Each year in August the city of Dinant in Belgium hosts an unusual and spectacular race with amazing home made boats. 250 of them race down the river Meuse and points are given not just for speed but also for original designs. This year we see a floating 2CV, an Eiffel Tower, the Nautillus, a Cathedral, the obligatory Viking brigade etc etc

2:40 mins. duration

The traditional Knaresborough Bed Race has found its counterpart in ThŸringia, Germany.

On 5th July the village of Friedrichsroda staged a Teutonic version with entries from Germany, France and the USA. 41 Teams and thousands of spectators turned up. The route is 2 Km long and climaxes with a river crossing, which always provides spectacular footage.

Each team consists of six participants of the same sex who push the bed, and one member of the opposite sex, who lies in the bed.

3 mins. duration

One of the most spectacular and wildest events in St Moritz is the International Swiss Championships in Bobrun Skating.

This is the last event of the bob season. 150 fearless participants, wearing padded ice-hockey outfits and helmets, skate the floodlighted bob run and many of them end up sliding instead of skating.

image: © Verkehrsverein St Moritz

2 mins. duration

We visit the first unofficial Bungee Jumping Championships held in the Bruno Banani Adventure Park in the Val d'annivieres in Switzerland. 20-30 participants from Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, England, Norway, Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand!! Costa Rica etc....

A spectacular jump into a 190 Meter deep gorge. Regular jumps, free style jumps and midnight fun jumps.

3:20 mins. duration

The Coast-to-Coast race is the most prestigious and toughest triathlon in New Zealand. It leads through a stunning landscape; mountains and rivers of breathtaking beauty. The 125 mile race starts in "Western Beach" on the Southern Island and finishes in Christchurch.

Five camera teams follow the participants running, biking and canoeing to extremes.

That archetypal British schoolboy pastime Conkers has crossed the channel and found an enthusiastic German following. We visit the German Westerwald for the 2nd German Conkers Championships. Contenders from the home of Conkers, Ashton in the UK, fly over to defend their title.

3 mins. duration

Not many people understand cricket and it is even more difficult to understand why they should play it on the frozen lake at St. Moritz. On the 11th and 12th February for the tenth year running 6 teams from Holland, Switzerland, England and India staged a cricket tournament of a different kind.

Chris Lewis, Gladstone Small and Jason Gallian were star guests. The day was blessed with dazzling sunshine, wild drinks and lots of eccentric Brits messing about in the snow...

3 mins. duration

Strange but true, this sport has gripped dog lovers all over the world. We visit the Benelux International Championships in Belgium and marvel at the wondrous feats these dogs can perform. They literally dance on their hind legs! Participants from the UK, Holland, Belgium, Germany and the Czech republic.

6 mins. duration

The International 'Gold Rush' Dog Race on the frozen lake at St. Moritz is held each year in February. The jet set glitterati provide additional colour to this unusual event located in this extravagant and beautiful setting, nestled in the snow covered Engadine.

The event comprised of 23 races with over 100 dogs from Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Czechoslovakia, USA and Russia. They can reach a top speed of 70 kilometres an hour. Fascinating visuals as huge Scottish deerhounds jump hurdles in the snow. Exotic Borzois from Russia, Afghans, Sloughis (arabian greyhounds), Greyhounds and Azawakh are just a few of the unusual breeds taking part.

image: ©Verkehrsverein St Moritz

69 Athletes meet up in Kathmandu, drive 100 miles to Jiri, Nepal then trek on foot with Sherpas cooks and porters for 10 days to Namche Bazaar. Then to acclimatise they walk a further 20 miles and climb to 17,500 feet to the Everest Base Camp.

Then the race starts, accompanied by 10 medics, they run down Mount Everest to Namche Bazaar. The winner took 3 hours 56 minutes and several needed medical attention due to the altitude.

3 mins. duration

The first ever Extreme Ironing World Championships were held on 21 September 2002 in Munich, Germany. 12 nations including Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Belgium and Austria, battle to find the world's best extreme ironist.. the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt.

3 mins. duration

Horseball is the latest British equestrian sport, recently imported from France. This highly spectacular game originates from the Afghan Buzkachi and the Argentine Pato, combining the rhythm of basketball, the agility of trick riding and the dynamism of polo. It has been compared to a cross between rugby and basketball on horseback.

