Organisers have given the green light for the annual Four Hills Tournament to take place as planned ©Four Hills

Organisers have given the green light for the annual Four Hills Tournament to take place as planned after all four venues passed their respective snow inspections.

The Four Hills event, one of ski jumping's most prestigious prizes, forms part of the International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup calendar.

The opening competition is scheduled for Oberstdorf in Germany on December 30 before the series continues on January 1 at another German hill, Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The Four Hills will then move to Austria for competitions in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen on January 4 and 6 respectively.

Organisers confirmed each event will go ahead as a result of low temperatures and constant snowfall.

“We were able to produce enough snow at all four venues and the hill preparation already started in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Bischofshofen,” said Michael Maurer, President of the Four Hills Tournament and head of the Skiclub Partenkirchen.

Maurer also confirmed the preparation of Bergisel-hill in Innsbruck next week.

Peter Prevc won last year's Four Hills tournament ©Getty Images
Peter Prevc won last year's Four Hills tournament ©Getty Images

A men’s winner will be crowned based on the results from four famous venues, with Slovenia's Peter Prevc, the double Olympic medallist, the defending champion.

However, last season’s overall FIS Ski Jumping World Cup victor has struggled so far this campaign, with younger brother Domen emerging as a serious challenger to his crown.

Peter won the events in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen after Germany's Severin Freund claimed the opening title in Oberstdorf.

A record 126,000 fans attended the Four Hills tournament during the 2015-16 campaign and organisers expect arenas to once again be full this time around.

In October, it was confirmed a similar competition to the Four Hills would be introduced in Norway, called Raw Air.

Those behind the Raw Air concept were forced to deny it was a direct rival to the Four Hills, with coordinator Arne Abraten claiming it was “not a copy”.

Four World Cup competitions are scheduled to be held in the country in a row between March 11 and 19, in Oslo, Lillehammer, Trondheim and Vikersund.

Points gained will count to the overall World Cup standings, with results achieved at Raw Air meetings also serving as a separate competition in itself.