title: Bolivia

text: New elections were scheduled for 3 May 2020. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bolivian electoral body, the TSE, made an announcement postponing the election. MAS reluctantly agreed with the first delay only. A date for the new election was delayed twice more, in the face of massive protests and violence. The final proposed date for the elections was 18 October 2020. Observers from the OAS, UNIORE, and the UN all reported that they found no fraudulent actions in the 2020 elections.


title: Bolivia

text: The general election had a record voter turnout of 88.4% and ended in a landslide win for MAS which took 55.1% of the votes compared to 28.8% for centrist former president Carlos Mesa. Both Mesa and Áñez conceded defeat. "I congratulate the winners and I ask them to govern with Bolivia and democracy in mind", Áñez said on Twitter.


title: Bolivia

text: On 8 November 2020, Luis Arce was sworn in as President of Bolivia alongside his Vice President David Choquehuanca. In February 2021, the Arce government returned an amount of around $351 million to the IMF. This comprised a loan of $327 million taken out by the interim government in April 2020 and interest of around $24 million. The government said it returned the loan to protect Bolivia's economic sovereignty and because the conditions attached to the loan were unacceptable.


title: Bolivia

text: According to the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade, Bolivia had the lowest accumulated inflation of Latin America by October 2021.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia is located in the central zone of South America, between 57°26'–69°38'W and 9°38'–22°53'S. With an area of , Bolivia is the world's 28th-largest country, and the fifth largest country in South America, extending from the Central Andes through part of the "Gran Chaco", Pantanal and as far as the Amazon. The geographic center of the country is the so-called "Puerto Estrella" ("Star Port") on the Río Grande, in Ñuflo de Chávez Province, Santa Cruz Department.


title: Bolivia

text: The geography of the country exhibits a great variety of terrain and climates. Bolivia has a high level of biodiversity, considered one of the greatest in the world, as well as several ecoregions with ecological sub-units such as the "Altiplano", tropical rainforests (including Amazon rainforest), dry valleys, and the "Chiquitania", which is a tropical savanna. These areas feature enormous variations in altitude, from an elevation of above sea level in Nevado Sajama to nearly along the Paraguay River. Although a country of great geographic diversity, Bolivia has remained a landlocked country since the War of the Pacific. Puerto Suárez, San Matías and Puerto Quijarro are located in the Bolivian Pantanal.


title: Bolivia

text: The geology of Bolivia comprises a variety of different lithologies as well as tectonic and sedimentary environments. On a synoptic scale, geological units coincide with topographical units. Most elementally, the country is divided into a mountainous western area affected by the subduction processes in the Pacific and an eastern lowlands of stable platforms and shields.


title: Bolivia

text: The climate of Bolivia varies drastically from one eco-region to the other, from the tropics in the eastern "llanos" to a polar climate in the western Andes. The summers are warm, humid in the east and dry in the west, with rains that often modify temperatures, humidity, winds, atmospheric pressure and evaporation, yielding very different climates in different areas. When the climatological phenomenon known as "El Niño" takes place, it causes great alterations in the weather. Winters are very cold in the west, and it snows in the mountain ranges, while in the western regions, windy days are more common. The autumn is dry in the non-tropical regions.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia is especially vulnerable to the negative consequences of climate change. Twenty percent of the world's tropical glaciers are located within the country, and are more sensitive to change in temperature due to the tropical climate they are located in. Temperatures in the Andes increased by 0.1 °C per decade from 1939 to 1998, and more recently the rate of increase has tripled (to 0.33 °C per decade from 1980 to 2005), causing glaciers to recede at an accelerated pace and create unforeseen water shortages in Andean agricultural towns. Farmers have taken to temporary city jobs when there is poor yield for their crops, while others have started permanently leaving the agricultural sector and are migrating to nearby towns for other forms of work; some view these migrants as the first generation of climate refugees. Cities that are neighbouring agricultural land, like El Alto, face the challenge of providing services to the influx of new migrants; because there is no alternative water source, the city's water source is now being constricted.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia's government and other agencies have acknowledged the need to instill new policies battling the effects of climate change. The World Bank has provided funding through the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and are using the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR II) to construct new irrigation systems, protect riverbanks and basins, and work on building water resources with the help of indigenous communities. Bolivia has also implemented the Bolivian Strategy on Climate Change, which is based on taking action in these four areas:


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia, with an enormous variety of organisms and ecosystems, is part of the "Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries".


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia's variable altitudes, ranging from above sea level, allow for a vast biologic diversity. The territory of Bolivia comprises four types of biomes, 32 ecological regions, and 199 ecosystems. Within this geographic area there are several natural parks and reserves such as the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, the Madidi National Park, the Tunari National Park, the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve, and the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area, among others.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia boasts over 17,000 species of seed plants, including over 1,200 species of fern, 1,500 species of "marchantiophyta" and moss, and at least 800 species of fungus. In addition, there are more than 3,000 species of medicinal plants. Bolivia is considered the place of origin for such species as peppers and chili peppers, peanuts, the common beans, yucca, and several species of palm. Bolivia also naturally produces over 4,000 kinds of potatoes. The country had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.47/10, ranking it 21st globally out of 172 countries.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia has more than 2,900 animal species, including 398 mammals, over 1,400 birds (about 14% of birds known in the world, being the sixth most diverse country in terms of bird species), 204 amphibians, 277 reptiles, and 635 fish, all fresh water fish as Bolivia is a landlocked country. In addition, there are more than 3,000 types of butterfly, and more than 60 domestic animals.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia has gained global attention for its 'Law of the Rights of Mother Earth', which accords nature the same rights as humans.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia has been governed by democratically elected governments since 1982; prior to that, it was governed by various dictatorships. Presidents Hernán Siles Zuazo (1982–85) and Víctor Paz Estenssoro (1985–89) began a tradition of ceding power peacefully which has continued, although three presidents have stepped down in the face of extraordinary circumstances: Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada in 2003, Carlos Mesa in 2005, and Evo Morales in 2019.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia's multiparty democracy has seen a wide variety of parties in the presidency and parliament, although the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement, Nationalist Democratic Action, and the Revolutionary Left Movement predominated from 1985 to 2005. On 11 November 2019, all senior governmental positions were vacated following the resignation of Evo Morales and his government. On 13 November 2019, Jeanine Áñez, a former senator representing Beni, declared herself acting President of Bolivia. Luis Arce was elected on 23 October 2020; he took office as president on 8 November 2020.


title: Bolivia

text: The constitution, drafted in 2006–07 and approved in 2009, provides for balanced executive, legislative, judicial, and electoral powers, as well as several levels of autonomy. The traditionally strong executive branch tends to overshadow the Congress, whose role is generally limited to debating and approving legislation initiated by the executive. The judiciary, consisting of the Supreme Court and departmental and lower courts, has long been riddled with corruption and inefficiency. Through revisions to the constitution in 1994, and subsequent laws, the government has initiated potentially far-reaching reforms in the judicial system as well as increasing decentralizing powers to departments, municipalities, and indigenous territories.


title: Bolivia

text: The executive branch is headed by a president and vice president, and consists of a variable number (currently, 20) of government ministries. The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote, and governs from the Presidential Palace (popularly called the Burnt Palace, "Palacio Quemado") in La Paz. In the case that no candidate receives an absolute majority of the popular vote or more than 40% of the vote with an advantage of more than 10% over the second-place finisher, a run-off is to be held among the two candidates most voted.


title: Bolivia

text: The "Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional" (Plurinational Legislative Assembly or National Congress) has two chambers. The "Cámara de Diputados" (Chamber of Deputies) has 130 members elected to five-year terms, 63 from single-member districts ("circunscripciones"), 60 by proportional representation, and seven by the minority indigenous peoples of seven departments. The "Cámara de Senadores" (Chamber of Senators) has 36 members (four per department). Members of the Assembly are elected to five-year terms. The body has its headquarters on the Plaza Murillo in La Paz, but also holds honorary sessions elsewhere in Bolivia. The Vice President serves as titular head of the combined Assembly.


title: Bolivia

text: The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Plurinational Constitutional Court, the Judiciary Council, Agrarian and Environmental Court, and District (departmental) and lower courts. In October 2011, Bolivia held its first judicial elections to choose members of the national courts by popular vote, a reform brought about by Evo Morales.


title: Bolivia

text: The Plurinational Electoral Organ is an independent branch of government which replaced the National Electoral Court in 2010. The branch consists of the Supreme Electoral Courts, the nine Departmental Electoral Court, Electoral Judges, the anonymously selected Juries at Election Tables, and Electoral Notaries. Wilfredo Ovando presides over the seven-member Supreme Electoral Court. Its operations are mandated by the Constitution and regulated by the Electoral Regime Law (Law 026, passed 2010). The Organ's first elections were the country's first judicial election in October 2011, and five municipal special elections held in 2011.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia has its constitutionally recognized capital in Sucre, while La Paz is the seat of government. La Plata (now Sucre) was proclaimed the provisional capital of the newly independent Alto Perú (later, Bolivia) on 1 July 1826. On 12 July 1839, President José Miguel de Velasco proclaimed a law naming the city as the capital of Bolivia, and renaming it in honor of the revolutionary leader Antonio José de Sucre. The Bolivian seat of government moved to La Paz at the start of the twentieth century as a consequence of Sucre's relative remoteness from economic activity after the decline of Potosí and its silver industry and of the Liberal Party in the War of 1899.


title: Bolivia

text: The 2009 Constitution assigns the role of national capital to Sucre, not referring to La Paz in the text. In addition to being the constitutional capital, the Supreme Court of Bolivia is located in Sucre, making it the judicial capital. Nonetheless, the Palacio Quemado (the Presidential Palace and seat of Bolivian executive power) is located in La Paz, as are the National Congress and Plurinational Electoral Organ. La Paz thus continues to be the seat of government.