Two teams oppose each other. They are required to gain possession of a ball, especially fitted with 6 leather handles, pass it at least three times within the team as they race towards the goal and score by shooting through a hoop, which is suspended on a 3.5 metre pole.

We visit the most important international equestrian show, the 'Fieracavali' in Verona. It is here that the Horseball European championships take place. England, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Austria, Portugal and Italy compete against each other in a 4 daylong knockout tournament.

80 canoes compete for 3 days in a 110 mile race on the St. Maurice river in Quebec. The St Maurice flows into the St Laurence river at Trois Rivieres. This is the last stage of the "Triple Crown of North America Canoe Races".

Spectacular visualsÉ5 camera crews covered the event.

German humour is no laughing matter and to (dis)prove it we turn up at the world-laughing day in Stuttgart.

Laughing-clubs from all over Germany, Switzerland and Austria join forces to laugh themselves silly. It wouldn’t be German though if there wasn’t a serious side to all this. After some serious laughing bouts downtown Stuttgart and in Church they then proceed to analyse laughing in workshops and seminars…basically talking about laughter.

2:30 duration

Every year in July the dirtiest race ever takes place in Holland. The course is 3,5 km long and incorporates 21 canals as obstacles. The participants have to jump in and out of stinking muddy canals 63 times.

Teams of four men transport one woman in a rubber dingy so she doesn't have to enter the water. Not the fastest team wins but the team with the least muddy woman.

At the end of the day hundreds of filthy competitors take a communal bath in the open.

3:25 mins. duration

6th February saw the 40th. Anniversary of the Munich Air crash, when over half the people travelling on board a plane taking Manchester United from a European Cup game against Red Star Belgrade crashed at Munich airport after two abortive take off attempts.

Players who died were known as 'Busby Babes', because they were being developed by manager Matt Busby, who had been grooming them since they left school at fifteen. 8 players and fifteen others died.

We show archive footage of the crash and then visit United's memorial exhibition. Also at Old Trafford we speak to survivor Jackie Blanchflower. The reporter and United expert David Meeks tells us as it was. Vice President Sean Dooley reflects on the long-term effects of this tragedy.

2 mins. duration

The 17th Polo World Cup on Snow took place between the 27th and 30th January 2001 in St. Moritz. First class Polo players from all over the world show why this is called the Sport of the Kings.

Spectacular visuals of galloping horses on ice and snow in the picturesque setting of the Engadin. We also mingle with the jet set glitterati.

images: ©Verkehrsverein St Moritz

3 mins. duration

Polo is played every winter on the frozen lake at St Moritz and the game attracts a wide array of international glitterati at this opening event of the high society winter season.

Apart from the spectacular visuals and riveting play on the sun drenched snow covered lake we observe such celebrities as Jodie Kidd and Shawne Fielding enjoying cocktails at the luxurious Suvretta Hotel.

Duration 6:00 minutes

Polo is played every winter on the frozen lake at St Moritz and the game attracts a wide array of international glitterati at this, the opening event of the high society winter season.

We follow a regular face in St. Moritz, Renate Hirsch Giacommuzzi, throughout the weekend's festivities. We visit her at her luxurious hotel, Badrutts Palace, and then do some window shopping downtown St. Moritz. In the evening we go to the lavish Gala dinner at the Suvretta Hotel and meet the rich, famous and beautiful. The next day we go, of course, to the game itself on the frozen lakeÉthis is the highlight of St Moritz's winter season and everyone is out in force.

2:30 mins. duration

We visit the 16th Polo World Cup on Snow in St. Moritz.

First class Polo players from all over the world show why this is called the Sport of the Kings. Spectacular visuals of galloping horses on ice and snow in the picturesque setting of the Engadin.

This year's event boasts a very special attraction Ð Lady Gwendolyn Ashborough Ð owner and captain of the Alegria Para Siempre polo team will be among the most prominent participants.

Lady Ashborough of French and Cherokee parentage, has in the past been a track star, bodybuilder and a wrestler, only to switch to polo in 1997.

On Sunday January 30th 2000, we accompany Lady Ashborough and witness the surprise and controversial appearance of England's Duchess of Wessex.

An exotic location, this beautiful island in the Indian Ocean close to Madagascar. 1800 participants start the 125 Km Marathon in full carnival atmosphere at 4 o'clock in the morning. They cover an ascent and descent of 8000 metres. It takes 15 hours and includes over 300 doctors masseurs and helpers. Exotic pictures.

