Race Across the World

The programme follows pairs of competitors racing around the world to be the first to reach the final destination. In the first series, the race started from London and finished in Singapore. The competitors cannot fly but are each given an amount of money equivalent to the price of a one-way plane ticket to the final destination, which they can use to travel by land or by sea. The funds can be used to pay for the cost of any travel including food and accommodation, but teams may also work to earn more money along the way. The competitors are not allowed any mobile electronic devices or credit cards at the start of the race, but are given a world map, a GPS device to track their progress and for safety as well as finding the checkpoints, and a travel guide with local job adverts, in addition to the money. In every episode, the teams are given a checkpoint they have to reach. One team may be eliminated if they come last at a pre-determined checkpoint. At each checkpoint, the racers are given a 36-hour break. The first team to reach the final destination is awarded the cash prize of £20,000.[2]

Before the race, two assistant producers conducted a recce research trip to assess the feasibility of such a journey within the budget constraints. All likely bus and train journeys were assessed beforehand. Visas were applied for the countries along all possible routes before the race as well as any necessary vaccinations required for entry to these countries.[2]

During the race, each team had two film crew members who travelled along with them. All decisions, however, were made by the racers and the crew cannot interfere with their choices. A director of photography travelled behind the teams for additional location filming. To ensure the safety of the racers, there may be local fixers and security advisers who observed the racers from a distance, and a medical support vehicle also travelled an hour behind the teams in some countries.[10][11]

The programme was commissioned by David Brindley and Michael Jochnowitz for BBC Two.[2]

Race Across the World has received generally positive reviews mixed with some negative reviews. Michael Hogan of The Telegraph found the first series "fiendishly addictive", and thought that it "reaffirmed one's faith in human nature" where friendships are "formed across cultural divides", with the series ending on an act of kindness that was "apt" and "heartwarming".[23] Jeff Robson of the i newspaper regarded the series as "flawed but engaging", and that although the show lacked the "challenges of some extreme travelogues, nor the sense of peril", it "succeeded in recreating the combination of unexpected highlights, soul-destroying lows and crucial budget decisions which characterised old-school seat of the pants travel".[24] Carol Midgley of The Times regarded the challenge of racing to be "quite tough" and "dramatic".[25]

In the second series, Joel Golby of The Guardian judged it "an astounding piece of TV" that "captures all the vibrant highs and exhausted lows of travel in all of their raw glory", and one that made him "genuinely caring how this one ends and the impact it will have on the lives of those who lived it".[26] Anita Singh of The Telegraph thought "the casting is one of the strengths of the series" and she "can't help but warm to these wacky racers",[27] however, Chris Moss of the same paper was more negative; he found that the obstacles the contestants faced were "largely fictive" and the tension "fabricated", and thought the show used the "old idiot abroad trope", and the viewers were "asked not to marvel at faraway places but to engage with the participants".[28] Equally negative was Barry Didcock of The Herald who considered the show's premise of travelling without flying "a frivolous exercise" and of questionable taste as the budget of racers would exceed that of a refugee at the Mexico-Guatemala border.[29] In contrast, Shaun Kitchener wrote in the Metro that the show "is the heartfelt light we all need in these dark times" as it was aired during the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that with the "masterful combination of escapism (the scenery!), warmth (the contestants!), drama (the conflict!) and adrenaline (the actual race!), Race Across The World is a merciful piece of TV to keep us briefly distracted over the next few weeks".[30]

The first series of Race Across the World won the 2020 BAFTA TV Award in the Best Reality and Constructed Factual category.[31] The second series was also nominated.

The programme aired in Australia on the Nine Network in December 2019.[32] In the United States, the series became available on Discovery+ at launch in January 2021.[33]

In Hong Kong, the first series aired on RTHK TV 31 as Race to Singapore (鬥快去星洲) from 6 April 2020,[34] while the second series, aired from 5 October 2020 within the Let’s Explore hour with the sub-title translated as Race to South America (一齊闖天下:鬥快去南美).[35]

• The Amazing Race
• Race Around the World (Australia)
• Race the World (China)
• Lost (UK 2001)
• Peking Express

• Race Across the World at BBC Online
• Race Across the World at IMDb
• Race Across the World at UKGameshows.com