title: Bolivia

text: Despite losing its maritime coast, the so-called Litoral Department, after the War of the Pacific, Bolivia has historically maintained, as a state policy, a maritime claim to that part of Chile; the claim asks for sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean and its maritime space. The issue has also been presented before the Organization of American States; in 1979, the OAS passed the "426 Resolution", which declared that the Bolivian problem is a hemispheric problem. On 4 April 1884, a truce was signed with Chile, whereby Chile gave facilities of access to Bolivian products through Antofagasta, and freed the payment of export rights in the port of Arica. In October 1904, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed, and Chile agreed to build a railway between Arica and La Paz, to improve access of Bolivian products to the ports.


title: Bolivia

text: The "Special Economical Zone for Bolivia in Ilo" (ZEEBI) is a special economic area of of maritime coast, and a total extension of , called Mar Bolivia ("Sea Bolivia"), where Bolivia may maintain a free port near Ilo, Peru under its administration and operation for a period of 99 years starting in 1992; once that time has passed, all the construction and territory revert to the Peruvian government. Since 1964, Bolivia has had its own port facilities in the "Bolivian Free Port" in Rosario, Argentina. This port is located on the Paraná River, which is directly connected to the Atlantic Ocean.


title: Bolivia

text: The dispute with Chile was taken to the International Court of Justice. The court ruled in support of the Chilean position, and declared that although Chile may have held talks about a Bolivian corridor to the sea, the country was not required to negotiate one or to surrender its territory.


title: Bolivia

text: The Bolivian military comprises three branches: Ejército (Army), Naval (Navy) and Fuerza Aérea (Air Force).


title: Bolivia

text: The Bolivian army has around 31,500 men. There are six military regions ("regiones militares"—RMs) in the army. The army is organized into ten divisions. Although it is landlocked Bolivia keeps a navy. The Bolivian Naval Force ("Fuerza Naval Boliviana" in Spanish) is a naval force about 5,000 strong in 2008. The Bolivian Air Force ('Fuerza Aérea Boliviana' or "FAB") has nine air bases, located at La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Puerto Suárez, Tarija, Villamontes, Cobija, Riberalta, and Roboré.


title: Bolivia

text: There are 54 prisons in Bolivia, which incarcerate around 8,700 people . The prisons are managed by the Penitentiary Regime Directorate (). There are 17 prisons in departmental capital cities and 36 provincial prisons.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia has nine departments—Pando, La Paz, Beni, Oruro, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Potosí, Chuquisaca, Tarija.


title: Bolivia

text: According to what is established by the Bolivian Political Constitution, the Law of Autonomies and Decentralization regulates the procedure for the elaboration of Statutes of Autonomy, the transfer and distribution of direct competences between the central government and the autonomous entities.


title: Bolivia

text: There are four levels of decentralization: Departmental government, constituted by the "Departmental Assembly", with rights over the legislation of the department. The governor is chosen by universal suffrage. Municipal government, constituted by a "Municipal Council", with rights over the legislation of the municipality. The mayor is chosen by universal suffrage. Regional government, formed by several provinces or municipalities of geographical continuity within a department. It is constituted by a "Regional Assembly". Original indigenous government, self-governance of original indigenous people on the ancient territories where they live.


title: Bolivia

text: While Bolivia's administrative divisions have similar status under governmental jurisprudence, each department varies in quantitative and qualitative factors. Generally speaking, Departments can be grouped either by geography or by political-cultural orientation. For example, Santa Cruz, Beni and Pando make up the low-lying "Camba" heartlands of the Amazon, Moxos and Chiquitanía. When considering political orientation, Beni, Pando, Santa Cruz, Tarija are generally grouped for regionalist autonomy movements; this region is known as the "Media Luna". Conversely, La Paz, Oruro, Potosí, Cochabamba have been traditionally associated with Andean politics and culture. Today, Chuquisaca vacillates between the Andean cultural bloc and the Camba bloc.


title: Bolivia

text: In recent history, Bolivia has consistently led Latin America in measures of economic growth, fiscal stability and foreign reserves. Bolivia's estimated 2012 gross domestic product (GDP) totaled $27.43 billion at official exchange rate and $56.14 billion at purchasing power parity. Despite a series of mostly political setbacks, between 2006 and 2009 the Morales administration spurred growth higher than at any point in the preceding 30 years. The growth was accompanied by a moderate decrease in inequality. Under Morales, per capita GDP doubled from US$1,182 in 2006 to US$2,238 in 2012. GDP growth under Morales averaged 5 percent a year, and in 2014 only Panama and the Dominican Republic performed better in all of Latin America. Bolivia's nominal GDP increased from 11.5 billion in 2006 to 41 billion in 2019.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia in 2016 boasted the highest proportional rate of financial reserves of any nation in the world, with Bolivia's rainy day fund totaling some US$15 billion or nearly two-thirds of total annual GDP, up from a fifth of GDP in 2005. Even the IMF was impressed by Morales' fiscal prudence.


title: Bolivia

text: A major blow to the Bolivian economy came with a drastic fall in the price of tin during the early 1980s, which impacted one of Bolivia's main sources of income and one of its major mining industries. Since 1985, the government of Bolivia has implemented a far-reaching program of macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform aimed at maintaining price stability, creating conditions for sustained growth, and alleviating scarcity. A major reform of the customs service has significantly improved transparency in this area. Parallel legislative reforms have locked into place market-liberal policies, especially in the hydrocarbon and telecommunication sectors, that have encouraged private investment. Foreign investors are accorded national treatment.


title: Bolivia

text: In April 2000, Hugo Banzer, the former president of Bolivia, signed a contract with Aguas del Tunari, a private consortium, to operate and improve the water supply in Bolivia's third-largest city, Cochabamba. Shortly thereafter, the company tripled the water rates in that city, an action which resulted in protests and rioting among those who could no longer afford clean water. Amidst Bolivia's nationwide economic collapse and growing national unrest over the state of the economy, the Bolivian government was forced to withdraw the water contract.


title: Bolivia

text: Once Bolivia's government depended heavily on foreign assistance to finance development projects and to pay the public staff. At the end of 2002, the government owed $4.5 billion to its foreign creditors, with $1.6 billion of this amount owed to other governments and most of the balance owed to multilateral development banks. Most payments to other governments have been rescheduled on several occasions since 1987 through the Paris Club mechanism. External creditors have been willing to do this because the Bolivian government has generally achieved the monetary and fiscal targets set by IMF programs since 1987, though economic crises have undercut Bolivia's normally good record. However, by 2013 the foreign assistance is just a fraction of the government budget thanks to tax collection mainly from the profitable exports to Brazil and Argentina of natural gas.


title: Bolivia

text: Agriculture is less relevant in the country's GDP compared to the rest of Latin America. The country produces close to 10 million tons of sugarcane per year and is the 10th largest producer of soybean in the world. It also has considerable yields of maize, potato, sorghum, banana, rice, and wheat. The country's largest exports are based on soy (soybean meal and soybean oil). The culture of soy was brought by Brazilians to the country: in 2006, almost 50% of soy producers in Bolivia were people from Brazil, or descendants of Brazilians. The first Brazilian producers began to arrive in the country in the 1990s. Before that, there was a lot of land in the country that was not used, or where only subsistence agriculture was practiced.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia's most lucrative agricultural product continues to be coca, of which Bolivia is currently the world's third largest cultivator.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia, while historically renowned for its vast mineral wealth, is relatively under-explored in geological and mineralogical terms. The country is rich in various mineral and natural resources, sitting at the heart of South America in the Central Andes.


title: Bolivia

text: Mining is a major sector of the economy, with most of the country's exports being dependent on it. In 2019, the country was the eighth largest world producer of silver; fifth largest world producer of tin and antimony; seventh largest producer of zinc,


title: Bolivia

text: eighth largest producer of lead, fourth largest world producer of boron; and the sixth largest world producer of tungsten. The country also has considerable gold production, which varies close to 25 tons/year, and also has amethyst extraction.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia has the world's largest lithium reserves, second largest antimony reserves, third largest iron ore reserves, sixth largest tin reserves, ninth largest lead, silver, and copper reserves, tenth largest zinc reserves, and undisclosed but productive reserves of gold and tungsten. Additionally, there is believed to be considerable reserves of uranium and nickel present in the country's largely under-explored eastern regions. Diamond reserves may also be present in some formations of the Serranías Chiquitanas in Santa Cruz Department.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia has the second largest natural gas reserves in South America. Its natural gas exports bring in millions of dollars per day, in royalties, rents, and taxes. From 2007 to 2017, what is referred to as the "government take" on gas totaled approximately $22 billion.


title: Bolivia

text: Most of Bolivia's gas comes from megafields located in San Alberto, San Antonio, Margarita, and Incahuasi. These areas are in the territory of the indigenous Guarani people, and the region is frequently viewed as a remote backwater by non-residents.


title: Bolivia

text: The government held a binding referendum in 2005 on the Hydrocarbon Law. Among other provisions, the law requires that companies sell their production to the state hydrocarbons company Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) and for domestic demand to be met before exporting hydrocarbons and increased the state's royalties from natural gas. The passage of the Hydrocarbon law in opposition to then-President Carlos Mesa can be understood as part of the Bolivian gas conflict which ultimately resulted in election of Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president.


title: Bolivia

text: The US Geological Service estimates that Bolivia has 21 million tonnes of lithium, which represent at least 25% of world reserves - the largest in the world. However, to mine for it would involve disturbing the country's salt flats (called Salar de Uyuni), an important natural feature which boosts tourism in the region. The government does not want to destroy this unique natural landscape to meet the rising world demand for lithium. On the other hand, sustainable extraction of lithium is attempted by the government. This project is carried out by the public company "Recursos Evaporíticos" subsidiary of COMIBOL.


