From a summit in Bahrain to a soirée in Shanghai, join Monocle’s next story
As we’re already halfway through Q1, it’s perhaps a good moment to take stock, pull out the diary and do a bit of forward planning and general housekeeping. While the Monocle crew can spontaneously show up anywhere and host a little party, there are three essential dates to keep in mind for the coming months.
On 28 March our Zürich outpost will host its annual Hanami Market to celebrate the arrival of spring. If you’ve not paid a visit, it’s an all-day celebration of the best of Japan with excellent bites, specialist retailers, emerging brands, good tunes and, of course, exceptional drinks. If you’re looking for a little weekend escape, our team will be happy to offer up some hotel and restaurant recommendations but, better yet, you can get all our updated City Guides (Tokyo, Kyoto and many more) by signing up for a subscription. Subscribers will also be able to reserve a spot at our special Ginza-style lounge evenings at Dufourstrasse on 27 and 28 March.
Off the back of Salone del Mobile in Milan there will be a special edition of The Entrepreneurs broadcast live from the heart of Shanghai. Kicking off at a civilised hour on 29 April (I’m sure you’ll find a few of us up for a drink the night before), we are bringing some of China and the region’s sharpest business owners to the stage to introduce their projects, ambitions and insights. Hosted by some of your favourite voices from Monocle Radio, the conference will be a pacy mix of one-on-one interviews and punchy panels with plenty of time for audience participation and, as ever, prizes for the best questions. The day will wrap with a cocktail reception, elegant dinner, night on the town and, if you’re game, it will be a straight-to-plane (STP) affair with a few editors as we head to Bahrain for the 2026 edition of The Chiefs.
On 6 and 7 May our annual conference devoted to leadership and building better brands will be doing a twirl for our first-ever conference in the Gulf. If you’ve not been to Bahrain, it’s high time to make an appearance. I’ve been three times over the past year and have been seduced by the narrow lanes, shopfront typography, 1970s logos and the very good coffee shops in Manama Souq. We get under way with a cocktail on the 6th and pack in a full day on the 7th with speakers from around the world focusing on retail, security, hospitality, media and much more besides. For more information you can go here or drop Hannah Grundy a note at hg@monocle.com if you want to discuss corporate or group rates.
I’ll be on hand for all of these events and, if you just happen to be in St Moritz today and have caught this email before 10.00 CET, please swing by the Monocle Shop at Hotel Steffani for a special art-focused edition of Monocle on Sunday. Of course, if you’re not up here in the lovely Engadine Valley then please tune in and hopefully I’ll see you in Zürich, Shanghai or Bahrain over the coming months.
Enjoying life in ‘The Faster Lane’? Click here to browse all of Tyler’s past columns.
