LICENCE TO THRILL IN KITZBÜHEL
24th February 2020
Last modified on May 15th, 2021
The ski resort in the Austrian Tirol is preparing to host its 10th James Bond themed event next month.
Fireball is a tribute to the James Bond author, Ian Fleming, who lived and learned to ski in Kitzbühel during periods in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
He studied languages at the Alfred-Adler-Schule, a school based at the Tennerhof guesthouse, and spent his spare time skiing.
His passion for the sport led him to feature it in several of his Bond stories.
It’s also believed that some of his characters were modelled on people he met during his time in the resort.
The 2020 Fireball event takes place on 13th and 14th March, two weeks before the new 007 film, No Time To Die, is released in British cinemas.
The organisers say the 10th anniversary will be marked by the biggest and best Fireball yet.
Each year the festival has one of the Bond films as its theme.
Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker have previously featured.
This year it’s the 1971 classic, Diamonds Are Forever, which starred Sean Connery as 007.
Over the two days thousands of skiers are expected to take part in the Fireball ski race on the Kitzbüheler Horn, some dressed as secret agents, Russian spies or femme fatales.
There is also a children’s edition of the race, a gala dinner, a cocktail party and a blackjack tournament.
Many of the events are free to attend.
More details and the full programme are on the Fireball website.
Ski resorts used in Bond films are quick to capitalise on the connection.
The include Sölden, also in the Austrian Tirol, which featured in the most recent Bond film, Spectre, in 2015.
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