title: Bolivia

text: It is thought that due to the importance of lithium for batteries for electric vehicles and stabilization of electric grids with large proportions of intermittent renewables in the electricity mix, Bolivia could be strengthened geopolitically. However, this perspective has also been criticized for underestimating the power of economic incentives for expanded production in other parts of the world.


title: Bolivia

text: The amount in reserve currencies and gold held by Bolivia's Central Bank advanced from 1.085 billion US dollars in 2000, under Hugo Banzer Suarez's government, to 15.282 billion US dollars in 2014 under Evo Morales' government.


title: Bolivia

text: The income from tourism has become increasingly important. Bolivia's tourist industry has placed an emphasis on attracting ethnic diversity. The most visited places include Nevado Sajama, Torotoro National Park, Madidi National Park, Tiwanaku and the city of La Paz.


title: Bolivia

text: The best known of the various festivals found in the country is the "Carnaval de Oruro", which was among the first 19 "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity", as proclaimed by UNESCO in May 2001.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia's Yungas Road was called the "world's most dangerous road" by the Inter-American Development Bank, called () in Spanish. The northern portion of the road, much of it unpaved and without guardrails, was cut into the Cordillera Oriental Mountain in the 1930s. The fall from the narrow path is as much as in some places and due to the humid weather from the Amazon there are often poor conditions like mudslides and falling rocks. Each year over 25,000 bikers cycle along the road. In 2018, an Israeli woman was killed by a falling rock while cycling on the road.


title: Bolivia

text: The Apolo road goes deep into La Paz. Roads in this area were originally built to allow access to mines located near Charazani. Other noteworthy roads run to Coroico, Sorata, the Zongo Valley (Illimani mountain), and along the Cochabamba highway (). According to researchers with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bolivia's road network was still underdeveloped as of 2014. In lowland areas of Bolivia there is less than of paved road. There have been some recent investments; animal husbandry has expanded in Guayaramerín, which might be due to a new road connecting Guayaramerín with Trinidad. The country only opened its first duplicated highway in 2015: a 203 km stretch between the capital La Paz and Oruro.


title: Bolivia

text: The General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil—DGAC) formerly part of the FAB, administers a civil aeronautics school called the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics (Instituto Nacional de Aeronáutica Civil—INAC), and two commercial air transport services TAM and TAB.


title: Bolivia

text: TAM – Transporte Aéreo Militar (the Bolivian Military Airline) was an airline based in La Paz, Bolivia. It was the civilian wing of the 'Fuerza Aérea Boliviana' (the Bolivian Air Force), operating passenger services to remote towns and communities in the North and Northeast of Bolivia. TAM (a.k.a. TAM Group 71) has been a part of the FAB since 1945. The airline company has suspended its operations since 23 September 2019.


title: Bolivia

text: Boliviana de Aviación, often referred to as simply BoA, is the flag carrier airline of Bolivia and is wholly owned by the country's government.


title: Bolivia

text: A private airline serving regional destinations is Línea Aérea Amaszonas, with services including some international destinations.


title: Bolivia

text: Although a civil transport airline, TAB – Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos, was created as a subsidiary company of the FAB in 1977. It is subordinate to the Air Transport Management (Gerencia de Transportes Aéreos) and is headed by an FAB general. TAB, a charter heavy cargo airline, links Bolivia with most countries of the Western Hemisphere; its inventory includes a fleet of Hercules C130 aircraft. TAB is headquartered adjacent to El Alto International Airport. TAB flies to Miami and Houston, with a stop in Panama.


title: Bolivia

text: The three largest, and main international airports in Bolivia are El Alto International Airport in La Paz, Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz, and Jorge Wilstermann International Airport in Cochabamba. There are regional airports in other cities that connect to these three hubs.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia owns a communications satellite which was offshored/outsourced and launched by China, named Túpac Katari 1. In 2015, it was announced that electrical power advancements include a planned $300 million nuclear reactor developed by the Russian nuclear company Rosatom. Bolivia was ranked 104th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 110th in 2019.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia's drinking water and sanitation coverage has greatly improved since 1990 due to a considerable increase in sectoral investment. However, the country has the continent's lowest coverage levels and services are of low quality. Political and institutional instability have contributed to the weakening of the sector's institutions at the national and local levels.


title: Bolivia

text: Two concessions to foreign private companies in two of the three largest cities – Cochabamba and La Paz/El Alto – were prematurely ended in 2000 and 2006 respectively. The country's second largest city, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, manages its own water and sanitation system relatively successfully by way of cooperatives. The government of Evo Morales intends to strengthen citizen participation within the sector. Increasing coverage requires a substantial increase of investment financing.


title: Bolivia

text: According to the government the main problems in the sector are low access to sanitation throughout the country; low access to water in rural areas; insufficient and ineffective investments; a low visibility of community service providers; a lack of respect of indigenous customs; "technical and institutional difficulties in the design and implementation of projects"; a lack of capacity to operate and maintain infrastructure; an institutional framework that is "not consistent with the political change in the country"; "ambiguities in the social participation schemes"; a reduction in the quantity and


title: Bolivia

text: quality of water due to climate change; pollution and a lack of integrated water resources management; and the lack of policies and programs for the reuse of wastewater.


title: Bolivia

text: Only 27% of the population has access to improved sanitation, 80 to 88% has access to improved water sources. Coverage in urban areas is bigger than in rural ones.


title: Bolivia

text: Some regions of Bolivia are largely under the power of the "ganaderos", the large cattle and pig owners, and many small farmers are still reduced to peons. Nevertheless, the presence of the state has been clearly reinforced under the government of Evo Morales. The government tends to accommodate the interests of large landowners while trying to improve the living and working conditions of small farmers.


title: Bolivia

text: The agrarian reform promised by Evo Morales - and approved in a referendum by nearly 80 per cent of the population - has never been implemented. Intended to abolish latifundism by reducing the maximum size of properties that do not have an "economic and social function" to 5,000 hectares, with the remainder to be distributed among small agricultural workers and landless indigenous people, it was strongly opposed by the Bolivian oligarchy. In 2009, the government gave in to the agribusiness sector, which in return committed to end the pressure it was exerting and jeopardizing until the new constitution was in place.


title: Bolivia

text: However, a series of economic reforms and projects have improved the condition of modest peasant families. They received farm machinery, tractors, fertilizers, seeds and breeding stock, while the state built irrigation systems, roads and bridges to make it easier for them to sell their produce in the markets. The situation of many indigenous people and small farmers was regularized through the granting of land titles for the land they were using.


title: Bolivia

text: In 2007, the government created a "Bank for Productive Development" through which small workers and agricultural producers can borrow easily, at low rates and with repayment terms adapted to agricultural cycles. As a result of improved banking supervision, borrowing rates have been reduced by a factor of three between 2014 and 2019 across all banking institutions for small and medium-sized agricultural producers. In addition, the law now requires banks to devote at least 60% of their resources to productive credits or to the construction of social housing.


title: Bolivia

text: With the creation of the Food Production Support Enterprise (Emapa), the government sought to stabilize the domestic market for agricultural products by buying the best prices for the production of small and medium-sized farmers, thus forcing agribusinesses to offer them fairer remuneration. According to Vice President Àlvaro García Linera, "by setting the rules of the game, the State establishes a new balance of power that gives more power to small producers. Wealth is better redistributed to balance the power of the agribusiness sector. This generates stability, which allows the economy to flourish and benefits everyone.


title: Bolivia

text: According to the last two censuses carried out by the Bolivian National Statistics Institute "(Instituto Nacional de Estadística", INE), the population increased from 8,274,325 (from which 4,123,850 were men and 4,150,475 were women) in 2001 to 10,059,856 in 2012.


title: Bolivia

text: In the last fifty years the Bolivian population has tripled, reaching a population growth rate of 2.25%. The growth of the population in the inter-census periods (1950–1976 and 1976–1992) was approximately 2.05%, while between the last period, 1992–2001, it reached 2.74% annually.


title: Bolivia

text: Some 67.49% of Bolivians live in urban areas, while the remaining 32.51% in rural areas. The most part of the population (70%) is concentrated in the departments of La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba. In the Andean Altiplano region the departments of La Paz and Oruro hold the largest percentage of population, in the valley region the largest percentage is held by the departments of Cochabamba and Chuquisaca, while in the Llanos region by Santa Cruz and Beni. At national level, the population density is 8.49, with variations marked between 0.8 (Pando Department) and 26.2 (Cochabamba Department).


title: Bolivia

text: The largest population center is located in the so-called "central axis" and in the Llanos region. Bolivia has a young population. According to the 2011 census, 59% of the population is between 15 and 59 years old, 39% is less than 15 years old. Almost 60% of the population is younger than 25 years of age.


title: Bolivia

text: According to a genetic study done on Bolivians, average values of Native American, European and African ancestry are 86%, 12.5%, and 1.5%, in individuals from La Paz and 76.8%, 21.4%, and 1.8% in individuals from Chuquisaca; respectively.


title: Bolivia

text: The vast majority of Bolivians are mestizo (with the indigenous component higher than the European one), although the government has not included the cultural self-identification "mestizo" in the November 2012 census. There are approximately three dozen native groups totaling approximately half of the Bolivian population – the largest proportion of indigenous people in the Americas. Exact numbers vary based on the wording of the ethnicity question and the available response choices. For example, the 2001 census did not provide the racial category "mestizo" as a response choice, resulting in a much higher proportion of respondents identifying themselves as belonging to one of the available indigenous ethnicity choices. Mestizos are distributed throughout the entire country and make up 26% of the Bolivian population, with the predominantly mestizo departments being Beni, Santa Cruz, and Tarija. Most people assume their "mestizo" identity while at the same time identifying themselves with one or more indigenous cultures. A 2018 estimate of racial classification put mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian) at 68%, indigenous at 20%, white at 5%, cholo at 2%, black at 1%, other at 4%, while 2% were unspecified; 44% attributed themselves to some indigenous group, predominantly the linguistic categories of Quechuas or Aymaras. White Bolivians comprised about 14% of the population in 2006, and are usually concentrated in the largest cities: La Paz, Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba, but as well in some minor cities like Tarija and Sucre. The ancestry of whites and the white ancestry of mestizos lies within Europe and the Middle East, most notably Spain, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Lebanon and Syria. In the Santa Cruz Department, there are several dozen colonies of German-speaking Mennonites from Russia totaling around 40,000 inhabitants ().


