It’s not long now until Race Across the World is back on our screens. The hit show, which follows contestants as they race to be the first to cross a continent (or a similarly huge distance) in pursuit of a prize pot, it set to be returning to BBC One soon.
The route is still to be confirmed, but that doesn’t stop us from speculating — or for examining past routes to draw our own conclusions on where is still to come.
After all, the show has taken its contestants to some pretty far flung locations in the years since it started — all the way back in 2019.
Here’s where the show has been so far.
2019: London to Singapore
The first season of the show saw the teams take on the mammoth task of crossing the entire continent of Europe, and then the continent of Asia. No small feat — and their checkpoints included checkpoints in Greece, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, China and Cambodia.
For this incredible, 12,000 mile journey, the contestants were only given £1,329 each — and took around 50 days to complete the route. Phew.
2020: Mexico City to Ushuaia, Argentina
The series that really sent the show viral. Five teams raced from Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City to the southernmost city in the world: Ushuaia in Argentina. Along the course of their route, which they completed in two months, they stopped off at checkpoints in Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Peru and Brazil.
The budget was similarly stingy — £1,453 for the entire route, or £26 a day. Unsurprisingly, not everybody made it: Shuntelle and Michael lost half their money in the second leg of the race, while Jo and Sam ran out entirely in leg seven.
2023: Vancouver to St John’s, Newfoundland
This was the first time the show had ever set a route located entirely within one country — but that didn’t make it any less difficult to complete. Five teams had to race from one side of Canada to the other, passing checkpoints in Yukon, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
Their budget was bigger (£2,498 per person), but that didn’t help Claudia and Kevin, who had to withdraw after running out of money. Still, giving the contestants bear spray to help during their travels in the wilderness was a fun move.
2023: Marrakech, Morocco to Tromso, Norway
2023 marked the first time that Celebrity Race Across the World aired. It had originally been announced in 2019, but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and further delayed after the catastrophic earthquakes in Marrakech.
The lineup featured Alex Beresford and his father, Noel; former All Saints singer Melanie Blatt and her mother, Helene; McFly drummer Harry Judd and his mother, Emma; and former British F4 Racing Driver Billy Monger and his sister, Bonny.
Over the course of the route, the teams travelled all the way through Europe, ticking off checkpoints at Pinhao (in Portugal), the island of Corsica, Zermatt in Switzerland and Berlin.
2024: Sapporo, Japan to Lombok, Indonesia
For this one, contestants had to fly from A to B — not surprising when you consider their route took them across several massive bodies of water. The route was 9,300 miles long, including stops in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. Interestingly, the production team also made the decision to skip China entirely due to filming restrictions.
2024: Belem, Brazil to Frutillar, Chile
The second season of Celebrity Race Across the World saw contestants battle to cross the breadth of South America — often with negligible Spanish speaking skills.
The route was 12,500km long, and they only had £1,100 to their name: the equivalent of a flight there. The series starred broadcaster Jeff Brazier and his son, Freddy; actor Kola Bokinni and his cousin, Mary Ellen; Kelly Brook and her husband, Jeremy; and BBC Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills and his husband Sam.
The route took them through Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.
