, we feel we connect. Sometimes we also book DJs we’ve never heard before just on the basis of their production, opinion of our friends, Spotify or
SoundCloud.
It can be a small DJ, it can be a big DJ, can be a medium-sized DJ, can be a DJ that is at the end of his career or at the beginning. There’s no label to it. We just love to have a lineup that has a lot of diversity and a lot of different music.
So, we go from disco, Italian disco to funk to House to Deep house, electronic and also to live music and performances. But I must say every year it has to be an evolution for us.
This year you celebrate your anniversary. What has changed during those years?
Yes, this year we’re celebrating 10 years. And our second year in Miami. I guess that the headache changed because a bigger event means bigger headaches! But also, we are more experienced now and events in general have become more professional. During the years Sunset was appreciated by many world known celebrities: Bob Sinclar, Jason Derulo, Bella Hadid, Sofia Richie, Max Verstappen,
Nico Rosberg, Pierre Gasly, Matteo Berrettini, Lando Norris, Jasmine Tookes, Adrien Brody, Nico Hulkenberg, Jenson Button, Villas Boas, Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc, Justin Bieber was in the DJ booth and dancing.
Tell us about this year, what are you preparing for your guests?
On Friday 26 of May we will have in Monaco a female DJ – Carlita, super popular right now. On Saturday 27 we have Jayda G, also a female DJ, which is an amazing talent. We’ve been trying to have her for many years!
The lineup will also represent Monaco-based and French Riviera-based DJs. And on Sunday 28, the final race day, we have Crazy P Soundsystem (Dj & Live SInger). I can’t wait for people to see the live show!
What is your plan for the next few years?
Our plan for the next few years is to really keep on delivering the ultimate music celebration during Formula 1 in Monaco. We had a successful decade and we’re hoping for another successful one.
We have started taking Sunset internationally, like last year in Miami. Two cities: Monaco and Miami that have celebrities, great shows, music, and fashion. The F1 vibe is very similar in those two destinations.
We are working towards Vegas debut in 2023 in November. The idea is to have three to six Sunset events across the world, following Formula 1 races, and be the best music celebration around.