title: Bolivia

text: Afro-Bolivians, descendants of African slaves who arrived in the time of the Spanish Empire, inhabit the department of La Paz, and are located mainly in the provinces of Nor Yungas and Sud Yungas. Slavery was abolished in Bolivia in 1831. There are also important communities of Japanese (14,000) and Lebanese (12,900).


title: Bolivia

text: Indigenous peoples, also called ""originarios"" ("native" or "original") and less frequently, "Amerindians", could be categorized by geographic area, such as Andean, like the Aymaras and Quechuas (who formed the ancient Inca Empire), who are concentrated in the western departments of La Paz, Potosí, Oruro, Cochabamba and Chuquisaca. There also are ethnic populations in the east, composed of the Chiquitano, Chané, Guaraní and Moxos, among others, who inhabit the departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, Tarija and Pando.


title: Bolivia

text: There are small numbers of European citizens from Germany, France, Italy and Portugal, as well as from other countries of the Americas, as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, the United States, Paraguay, Peru, Mexico and Venezuela, among others. There are important Peruvian colonies in La Paz, El Alto and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.


title: Bolivia

text: The Indigenous peoples of Bolivia can be divided into two categories of ethnic groups: the Andeans, who are located in the Andean Altiplano and the valley region; and the lowland groups, who inhabit the warm regions of central and eastern Bolivia, including the valleys of Cochabamba Department, the Amazon Basin areas of northern La Paz Department, and the lowland departments of Beni, Pando, Santa Cruz, and Tarija (including the Gran Chaco region in the southeast of the country). Large numbers of Andean peoples have also migrated to form Quechua, Aymara, and intercultural communities in the lowlands.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia has great linguistic diversity as a result of its multiculturalism. The Constitution of Bolivia recognizes 36 official languages besides Spanish: Aymara, Araona, Baure, Bésiro, Canichana, Cavineño, Cayubaba, Chácobo, Chimán, Ese Ejja, Guaraní, Guarasu'we, Guarayu, Itonama, Leco, Machajuyai-Kallawaya, Machineri, Maropa, Mojeño-Ignaciano, Mojeño-Trinitario, Moré, Mosetén, Movima, Pacawara, Puquina, Quechua, Sirionó, Tacana, Tapieté, Toromona, Uru-Chipaya, Weenhayek, Yaminawa, Yuki, Yuracaré, and Zamuco.


title: Bolivia

text: Spanish is the most spoken official language in the country, according to the 2001 census; as it is spoken by two-thirds of the population. All legal and official documents issued by the State, including the Constitution, the main private and public institutions, the media, and commercial activities, are in Spanish.


title: Bolivia

text: The main indigenous languages are: Quechua (21.2% of the population in the 2001 census), Aymara (14.6%), Guarani (0.6%) and others (0.4%) including the Moxos in the department of Beni.


title: Bolivia

text: Plautdietsch, a German dialect, is spoken by about 70,000 Mennonites in Santa Cruz. Portuguese is spoken mainly in the areas close to Brazil.


title: Bolivia

text: Bilingual education was implemented in Bolivia under the leadership of President Evo Morales. His program placed emphasis on the expansion of indigenous languages in the educational systems of the country.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia is a constitutionally secular state that guarantees the freedom of religion and the independence of government from religion.


title: Bolivia

text: According to the 2001 census conducted by the National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia, 78% of the population is Roman Catholic, followed by 19% that are Protestant, as well as a small number of Bolivians that are Orthodox, and 3% non-religious.


title: Bolivia

text: The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on the World Christian Database) records that in 2010, 92.5% of Bolivians identified as Christian (of any denomination), 3.1% identified with indigenous religion, 2.2% identified as Baháʼí, 1.9% identified as agnostic, and all other groups constituted 0.1% or less.


title: Bolivia

text: Much of the indigenous population adheres to different traditional beliefs marked by inculturation or syncretism with Christianity. The cult of Pachamama, or "Mother Earth", is notable. The veneration of the Virgin of Copacabana, Virgin of Urkupiña and Virgin of Socavón, is also an important feature of Christian pilgrimage. There also are important Aymaran communities near Lake Titicaca that have a strong devotion to James the Apostle. Deities worshiped in Bolivia include Ekeko, the Aymaran god of abundance and prosperity, whose day is celebrated every 24 January, and Tupá, a god of the Guaraní people.


title: Bolivia

text: Approximately 67% of Bolivians live in urban areas, among the lowest proportion in South America. Nevertheless, the rate of urbanization is growing steadily, at around 2.5% annually. According to the 2012 census, there are total of 3,158,691 households in Bolivia – an increase of 887,960 from 2001. In 2009, 75.4% of homes were classified as a house, hut, or Pahuichi; 3.3% were apartments; 21.1% were rental residences; and 0.1% were mobile homes. Most of the country's largest cities are located in the highlands of the west and central regions.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivian culture has been heavily influenced by the Spanish, the Aymara, the Quechua, as well as the popular cultures of Latin America as a whole.


title: Bolivia

text: The cultural development is divided into three distinct periods: precolumbian, colonial, and republican. Important archaeological ruins, gold and silver ornaments, stone monuments, ceramics, and weavings remain from several important pre-Columbian cultures. Major ruins include Tiwanaku, El Fuerte de Samaipata, Inkallaqta and Iskanawaya. The country abounds in other sites that are difficult to reach and have seen little archaeological exploration.


title: Bolivia

text: The Spanish brought their own tradition of religious art which, in the hands of local native and mestizo builders and artisans, developed into a rich and distinctive style of architecture, painting, and sculpture known as "Mestizo Baroque". The colonial period produced not only the paintings of Pérez de Holguín, Flores, Bitti, and others but also the works of skilled but unknown stonecutters, woodcarvers, goldsmiths, and silversmiths. An important body of Native Baroque religious music of the colonial period was recovered and has been performed internationally to wide acclaim since 1994.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivian artists of stature in the 20th century include María Luisa Pacheco, Roberto Mamani Mamani, Alejandro Mario Yllanes, Alfredo Da Silva, and Marina Núñez del Prado.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia has a rich folklore. Its regional folk music is distinctive and varied. The "devil dances" at the annual carnival of Oruro are one of the great folkloric events of South America, as is the lesser known carnival at Tarabuco.


title: Bolivia

text: In 2008, following UNESCO standards, Bolivia was declared free of illiteracy, making it the fourth country in South America to attain this status.


title: Bolivia

text: Bolivia has public and private universities. Among them: Universidad Mayor, Real y Pontificia de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca USFX – Sucre, founded in 1624; Universidad Mayor de San Andrés UMSA – La Paz, founded in 1830; Universidad Mayor de San Simon UMSS – Cochabamba, founded in 1832; Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno UAGRM – Santa Cruz de la Sierra, founded in 1880; Universidad Técnica de Oruro UTO – Oruro, founded in 1892; Universidad Evangélica Boliviana UEB – Santa Cruz de la Sierra, founded in 1980; and Universidad Autónoma Tomás Frías UATF – Potosi, founded in 1892.


title: Bolivia

text: According to UNICEF under-five mortality rate in 2006 was 52.7 per 1000 and was reduced to 26 per 1000 by 2019. The infant mortality rate was 40.7 per 1000 in 2006 and was reduced to 21.2 per 1000 in 2019. Before Morales took office, nearly half of all infants were not vaccinated; now nearly all are vaccinated. Morales also put into place several supplemental nutrition programs, including an effort to supply free food in public health and social security offices, and his desnutrición cero (zero malnutrition) program provides free school lunches.


title: Bolivia

text: Between 2006 and 2016, extreme poverty in Bolivia fell from 38.2% to 16.8%. Chronic malnutrition in children under five years of age also went down by 14% and the child mortality rate was reduced by more than 50%, according to World Health Organization. In 2019 the Bolivian government created a universal healthcare system which has been cited as a model for all by the World Health Organization.


title: Bolivia

text: Racquetball is the second most popular sport in Bolivia as for the results in the Odesur 2018 Games held in Cochabamba. Bolivia has won 13 medals at the Pan American Games and 10 of them came from racquetball events, including their only gold medal won in the Men's Team event in 2019.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Spectre is a 2015 spy film and the twenty-fourth in the "James Bond" series produced by Eon Productions for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures. Directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan, and Jez Butterworth, it stars Daniel Craig as Bond, alongside Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, and Ralph Fiennes. In the film, Bond learns of Spectre, an international crime organisation led by Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Waltz).


