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JAMES BOND

Säpo avoids fine for James Bond party

The Swedish Security Service Säpo has narrowly avoided inspection by the Competition Authority (Konkurrensverket) after splashing out 5.3 million kronor ($802,500) on a James Bond-themed party.

Säpo avoids fine for James Bond party

The fancy party took place in June 2011 and had a guest list of around 1,000 people. In contravention of the law, the contract for the event was never put out to tender.

The publication Riksdag & Departement announced on its website that the Competion Authority has decided not to pursue an investigation into the James Bond party.

As a reason they cited the fact that they were notified about the events too late. The grace period to apply for a fine for unlawful tender ran out in the summer of 2012. Details of the costly party only emerged in the end of August 2012 when the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (DN) broke the story.

At the secret party, intelligence staff enjoyed a gala dinner and gambled with fake money in a casino. There were treated to performances by dance troupes, comedians and a big band which is also the Nobel party house band.

Several well-known Swedish artists and media figures entertained the guests at the party which was planned under the code name “Project Åland”, after the Baltic Sea island.

The decoration alone cost 400,000 kronor.

The head of Säpo Anders Thornberg told DN that the party was a perk for staff members who were under pressure after a particularly stressful year. They had dealt with terror threats, a suicide bombing and a company reorganization.

The party was organized by former Säpo head Anders Danielsson, who is now the Director General of the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket).

It was expected that Säpo would face inspection and a potential court order to pay a fine for failing to put the party contract out to tender.

The Competition Authority insisted that the decision to write off the case was not about taking sides.

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CINEMA

WATCH: New Bond film begins filming in southern Italy… with a car chase

James Bond is back in Italy, this time shooting – what else – a breakneck car chase through the southern city of Matera.

WATCH: New Bond film begins filming in southern Italy... with a car chase
Matera: not a bad backdrop for a car chase. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Filming on No Time To Die, 007's 25th movie outing and the fifth and final time he'll be played by Daniel Craig, arrived in this year's European Capital of Culture on Sunday.

Originally slated to begin in April, the shoot got off to an appropriate start: with an Aston Martin speeding through Matera's scenic streets.

Watched by a curious crowd, the crew closed down part of the city centre as stunt doubles – including what looked to be a long-haired blonde in the passenger seat – shot off on a car chase, the spy's distinctive silver DB5 in pursuit of another vehicle.

Craig himself is expected to arrive in Matera in the next few days, for a shoot that will last nearly four weeks and bring an estimated €12 million of investment to the city.

Some 400 jobs are expected to be created by the production, not to mention the knock-on boost for tourism that's likely to follow once the film comes out in April 2020.

READ ALSO: Matera, Italy's city of caves, contrasts, and culture

As well as the scenes by Matera's grand cathedral and ancient, Unesco-listed cave houses, some sequences will be shot in the neighbouring region of Puglia.

The crew picked Gravina di Puglia in the province of Bari, a town famous for its dramatic two-level Roman bridge spanning a ravine, as the film's second southern Italian location.

Gravina di Puglia. Photo: Depositphotos

Bond is well-travelled in Italy, having had memorable escapades over the years in Venice, Rome, Siena, by Lakes Como and Garda, in the mountains of Cortina D'Ampezzo and on the Sardinian coast, but this is the first time the secret agent has headed to the far south of the mainland.

No Time To Die will also feature locations in Norway, Jamaica and the UK, with a supporting cast that includes Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q, Ralph Fiennes as M, Léa Sedoux as Madeleine Swann, and Rami Malek as the as yet unnamed villain.

READ ALSO: James Bond's best Italian moments

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