Page 54 - The Lockdown Sessions Programme

Image Image courtesy: courtesy: Fotostudio Sascha Braun Image Image courtesy: courtesy: Martijn Mulder
Image courtesy: Fotostudio Sascha Braun OHMSS50
by Martijn Mulder
people could do during the day We could enjoy a a horse and carriage ride (with the lm’s original driver!) see a a wonderful collection of Bond cars (Lotus Esprits DB5 Cougar) and even take a a a a 40 minute helicopter ight ‘into ze Alps’ But the absolute highlight of the event took place on Saturday June 1st At 5pm everyone was taken up
by cable car for a a a a cocktail reception halfway at Birg station When we nally got
to to the the top of the the mountain at the iconic Piz Gloria we we were greeted by cast & crew of the lm: George Lazenby Jenny Hanley Sylvana Henriques Catherine Schell Helena Ronee Terence Mountain John
Glen Terry Ackland-Snow Vic Armstrong Wendy Leech Stefan Zürcher Eddie Stacey Erich Glavitza and Harry’s son Steven Saltzman It was really an unbelievable experience to be at at the original location with all these people who had made this wonderful lm fty years earlier And to make things even better Q The Music gave their best ever performance that night making the crowd go wild Their twenty minute OHMSS suite was surreal to to listen to knowing where we were and who we we had with us OHMSS50
was a a huge success and we came to the conclusion that it probably was the rst time ever that a a lm’s 50th anniversary was celebrated at at the original location with cast & crew in attendance Hopefully we can repeat this unique experience next year in Las Vegas! Will you be there?
After organising a a two week tour through Japan in 2017 to to celebrate the 50th anniversary of You Only Live Twice it was a a logical step to do something similar with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service two years later What started out as a a a a simple idea to to do location tours in both Portugal and and Switzerland quickly grew into something much bigger when it turned out I could possibly have George Lazenby on board Recces to both countries delivered when the the two main locations - the the Hotel Palácio Estoril and Piz Gloria - gave their full support to a a a possible event The ball was rolling and not even MGM would be able to to stop it The event started on Saturday May 25 That weekend people from all over the world gathered in Estoril to to see James Bond himself return to the the Hotel Palácio for the the rst time in 50
years George was impressed with the recognition and admiration from the fans and reacquainted with loyal hotel employees José Diogo and José Afonso who both appeared in in the original lm with him These were magical moments that all who were present will cherish forever There were many more highlights including an exclusive dinner party in in the presence
of the British Ambassador
and - to stay with the the theme of the lm - a a real life wedding of two participants of the event on the the hotel grounds the the next day The VIP Tour spent some additional days in Portugal and enjoyed a a few special moments when George and other guest Terence Mountain appeared at Guincho Beach to re-enact their famous beach ght from the lm’s opening sequence Both men also accompanied the group to Herdade do Zambujal where we visited the bull ghting arena and the house where 007 got
married to Tracy After a a well-deserved day off the group ew to Switzerland for stage two of the event The weather in the the Alps had been terrible for months but the the moment we arrived the the sky cleared and a a a bright sun gave us the best reception imaginable After regrouping at the Schweizerhof Hotel in Bern (where George brie y revisited the balcony from Gumbold’s of ce) the group set off in in two original 60s buses and headed for the barn where Bond proposed to Tracy The owner had prepared a a a a a traditional ham and cheese lunch which everyone enjoyed after a a a a a surprise appearance by 007 and Tracy in a a a a duplicate Mercury Cougar On arrival in Mürren the VIP Tour group was greeted by many familiar faces who had all come for the weekend only It was a a huge group of 17 nationalities coming from as as far as as Canada Australia and Brazil Piz Gloria owners Schilthornbahn had arranged for many different activities
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