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Despite initially stating he would not direct "Spectre", Mendes confirmed his return in 2014 after Nicolas Winding Refn declined to direct; Mendes became the first to direct successive "James Bond" films since John Glen. The inclusion of Spectre and its associated characters marked the end of the "Thunderball" controversy, in which Kevin McClory and Fleming were embroiled in lengthy legal disputes over the film rights to the novel; "Spectre" is the first film to feature these elements since "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971). Following the Sony Pictures hack, it was revealed Sony and Eon clashed regarding finance, stunts, and filming locations; "Spectre" is estimated to have a final budget of $245–300 million, making it one of the most expensive films ever made. Principal photography began in December 2014 and lasted until July 2015, with filming locations including Austria, the United Kingdom, Italy, Morocco, and Mexico.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: "Spectre" premiered at the Royal Albert Hall on 26 October 2015 and was theatrically released in conventional and IMAX formats in the United Kingdom that day, and in the United States on 6 November. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences, cast performances (particularly Craig's and Bautista's), and the musical score, but criticised the pacing and formulaic narrative decisions. It grossed $880 million worldwide, making it the sixth-highest grossing film of 2015 and the second-highest grossing "James Bond" film after "Skyfall", unadjusted for inflation. The film's theme song, "Writing's on the Wall", won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song. The next film in the series, "No Time to Die", was released in 2021.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: MI6 agent James Bond carries out an unauthorised mission in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead, where he stops a terrorist bombing plot. Bond kills Marco Sciarra, the terrorist leader, and takes his ring, which is emblazoned with a stylised octopus, before stealing a helicopter to escape.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Upon his return to London, Bond is suspended from field duty by Gareth Mallory, the current M, who is engaged in a power struggle with Max Denbigh (whom Bond dubs "C"), the Director-General of the new, privately backed Joint Intelligence Service formed by the merger of MI5 and MI6. C campaigns for Britain to join the global surveillance and intelligence initiative "Nine Eyes", and uses his influence to close down the '00' field agent section, which he believes is outdated. In private, Bond tells Eve Moneypenny that he went to Mexico to target Sciarra after receiving a video message from the previous M that was delivered to him after her death. Moneypenny agrees to assist Bond behind M's back.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Bond disobeys M's orders and travels to Rome to attend Sciarra's funeral. He saves and seduces Sciarra's widow, Lucia, who tells him Sciarra belonged to an organisation of businessmen with criminal and terrorist connections. Bond uses Sciarra's ring to infiltrate a meeting to select Sciarra's replacement, where he identifies the leader, Franz Oberhauser. After hearing Oberhauser give the order for the "Pale King" to be assassinated, Bond is pursued across the city by the organisation's assassin, Mr Hinx. Moneypenny informs Bond that the Pale King is Mr White, a former member of the organisation's subsidiary Quantum, who had fallen afoul of Oberhauser. Bond asks her to investigate Oberhauser, who was presumed dead 20 years earlier.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Bond locates White in Altaussee, Austria, where he is dying of thallium poisoning. He tells Bond to find and protect his daughter, psychiatrist Madeleine Swann, who will take him to L'Américain in order to locate Oberhauser. White commits suicide. Bond confronts Swann and rescues her from Hinx and his forces. The pair meet Q, who links Oberhauser to Bond's previous missions, identifying Le Chiffre, Dominic Greene and Raoul Silva as agents of the same organisation, which Swann identifies as Spectre.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Swann takes Bond to L'Américain, a hotel in Tangier, and they discover that White left evidence directing them to Oberhauser's base at a crater in the Sahara. Taking a train to a remote station, Bond and Swann encounter Hinx, who gets ejected from the train in the ensuing fight. From the train station, they are escorted to Oberhauser's base. Oberhauser reveals that Spectre has funded the Joint Intelligence Service while staging terrorist attacks around the world, creating a need for the Nine Eyes programme. In return, C will give Spectre unlimited access to intelligence gathered by Nine Eyes, allowing them to anticipate and counteract investigations into their operations. Bond is tortured as Oberhauser discusses their shared history. After Bond was orphaned, Oberhauser's father, Hannes, became his temporary guardian. Jealous of his father's affection for Bond, Oberhauser killed his father, staged his own death, and adopted the name Ernst Stavro Blofeld. He went on to form Spectre and target Bond, and contributed to several tragedies in Bond's life, including the deaths of Vesper Lynd and the previous M. Bond and Swann stun Blofeld by setting off an explosive wristwatch in his face, and escape to London to prevent the Nine Eyes from going online.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: In London, Bond and Swann meet M, Q, Bill Tanner and Moneypenny with the intention of arresting C. Swann and Bond are separately abducted by Spectre operatives, while the rest of the group proceed with the plan. After Q succeeds in preventing Nine Eyes from going online, a struggle between M and C ends with C falling to his death. Bond is taken to the ruins of the old MI6 building, scheduled for demolition after Silva's bombing. Blofeld—badly scarred on the right side of his face—tells Bond that he must escape before explosives are detonated in three minutes, or die trying to save Swann. Bond finds Swann and they escape by boat as the building collapses. Bond shoots down Blofeld's helicopter, which crashes onto Westminster Bridge. Blofeld manages to crawl away from the wreckage and dares Bond to kill him, but Bond refuses, leaving him to be arrested by M. Bond reunites with Swann and the two depart.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: In March 2013, Mendes said he would not return to direct the next film in the series, then known as "Bond 24"; he later recanted and announced that he would return, as he found the script and the plans for the long-term future of the franchise appealing. Nicolas Winding Refn would later reveal that he turned down an offer to direct the film. In directing "Skyfall" and "Spectre", Mendes became the first director to oversee two successive "Bond" films since John Glen directed five consecutive films, ending with "Licence to Kill" in 1989. Dennis Gassner returned as the film's production designer, while cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema took over from Roger Deakins. In July 2015 Mendes noted that the combined crew of "Spectre" numbered over one thousand, making it a larger production than "Skyfall". Craig is listed as co-producer. He considered the credit a high point of his career, saying, "I'm just so proud of the fact that my name comes up somewhere else on the titles."


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: The film's usage of the Spectre organisation and its characters marked the end of long-standing litigation between Eon Productions and producer Kevin McClory, who sued James Bond creator Ian Fleming in 1961 claiming ownership over elements of the novel "Thunderball", and in an out of court settlement two years later, was awarded the novel's film rights, including Spectre and its characters. McClory died in 2006, and in November 2013 MGM and the McClory estate formally settled the issue with Danjaq, sister company of Eon Productions—with MGM acquiring the full copyright film rights to the concept of Spectre and all of the characters associated with it. It has been suggested that with the acquisition of the film rights and the organisation's re-introduction to the series' continuity, the SPECTRE acronym was discarded and the organisation reimagined as "Spectre".


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: When Sony Pictures Entertainment renegotiated with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures the deal to co-finance the "Bond" franchise in 2011, they were tasked to provide 25% of the negative cost of both "Skyfall" and "Spectre", in exchange for receiving 25% of the profits plus distribution fees for overseeing its worldwide rollout. When the film was announced in June 2013, the budget was not yet fixed, but was certain to be higher than the $210 million of "Skyfall" due to foreign locations and bigger payments for Mendes and Craig. In November 2014, Sony was targeted by hackers who released details of confidential e-mails between Sony executives regarding several high-profile film projects. Included within these were several memos relating to the production of "Spectre", claiming that the film was over budget, detailing early drafts of the script written by John Logan, and expressing Sony's frustration with the project. Eon Productions later issued a statement confirming the leak of what they called "an early version of the screenplay". Eon resisted Sony and MGM's arguments to cut down on stunts and location work to reduce the budget, but managed to secure tax incentives and rebates, such as $14 million from Mexico. "Spectre" has a final budget estimated between $250 million and $275 million.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: "Spectre" marked the return of many scriptwriters from the previous "Bond" films, such as "Skyfall" writer John Logan; Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who had done work in five previous "Bond" films, and British playwright Jez Butterworth, who had previously made uncredited contributions to "Skyfall". Butterworth was brought in to polish the script, being helped by Mendes and Craig. Butterworth considered that his changes involved adding what he would like to see as a teenager, and limited the scenes with Bond talking to men, as "Bond shoots other men—he doesn't sit around chatting to them. So you put a line through that." With the acquisition of the rights to Spectre and its associated characters, Purvis and Wade revealed that the film would provide a minor retcon to the continuity of the previous films, with the Quantum organisation alluded to in "Casino Royale" and introduced in "Quantum of Solace" reimagined as a division within Spectre rather than an independent organisation which is implied to be no longer active by the film's events. The plot of "Spectre" also linked the events of "Skyfall" to Craig's first two "Bond" movies by revealing antagonist Raoul Silva to be associated with Spectre reverting "Skyfall"s initial solo story status.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Despite being an original story, "Spectre" draws on Ian Fleming's source material, most notably in the character of Franz Oberhauser, played by Christoph Waltz, and his father Hannes. Hannes Oberhauser is a background character in the short story "Octopussy" from the "Octopussy and The Living Daylights" collection, and is named in the film as having been a temporary legal guardian of a young Bond in 1983. As Sam Mendes searched for events in young Bond's life to follow the childhood discussed in "Skyfall", he came across Hannes Oberhauser, who becomes a father figure to Bond. From there, Mendes conceived the idea of "a natural child who had been pushed out, cuckoo in the nest" by Bond, which became Franz. Similarly, Charmian Bond is shown to have been his full-time guardian, observing the back story established by Fleming.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: The main cast was revealed in December 2014 at the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios. Daniel Craig returned for his fourth appearance as James Bond, while Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw reprised their roles as M, Eve Moneypenny and Q respectively, having been established in "Skyfall". Rory Kinnear also reprised his role as Bill Tanner in his third appearance in the series.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Christoph Waltz was cast in the role of Franz Oberhauser, though he refused to comment on the nature of the part. It was later revealed with the film's release that he is Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Waltz got interested in the film for dealing with technology-assisted mass surveillance, "speaking about relevant social issues in a way that few "Bonds" have done before", and denied rumours that the role was written specially for him, but added that "when I came on board, the role grew, evolved, and mutated."


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Dave Bautista was cast as Mr Hinx after producers sought an actor with a background in contact sports. The character only has one line in the entire film, "Shit". Sam Mendes thought the silent nature would drive Bautista away, but the lifelong Bond fan expressed interest in reviving the quiet henchman archetype of characters such as Jaws. Bautista's performance was inspired mostly by Oddjob from "Goldfinger", and said not talking created an acting challenge, "trying to find this way where I am actually going to have to speak without speaking." After casting Bérénice Marlohe, a relative newcomer, as Sévérine in "Skyfall", Mendes sought out a more experienced actor for the role of Madeleine Swann, ultimately casting Léa Seydoux in the role. Monica Bellucci joined the cast as Lucia Sciarra, becoming, at the age of fifty, the oldest actress to be cast as a Bond girl. She had previously auditioned for the role of Paris Carver in "Tomorrow Never Dies", but was passed over in favour of Teri Hatcher. In a separate interview with Danish website Euroman, Jesper Christensen revealed he would be reprising his role as Mr White from "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace". Christensen's character was reportedly killed off in a scene intended to be used as an epilogue to "Quantum of Solace", before it was removed from the final cut of the film, enabling his return in "Spectre".