2:40 mins. duration

This is an independent series of 36-hour long races in various spectacular locations throughout the world. We go to Japan, Switzerland, France, Spain, Austria and Germany to show some of the worlds best teams

Disciplines are orienteering, mountain biking, canoeing, horseback riding, abseiling, and in-line skating, a rarely used discipline in adventure racing. Racing against the clock and a pre-determined time limit, teams will travel from checkpoint (CP) to checkpoint. Once a team reaches the established CP, it is able to use the remaining time to sleep, eat, and prepare for the next stage of the race.

3 mins. duration

Snuff has been used in Europe for over 400 years and it was only in the middle of the 19th century that it was overshadowed by cigarettes. Several countries maintain the snuff tradition e.g. England, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Germany.

Bavaria in Germany has dozens of snuff clubs and it is here that the national German Snuff Taking Championships take place. We also visit the world championships in Switzerland. 45 teams, each comprising 6 members compete for the title.

Each contestant has a box containing 5 grams of snuff. He has to snuff as much as possible during the 60-second time limit.

2:44 duration

Expedition style adventure racing is very popular in New Zealand and is a rapidly growing sport around the world where teams race 24hrs a day to cover a varied course.

Disciplines include kayak, trekking and mountain biking covering a distance of 532 km

45 mixed teams of 4 from 10 countries battled for 5 days non-stop in this spectacular event.

3:00 mins. Duration

The tenth Thai Raid Adventure race took place in the North of Thailand last December. This 5 day long trek through the jungle passes through the notorious Opium area, the Golden Triangle, between Burma/Laos and Thailand. Spectacular and exotic visuals as we pass through tropical rain forests, jungle and mountain areas. River rafting, elephant trekking and Thai massage are also part of the programme.

300 km above the Arctic Circle in the land of the midnight sun Lapland hosts a new spectacular 7 day adventure race starting from Norway's Fjords and finishing 650 KM later on the coast of Sweden. Part of the race includes climbing over a mountain with inflatable canoes.

This area has been called "The last European Wilderness"

There are 11 disciplines: Mountain climbing, Trekking, Mountainbiking, White water canoeing, CaveingÉetc

In just one week you can experience things most nature-lovers could only dream of doing in a life time!

A German bakery chain is selling round, pointed pastries called titties.

In one day alone it sold over 13,000 titties.

Local authorities and women's rights groups are up in arms.

But Kai Steinhauer, junior manager of the store chain, says titties are here to stay.

We head for Titti land and ask the locals what they think.

3 minutes duration

What makes a real man real? In Schwaben, Germany Ð the size of his beard. At the International German Beard Championships the biggest and bushiest beards were on show.

Over 120 participants wearing fancy costumes from all over Europe competed in front of a 600 strong audience. As a grand final they set a new Guinness World record for the longest beard chain... the mind boggles.

3:52 mins. duration

There is only one place on earth you can watch 'Skikjšring': St. Moritz, venue of the international horseracing event known as White Turf. This unique race meeting held on the world's flattest racecourse, the frozen lake at St. Moritz, dates back to 1906. Thoroughbred horses pull their jockeys on skis along the 2,7 km. Track.

An international field also lines up for the Grand Prix of St. Moritz to compete for the title of "European champion on snow".

White Turf presents a spectacular programme with an exclusive mixture of first class sport, cultural entertainment and celebrities.

image: ©Verkehrsverein St Moritz

2:00 mins. duration

In June Wife Carrying champs take place in Sonkajarvi, 340 miles north of Helsinki.

As the name implies it is all about men carrying women along a 277-yard course. The different carrying techniques, obstacles and water splashes provide great laughs.

Last year's winners (an Estonian couple) carried their wives upside down and over their backs, a departure from previous years when the piggyback style triumphed.

Couples from Finland, Korea, Japan, Greece, Norway and Estonia.

3 mins. duration

Down in the Alps Yodelling is taken seriously. Each village has its own sound and that's how they've communicated since time in memorial. We witness a huge Yodel gathering in Biel, Switzerland with dozens of Yodelling teams, giant alpine horn demonstrations and workshops. To top it all we get a fantastic display of giant Cow Bell ringing.