New season, new route. For the fifteenth edition of “Pékin Express”, the production (Label Aventure) and M6 have opted for an unusual route. The starting point of this hitchhiking race entitled "In the land of the royal eagle": Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia, where the candidates have already crossed several stages. The final will be played in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A destination initially planned the previous year but postponed because of the health crisis. In the coming weeks, the race will also pass in Jordan, in particular in Petra, qualified as the eighth wonder of the world.
In the meantime, the various teams have just arrived in Uzbekistan, a country bordering Afghanistan, which fell into the hands of the Taliban in mid-August.
“We chose a road without any problem,” assures Guillaume Charles, head of M6 programs.
We are not going to turn in a dangerous corner.
He also adds to be in "relation with the authorities" and to follow "the recommendations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs" but without there being any need to take "additional precautions".
Last year, the show stopped by the Covid
Last season, “Beijing Express” was played in two stages. Filming began in February 2020 in Uganda and was scheduled to continue in Ethiopia. But Emmanuel Macron's announcements concerning the first confinement had forced the production to repatriate all the teams and the staff of the show in France. Three stages were still able to be boxed. It was not until September 8 that the race resumed in Greece, then in Turkey.
It was Claire and Christophe who won this previous edition, with 58,730 euros at stake. This father-daughter duo had triumphed in Istanbul against Rose-Marie and Cinzia, Parisian friends. “It was impossible! It was impossible my darling, we could not win, the patriarch had let go, on his knees and in tears in his daughter's arms. You invited me in your dream my darling. Your dream is here now. A final followed by 3 million fans of the program, or 14.3% of PDA. On average, this fourteenth season had collected 2.7 million (12.7%), not counting the replay.