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: In addition to the principal cast, Alessandro Cremona was cast as Marco Sciarra, Stephanie Sigman was cast as Estrella, and Detlef Bothe was cast as a villain for scenes shot in Austria. In February 2015 over 1,500 background artistes were hired for the pre-title sequence set in Mexico, though they were replicated in the film, giving the effect of around 10,000 extras.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Mendes revealed that production would begin on 8 December 2014 at Pinewood Studios, with filming taking seven months. Mendes also confirmed several filming locations, including London, Mexico City and Rome. Van Hoytema shot the film mostly on Kodak 35mm film stock (in addition to digital cameras such as the 6K Arri Alexa 65mm), in contrast to "Skyfall" being filmed solely on digital cameras. Early filming took place at Pinewood Studios, and around London, with scenes variously featuring Craig and Harris at Bond's flat, and Craig and Kinnear travelling down the River Thames.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Filming was carried out in Austria between December 2014 and February 2015, with production taking place in the area around Sölden—including the Ötztal Glacier Road, Rettenbach glacier and the adjacent ski resort plus cable car station—Obertilliach and Lake Altaussee. Scenes filmed in Austria centred on the Ice Q Restaurant, standing in for the fictional Hoffler Klinik, a private medical clinic in the Austrian Alps. Filming included an action scene featuring a Land Rover Defender Bigfoot and a Range Rover Sport. Various airplane models were used in filming, from a life-sized plane with detachable wings to film the crash in the woods, to plane fuselages either built atop snowmobiles or shot from nitrogen cannons. Production was temporarily halted first by an injury to Craig, who suffered a meniscus tear whilst shooting a fight scene with Bautista, and later by an accident involving a filming vehicle that saw three crew members injured, at least one of them seriously.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Filming temporarily returned to England to shoot scenes at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, which stood in for a location in Rome, before moving on to the city itself for a five-week shoot across the city, with locations including the Ponte Sisto bridge and the Roman Forum. The production faced opposition from a variety of special interest groups and city authorities, who were concerned about the potential for damage to historical sites around the city, and problems with graffiti and rubbish appearing in the film. Special effects supervisor Chris Corbould stated the scenes had to be extensively planned prior to filming specially to avoid any mishaps, going to the point of building protection above steps where cars would drive. A car chase scene set along the banks of the Tiber River and through the streets of Rome featured an Aston Martin DB10 (a model developed especially for the film, with only 10 examples produced) and a Jaguar C-X75. The C-X75 was originally developed as a hybrid electric vehicle with four independent electric engines powered by two jet turbines, before the project was cancelled. The version used for filming was converted to use a conventional internal combustion engine, to minimise the potential for disruption from mechanical problems with the complex hybrid system. The C-X75s used for filming were developed by the engineering division of Formula One racing team Williams, who built the original C-X75 prototype for Jaguar. Remote driving pods were built above the cars so the vehicles could be driven while the cameras focused on Craig and Bautista in the steering wheel. According to chief stunt co-ordinator Gary Powell, filming the chase had the "risk of skidding into the Vatican", and led to "a record for smashing up cars in "Spectre"—seven Aston Martins in all," with the film's car expenses estimated at £24 million ($48 million).


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: With filming completed in Rome, production moved to Mexico City in late March to shoot the film's opening sequence, with scenes to include the Day of the Dead festival filmed in and around the Zócalo and the Centro Histórico district. At the time, no such Day of the Dead parade like the one from the film took place in Mexico City; in 2016, due to the interest raised by "Spectre" and the government's desire to promote the pre-Hispanic Mexican culture, the federal and local authorities decided to organise an actual "Día de Muertos" parade through Paseo de la Reforma and Centro Histórico on 29 October 2016, which was attended by 250,000 people. The film opens with a long take that joins six shots seamlessly, and was one of the few scenes that required previsualisation. Through extensive planning, filming did not require motion control cameras. The scene joints were done in post-production through re-timing and re-projections, which even matched Mexico locations with interiors filmed at Pinewood.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: The planned scenes required the city square to be closed for filming a sequence involving a fight aboard a Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105CBS helicopter flown by stunt pilot Chuck Aaron, which called for modifications to be made to several buildings to prevent damage. This particular scene in Mexico required 1,500 extras, 10 giant skeletons and 250,000 paper flowers. Reports in the Mexican media added that the film's second unit would move to Palenque in the state of Chiapas, to film aerial manoeuvres considered too dangerous to shoot in an urban area. These were pasted over a computer-generated square and crowd below the helicopter, with motion capture doubles fighting inside. Mendes and the effects team felt that this approach "would get believable composition and movement" compared to adding a digital helicopter above the Mexico City location. Following filming in Mexico, and during a scheduled break, Craig was flown to New York to undergo minor surgery to fix his knee injury. It was reported that filming was not affected and he had returned to filming at Pinewood Studios as planned on 22 April. Nonetheless, some parts of the Mexico scene were done with stunt doubles, whose faces were digitally replaced with Craig's.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: On 17 May 2015 filming took place on the Thames in London. Stunt scenes involving Craig and Seydoux on a speedboat as well as a low flying helicopter near Westminster Bridge were shot at night, with filming temporarily closing both Westminster and Lambeth Bridges. Scenes were also shot on the river near MI6's headquarters at Vauxhall Cross. The crew returned to the river less than a week later to film scenes solely set on Westminster Bridge. The London Fire Brigade was on set to simulate rain as well as monitor smoke used for filming. Craig, Seydoux, and Waltz, as well as Harris and Fiennes, were seen being filmed. Prior to this, scenes involving Fiennes were shot at a restaurant in Covent Garden. Blofeld's helicopter crash was done with two full sized helicopter shells, which were rigged with steelwork and an overhead track. Computer-generated rotor blades and scenery damage were added in post-production. The MI6 building, which in the film is vacated and scheduled for demolition following the terrorist attack from "Skyfall", was replaced in the production plates for a digital reconstruction. When the building is detonated, it is a combination of both a miniature and a breakaway version of the digital building.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: After wrapping up in England, production travelled to Morocco in June, with filming taking place in Oujda, Tangier and Erfoud, after preliminary work was completed by the production's second unit. The headquarters of Spectre in Morocco was located in Gara Medouar which is a 'crater' caused by erosion and of neither volcanic nor impact origin. An explosion filmed in Morocco holds a Guinness World Record for the largest film stunt explosion in cinematic history, involving 8,140 litres of kerosene and 24 charges each with a kilogramme of high explosives. The outside shots of a train in a desert featured the Oriental Desert Express. Principal photography concluded on 5 July 2015. A wrap-up party for "Spectre" was held in commemoration before entering post-production. Filming took 128 days.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Whilst filming in Mexico City, speculation in the media claimed that the script had been altered to accommodate the demands of Mexican authorities—reportedly influencing details of the scene and characters, casting choices, and modifying the script to portray the country in a "positive light"—to secure tax concessions and financial support worth up to $20 million for the film. This was denied by producer Michael G. Wilson, who stated that the scene had always been intended to be shot in Mexico as production had been attracted to the imagery of the Day of the Dead, and that the script had been developed from there. Production of "Skyfall" had previously faced similar problems while attempting to secure permits to shoot the film's pre-title sequence in India before moving to Istanbul.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Five companies did the visual effects—Industrial Light & Magic, Double Negative, Moving Picture Company, Cinesite and Peerless—under the supervision of Steve Begg. The computer-generated effects included set extensions, digital touches on the vehicles, and crumbling buildings. A sixth one, Framestore, handled the title sequence, the seventh in the series designed by Daniel Kleinman. It took four months to complete, and centred on an octopus motif reminiscent of the Spectre logo, along with images of love and relationships.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Thomas Newman returned as "Spectre"s composer. Rather than composing the score once the film had moved into post-production, Newman worked during filming. The theatrical trailer released in July 2015 contained a rendition of John Barry's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" theme. Mendes stated that the final film would have more than 100 minutes of music. The soundtrack album was released on 23 October 2015 in the UK and 6 November 2015 in the US on Decca Records.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: The English band Radiohead were commissioned to write the title song, and submitted "Man of War", an unreleased song written in the 1990s. It was rejected as it had not been written for the film and so was ineligible for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Radiohead recorded another song for the film, "Spectre", but this was also rejected as too melancholy.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: In September 2015, Eon announced that Sam Smith had recorded the title theme, "Writing's on the Wall". Smith reported writing the song in a single session with regular collaborator Jimmy Napes in under half an hour before recording a demo. Satisfied with the quality, the filmmakers used the demo in the final release. "Writing's on the Wall" was released as a download on 25 September 2015. It received mixed reviews from critics and fans, particularly in comparison to Adele's "Skyfall", leading to Shirley Bassey trending on Twitter on the day it was released. Despite the mixed reception, it became the first Bond theme to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart, the second to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the fifth to be nominated. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: During the December 2014 press conference announcing the start of filming, Aston Martin and Eon unveiled the new DB10 as the official car for the film. The DB10 was designed in collaboration between Aston Martin and the filmmakers, with only 10 being produced especially for "Spectre" as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the company's association with the franchise. Only eight of those 10 were used for the film, however; the remaining two were used for promotional work. After modifying the Jaguar C-X75 for the film, Williams F1 carried the 007 logo on their cars at the 2015 Mexican Grand Prix, with the team playing host to the cast and crew ahead of the Mexican premiere of the film.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: To promote the film, the film's marketers continued the trend established during "Skyfall"s production of releasing still images of clapperboards and video blogs on Eon's official social media accounts.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: On 13 March 2015, several members of the cast and crew, including Craig, Whishaw, Wilson and Mendes, as well as previous James Bond actor, Sir Roger Moore, appeared in a sketch written by David Walliams and the Dawson Brothers for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day on BBC One. In the sketch, they film a behind-the-scenes documentary on the filming of "Spectre". The first teaser trailer for "Spectre" was released worldwide in March 2015, followed by the theatrical trailer in July and the final trailer in October.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: "Spectre" had its world premiere at the Royal Film Performance, an event in aid of the Film & TV Charity, in London on 26 October 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall, the same day as its general release in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Following the announcement of the start of filming, Paramount Pictures brought forward the release of "" to avoid competing with "Spectre". In March 2015 IMAX corporation announced that "Spectre" would be screened in its cinemas, following "Skyfall"s success with the company. In the UK it received a wider release than "Skyfall", with a minimum of 647 cinemas including 40 IMAX screens, compared to "Skyfall"s 587 locations and 21 IMAX screens.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: "Spectre" was released for Digital HD on 22 January 2016 and on DVD and Blu-ray on 9 and 22 February 2016 in the US and UK respectively. It debuted atop the home video charts in both countries, and finished 2016 with 1.5 million units in the UK, the second best-selling title of the year, behind only "", and 2 million copies in the US, 12th in the year-end charts.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: The film was later released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on 22 October 2019 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment along with the previous three films, and standalone on 25 February 2020 in the US and 23 March 2020 in the UK.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: "Spectre" grossed $880.7 million worldwide; $135.5 million of the takings were generated from the UK market and $200.1 million from North America. Worldwide, this made it the second-highest-grossing "James Bond" film after "Skyfall", and the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2015. "Deadline Hollywood" calculated the film's net profit as $98.4 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it sixteenth on their list of 2015's "Most Valuable Blockbusters". Sony had expected the net profit of the film to be around $38 million had it performed to the same level of its predecessor, but it earned 20% less than "Skyfall". Sony paid 50% of the production costs for the film—which totalled some $250 million after accounting for government incentives—but received only 25% of certain profits, once costs were recouped. The studio also spent tens of millions of dollars in marketing and had to give MGM some of the profit from the studio's non-Bond films, including "22 Jump Street".


