Festivals & events in Bond films: Past examples and future suggestions

zebrafish

Many of us have enjoyed the globe-trotting aspect of the Bond films, when 007 discovers exotic locales and attends world-famous (and not so famous) places and their traditional (maybe annual) events.

Here I try to get the list of past real-world events complete. Let me know if I missed anything!

TB: Junkanoo (Nassau, Bahamas)
OHMSS: Traditional Christmas Market (Grindelwald, Switzerland)
MR: Rio Carnival (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
CR: "Body Worlds" ("Körperwelten") exhibition of plastinated corpses (Prague, Czech Republic)
QoS: Palio di Siena (Siena, Italy) & Floating Stage Opera at the Bregenz Festival (Bregenz, Austria)
SP: Day of the Dead (Mexico City, Mexico)
NTTD: Tradition of burning secrets in Southern Italy, but the real Festa della Madonna Bruna in Matera was not shown.

I would also like to start a conversation on what YOU think would be a great festival, celebration or other event to include in future films! Feel free to post images.

My top-pick would be the Bull-run in Pamplona, Spain.

Gerard

My top-pick would be the Bull-run in Pamplona, Spain.

Well, it was used in a role-playing adventure module for the James Bond 007 Role-Playing Game in the '80s. More precisely, that one :



During my Role-Playing and Game Mastering days, I made my players run it, and I still have it.

M_Balje

DAF: Boat trip (Canal Cruise) in Amsterdam. A couple of years a go when booked canal cruise there stil talking about DAF and Skinny Bridge (De Magere Brug).

QOS: Ring the bell with tower scene. Bell of symbol of (first) Warning (Alarm!) and sound is symbol of Death. Day Of Dead take place in Denhaag in The Netherlands to remember the death (The Dead are a life), when the bell being stopt then will follow a 2 minutes of silence ( Think about your sins). In SF when we see M in the car we get small edition of ring bell sound again, as symbol she going to die (Second time after the tricker of gun sound over her Judi Dench name in QOS maintitle). In PTS of NTTD we see 3 bells, symbol of warning you for upcoming event that can happen again (Dryden refer to same event in CR when Bond killing him after he said: And The second...)

SP: With car chase the cars chase near where Italian people celebrate life, looks on a simalar place in Amsterdam where Day Of Dead take place in The Netherlands to remember the death (The Dead are a life) and there is 2 minutes of silence ( Think about your sins). The silence a litle bit earlier at meeting you can see as Think about your sins moment / line from SF comes to life. Dutch day of celebrate life is the day after The Day Of Dead (on same day when Adele celebrate her birthday) that in some other be country's 3 or 4 days later.

SF: Fireworks and litle canal trip be in Chinees Day of Death to say the ghost of death goodbye. In other country's canal trip sands for hell. Already in maintitle we see sort gunbarrel to hell moment. NTTD: Madeline and Bond burning a paper to say goodbye to past (Past to hell with you). Turn out it does not help when Blofeld liked it to remember them the past is stil here. Bond qoute: The Past is not death. Later in movie Paloma walks in to hell (I named it: Paloma trow The Fox and The Bear by Roald Dahl welcome in the hell).

mtm

Good idea for a thread! Yes, these events do work really well in Bond films, I'm glad the recent films did it a few times.
I guess you could say the triumphant protestors in Azerbaijan in TWINE, or the various bits of market fun in Corfu in FYEO sort of count too. All bits of nice local flavour.
I liked the Day of the Dead in Sp though as it felt like the sort of thing Fleming would enjoy.

zebrafish

Gerard wrote: »

My top-pick would be the Bull-run in Pamplona, Spain.

Well, it was used in a role-playing adventure module for the James Bond 007 Role-Playing Game in the '80s. (...)

During my Role-Playing and Game Mastering days, I made my players run it, and I still have it.

Wow, that is a cool bit of information, I did not even know there were Bond-themed RPGs.

zebrafish

mtm wrote: »

Good idea for a thread! Yes, these events do work really well in Bond films, I'm glad the recent films did it a few times.
I guess you could say the triumphant protestors in Azerbaijan in TWINE, or the various bits of market fun in Corfu in FYEO sort of count too. All bits of nice local flavour.
I liked the Day of the Dead in Sp though as it felt like the sort of thing Fleming would enjoy.

Yes, there are lots of local flavours in the Bond films that are enjoyable. For this thread I had the annually recurring festivals in mind, so the Christmas market made it into the list, but the visit to the Vienna Prater in TLD did not. And exhibitions like Body Worlds also were real-life events that ran for a while.

QBranch

For consideration:

Campo Pequeno bullfighting event, Lisbon, Portugal (OHMSS) - promotional flyer seen in the film
Circus acts at Circus Circus Casino (DAF) - permanent circus event
Jazz funerals with brass band in New Orleans (LALD)
Kickboxing match, Rajadamnern Stadium Bangkok (TMWTGG)
Pyramids Sound and Light Show (TSWLM)
Royal Ascot races (AVTAK) - filming took place in 1984 and is reflected on their badges
Fort Antoine theater, Monaco (GE) - the fort hosts open air plays in the summer months
Millennium Experience (TWINE) - 1 year exhibition at the Millennium Dome is promoted in the film

Other media:

Casse Noisette aka The Nutcracker (Solstice) - 2-act ballet traditionally on Christmas Eve

Additional detail: Tosca opera took place July 23 to August 23, 2008

SIS_HQ

YOLT - The sumo wrestling competition in Kuramae Kokugikan.

AVTAK - The Theatre play of "Dominique and the Enchanted Papillons" in Jules Verne Restaurant in Eiffel Tower.

NTTD - British Army troops (Life Guard) from the Household Cavalry Parade, The Life Guards offered their time at a pivotal moment in their calendar, just before the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. (It was seen when Madeleine was crossing the street on the way to her clinic), also the Bunga Bunga Festival in Cuba (if that counts).

And there are the Classical Concerts (Operas) in TLD, showed in Bratislava and Vienna.

zebrafish

Amazing additions from @QBranch and @SIS_HQ , thanks!
Any future favourite additions? I would not mind a New Zealand setting with a traditional Maori Haka dance.