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: In the United Kingdom, the film grossed £4.1 million ($6.4 million) from its Monday preview screenings. It grossed £6.3 million ($9.2 million) on its opening day and then £5.7 million ($8.8 million) on Wednesday, setting UK records for both days. In the film's first seven days it grossed £41.7 million ($63.8 million), breaking the UK record for highest first-week opening, set by "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"s £23.9 million ($36.9 million) in 2004. Its Friday–Saturday gross was £20.4 million ($31.2 million) compared to "Skyfall"s £20.1 million ($31 million). The film also broke the record for the best per-screen opening average with $110,000, a record previously held by "The Dark Knight" with $100,200. It has grossed a total of $136.3 million there. In the UK, it surpassed "Avatar" to become the country's highest-grossing IMAX release ever with $10.09 million.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: "Spectre" opened in Germany with $22.5 million (including previews), which included a new record for the biggest Saturday of all time, Australia with $8.7 million (including previews) and South Korea opened to $8.2 million (including previews). Despite the 13 November Paris attacks, which led to numerous theatres being closed down, the film opened with $14.6 million (including $2 million in previews) in France. In Mexico, where part of the film was shot, it debuted with more than double that of "Skyfall" with $4.5 million. It also bested its predecessor's opening in various Nordic regions where MGM is distributing, such as in Finland ($2.7 million) and Norway ($2.9 million), and in other markets like Denmark ($4.2 million), the Netherlands ($3.4 million), and Sweden ($3.1 million). In India, it opened at No. 1 with $4.8 million which is 4% above the opening of "Skyfall". It topped the German-speaking Switzerland box office for four weeks and in the Netherlands, it held the No. 1 spot for seven weeks straight where it topped "Minions" to become the top movie of the year. The top earning markets are Germany ($70.3 million) and France ($38.8 million). In Paris, it has the second-highest ticket sales of all time with 4.1 million tickets sold only behind "Spider-Man 3" which sold over 6.3 million tickets in 2007.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: In the United States and Canada the film opened on 6 November 2015, and in its opening weekend, was originally projected to gross $70–75 million from 3,927 screens, the widest release for a Bond film. However, after it grossed $5.3 million from its early Thursday night showings and $28 million on its opening day, weekend projections were increased to $75–80 million. The film ended up grossing $70.4 million in its opening weekend (about $20 million less than "Skyfall"'s $90.6 million debut, including IMAX previews), but nevertheless finished first at the box office. IMAX generated $9.1 million for "Spectre" at 374 screens, premium large format made $8 million from 429 cinemas, reaping 11% of the film's opening, which means that "Spectre" earned $17.1 million (23%) of its opening weekend total in large-format venues. Cinemark XD generated $1.9 million in 112 XD locations.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: In China, it opened on 12 November and earned $15 million on its opening day, which is the second biggest 2D single day gross for a Hollywood film behind the $18.5 million opening day of "" and occupying 43% of all available screens which included $790,000 in advance night screenings. Through its opening weekend, it earned $48.1 million from 14,700 screens which is 198% ahead of "Skyfall", a new record for a Hollywood 2D opening. IMAX contributed $4.6 million on 246 screens, also a new record for a three-day opening for a November release (breaking "Interstellar"s record). In its second weekend, it added $12.1 million falling precipitously by 75% which is the second worst second weekend drop for any major Hollywood release in China of 2015. It grossed a total of $84.7 million there after four weekends (foreign films in the Middle Kingdom play for 30 days only, unless granted special extensions). Despite a strong opening, it failed to attain the $100 million mark there as projected due to mixed response from critics and audiences as well as facing competition from local films.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: "Spectre" has an approval rating of based on professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of . Its critical consensus reads, ""Spectre" nudges Daniel Craig's rebooted Bond closer to the glorious, action-driven spectacle of earlier entries, although it's admittedly reliant on established 007 formula." Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned "Spectre" a score of 60 out of 100 based on 48 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Prior to its UK release, "Spectre" mostly received positive reviews. Mark Kermode, film critic for "The Observer", gave the film four out of five stars, observing that the film did not live up to the standard set by "Skyfall", but was able to tap into audience expectations. Writing in "The Guardian", Peter Bradshaw gave the film a full five stars, calling it "inventive, intelligent and complex", and singling out Craig's performance as the film's highlight. In another five star review, "The Daily Telegraph"s Robbie Collin described "Spectre" as "a swaggering show of confidence'", lauding it as "a feat of pure cinematic necromancy." Positive yet critical assessments included Kim Newman of "Sight and Sound", who wrote that "for all its wayward plotting (including an unhelpful tie-in with Bond's childhood that makes very little sense) and off-the-peg elements, "Spectre" works" as he felt "the audience's patience gets tested by two and a half hours of set-pieces strung on one of the series' thinner plots"; and IGN's Chris Tilly, who rated the film 7.2 out of 10, considering "Spectre" "solid if unspectacular", and concluding that "the film falls frustratingly short of greatness."


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: Critical appraisal was mixed in the United States. In a review for RogerEbert.com, Matt Zoller Seitz gave "Spectre" 2.5 out of 4, describing it as inconsistent and unable to capitalise on its potential. Kenneth Turan, reviewing the film for "Los Angeles Times", concluded that "Spectre" "comes off as exhausted and uninspired". Manohla Dargis of "The New York Times" criticised the film as having "nothing surprising" and sacrificing its originality for the sake of box office returns. "Forbes"' Scott Mendelson also heavily criticised the film, denouncing "Spectre" as "the worst 007 movie in 30 years". Darren Franich of "Entertainment Weekly" viewed "Spectre" as "an overreaction to our current blockbuster moment", aspiring "to be a serialized sequel" and proving "itself as a Saga". While noting that "[n]othing that happens in "Spectre" holds up to even minor logical scrutiny", he had "come not to bury "Spectre", but to weirdly praise it. Because the final act of the movie is so strange, so willfully obtuse, that it deserves extra attention." Christopher Orr, writing in "The Atlantic", also criticised the film, saying that "Spectre" "backslides on virtually every [aspect]". Lawrence Toppman of "The Charlotte Observer" called Craig's performance "Bored, James Bored." Alyssa Rosenberg, writing for "The Washington Post", stated that the film turned into "a disappointingly conventional "Bond" film."


title: Spectre (2015 film)

text: In a positive review published in "Rolling Stone", Peter Travers gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, describing "Spectre" as "party time for Bond fans, a fierce, funny, gorgeously produced valentine to the longest-running franchise in movies". Mick LaSalle from the "San Francisco Chronicle", raved that "One of the great satisfactions of "Spectre" is that, in addition to all the stirring action, and all the timely references to a secret organisation out to steal everyone's personal information, we get to believe in Bond as a person." Stephen Whitty from "The New York Daily News", who awarded the film four of five stars, stated that "Craig is cruelly efficient. Dave Bautista makes a good, Oddjob-like assassin. And while Lea Seydoux doesn't leave a huge impression as this film's 'Bond girl', perhaps it's because we've already met—far too briefly—the hypnotic Monica Bellucci, as the first real 'Bond woman' since Diana Rigg." "Chicago Sun-Times" film reviewer Richard Roeper, who gave the film three stars out of four, considered the film "solidly in the middle of the all-time rankings, which means it's still a slick, beautifully photographed, action-packed, international thriller with a number of wonderfully, ludicrously entertaining set pieces, a sprinkling of dry wit, myriad gorgeous women and a classic psycho-villain who is clearly out of his mind but seems to like it that way." Michael Phillips, reviewing for the "Chicago Tribune", stated, "For all its workmanlike devotion to out-of-control helicopters, "Spectre" works best when everyone's on the ground, doing his or her job, driving expensive fast cars heedlessly, detonating the occasional wisecrack, enjoying themselves and their beautiful clothes." "Variety" film critic Guy Lodge complained in his review that "What's missing is the unexpected emotional urgency of "Skyfall," as the film sustains its predecessor's nostalgia kick with a less sentimental bent."


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is regarded by some as a contemporary example of an auteur for his style and deep involvement in the writing, directing, design, and musical components of all his work. He is the most commercially successful Australian director, with four of his films in the top ten highest worldwide grossing Australian films of all time.


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: On the screen he is best known for his "Red Curtain Trilogy", consisting of his romantic comedy film "Strictly Ballroom" (1992) and the romantic tragedies "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet" (1996) and "Moulin Rouge!" (2001). Following the trilogy, projects included "Australia" (2008), "The Great Gatsby" (2013), "Elvis" (2022), and his television period drama "The Get Down" (2016) for Netflix. Additional projects include stage productions of Giacomo Puccini's "La bohème" for both Opera Australia and Broadway, and "Strictly Ballroom the Musical" (2014).


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: Luhrmann is equally known for his Grammy-nominated soundtracks for "Moulin Rouge!" and , as well as his record label House of Iona, a co-venture with RCA Records. Serving as producer on all of his musical soundtracks, he also holds writing credits on many of the individual tracks. His album "Something for Everybody" features music from many of his films and also includes his hit "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)".


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: Luhrmann was born in Sydney. His mother, Barbara Carmel (née Brennan), was a ballroom dance teacher and dress shop owner, and his father, Leonard Luhrmann, ran a petrol station and a movie theatre. He was raised in Herons Creek, a tiny rural settlement in mid-northern New South Wales. He attended St Joseph's Hastings Regional School, Port Macquarie (1975–1978); St Paul's Catholic College, performing in the school's version of Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 1", and Narrabeen Sports High School, where he met future collaborator Craig Pearce.


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: Luhrmann received the nickname "Baz" at school, given to him because of his hair style, the name coming from the puppet character Basil Brush. While still in high school, Luhrmann changed his name by deed poll to Bazmark, joining his nickname and birth name together. In 1980 Luhrmann graduated high school and in the same year was cast opposite Judy Davis in the Australian film "Winter of Our Dreams". In 1982 using the money he had earned from film and television experience he funded his own theatre company, The Bond Theatre Company, with future friends and collaborators Nellee Hooper and Gabrielle Mason. The company performed at the Pavilion at Sydney's Bondi Beach. At the same time he conceived and appeared in a controversial television documentary, "Kids of the Cross", where Luhrmann, embedded as a character, lived with a group of street kids. In 1983, he began an acting course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. He graduated in 1985 alongside Sonia Todd, Catherine McClements and Justin Monjo. On 26 January 1997, he married Catherine Martin, a production designer; the couple have two children.


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: After theatrical successes, including the short play "Strictly Ballroom" which premiered at the Wharf Theatre, Luhrmann moved into film. He made his directorial debut with the 1992 film version of "Strictly Ballroom".


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: Luhrmann's modern film interpretation "Romeo + Juliet" (1996), based on the William Shakespeare play and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, defeated "Titanic" at the BAFTAs for best direction, music and screenplay. The film was celebrated at the Berlin Film Festival, where it was recognised with the Golden Bear award for direction and Silver Bear for DiCaprio's performance. Luhrmann also produced both volumes of the soundtrack album, which went triple-platinum.


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: Luhrmann's Oscar-winning musical "Moulin Rouge!" (2001), set in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris at the dawn of the 20th century, told the story of a young English poet/writer, Christian (Ewan McGregor) who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman). The film was praised by its adherents, including musical directors Robert Wise and Stanley Donen, as having re-invented the modern musical, blending decades of popular music in remixes and mash-ups. The movie was named one of the AFI's top ten films of 2001 and in 2010 was chosen as the top film of the 2000s decade in a poll of 150,000 respondents in the United Kingdom. At the 59th Annual Golden Globes, "Moulin Rouge!" took home the awards for Best Motion Picture, Best Actress, and Best Original Score. The film also gave birth to a successful soundtrack album, produced by Luhrmann, which sold more than seven million copies and went double-platinum, led by the Grammy-winning number one hit single "Lady Marmalade".


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: Luhrmann's 2008 historical epic "Australia" featured some of the country's most celebrated actors, including Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, and David Gulpilil. Situated between the two World Wars, the film blended a nostalgic romance with major events from Australian history, including the Bombing of Darwin, and the true story of the Stolen Generations, wherein thousands of mixed-race Aboriginal children were stolen from their families by the state and forcibly integrated into white society. The movie's racial politics were controversial for their time, and notably, its production coincided with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2008 Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples. Marcia Langton, professor of Australian indigenous studies at Melbourne University publicly supported the film, saying "Luhrmann depicts with satirical sharpness the racial caste system of that time... In his imagined cinema of the 1940s, the spatial and social shape of racism is reconstructed with such exact detail, I felt I had been transported back to my own childhood." While achieving modest box office success in the United States, the film was very successful in Europe, maintaining the #1 slot at the box office for many weeks in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Scandinavian countries. It is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, next to "Crocodile Dundee" and ahead of "Happy Feet".


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: In 2013, Luhrmann adapted F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", shot in 3D, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan, Australian newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker, and legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan as Meyer Wolfsheim. For the film, Luhrmann and costume/production designer Catherine Martin collaborated with Prada, Brooks Brothers, and Tiffany & Co. to create period-inspired dresses, suits, and jewellery based on their own archives and true to the book's own references to luxury brands. The film grossed over $353 million worldwide, making it the director's highest-grossing movie to date. Critic Richard Roeper described the adaptation as "the best attempt yet to capture the essence of the novel" while Fitzgerald's granddaughter praised the movie, saying "Scott would have been proud." The following year, at the 86th Academy Awards, the film won in both of its nominated categories: Best Production Design and Best Costume Design. The soundtrack, produced by Luhrmann, Anton Monsted, and Jay-Z, sought to blend the music of the Jazz Age with contemporary hip hop as two historical analogues. Featured artists included Beyoncé, Jack White, Lana Del Rey, Sia, will.i.am, The xx, and Florence and the Machine; the soundtrack also included score from the film's composer and Luhrmann's repeat collaborator Craig Armstrong. The album's sales exceeded expectations, marking the biggest digital sales week for a soundtrack in Billboard history, and peaking at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: Luhrmann's next project was a film about Elvis Presley's relationship with Colonel Tom Parker, simply called "Elvis", which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022. Tom Hanks played Parker and Austin Butler portrayed Presley, having been cast after a series of screen tests, as well as music and performance workshops. The film opened in June 2022, becoming a box office hit.


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: In 2016, Luhrmann collaborated with award-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis on the Netflix series "The Get Down" about the birth of hip hop in the 1970s. For the series, Luhrmann brought on Nas, Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow and DJ Kool Herc as producers, to help tell the story of the rise of hip hop, punk, and disco during shifting cultural and political transformation through his unique brand of magical realism. The series featured two parts, praised for its vibrant music, fresh cast and authenticity, due to the involvement of many of the era's key historical figures in central roles to the show's development. Part One was certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 77%, while Part Two of the series holds a critic score of 86%.


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: Luhrmann has cited Italian grand opera as a major influence on his work and has also given a nod to other theatrical styles, such as Bollywood films, as having influenced his style. Luhrmann was a ballroom dancer as a child and his mother taught ballroom dancing which was an inspiration for "Strictly Ballroom". Luhrmann's favourite films are "Star 80", "8½", "War and Peace", "Medium Cool" and "Fitzcarraldo".


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: Luhrmann's influence has extended outside the traditional realm of media and entertainment. Deeply involved in the fashion and art worlds, Luhrmann's "No. 5 the Film" for Chanel not only holds a Guinness World Record for the highest budget for an advertising commercial ever produced, but pioneered the now commonplace genre of fashion film and branded content. Luhrmann works closely with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Anna Wintour Costume Center, having chaired the annual Met Gala as well as producing a short film for the museum, celebrating Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli. More recently he and his wife Catherine Martin have adapted their style for projects in events, retail, architecture and design with Barneys New York and developer and hotelier Alan Faena.


title: Baz Luhrmann

text: In 2021, the Israeli writers of "The Jews are Coming" made a tribute in Hebrew to "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" with Moses standing before the Israelites and quoting the Ten Commandments with the background music from "Sunscreen" and several parts closely translated from Luhrmann's text, such as getting to know your parents before they disappear.


title: Beau Biden

text: Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III (February 3, 1969 – May 30, 2015) was an American politician, lawyer, and officer in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from Wilmington, Delaware. The oldest child of current U.S. president Joe Biden and Neilia Hunter Biden, he served as the 44th attorney general of Delaware from 2007 to 2015 and was a major in the Delaware Army National Guard in the Iraq War. He died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.


title: Beau Biden

text: Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on February 3, 1969. He was the first son of Joe Biden (who would become a U.S. senator, vice president, and president), and his first wife Neilia. On December 18, 1972, Beau's mother and infant sister Naomi were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping. Beau was just under four years old, and his brother, Hunter, was just under three years old. Beau and Hunter were in the car when the crash took place and were critically injured but survived. Beau sustained multiple broken bones, while Hunter sustained injuries to his skull and severe traumatic brain damage. They spent several months in the hospital, where their father was sworn into the Senate two weeks after the accident.


title: Beau Biden

text: According to some accounts, Beau and Hunter encouraged their father to marry again, even going so far as to ask him "when were 'we' going to get married". In June 1977, his father married Jill Jacobs, whom Beau welcomed as a stepmother. His half-sister, Ashley, was born in 1981.