HA NOI — Reality game show The Amazing Race will be organised for the first time in Viet Nam.

Viet Nam Television (VTV) and the BHD Company have bought the rights to the show, in which teams of two people race around the country in competition with other teams, from Disney Media Distribution.

Participants will be recruited by the BHD Company from this month, and all Vietnamese and foreigners living in the country can join.

The original series has been aired in the US since 2001 and earned 12 Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Reality Competition Programme".

The Amazing Race - Asian version - in 2008 featured some filming in Viet Nam.

Contestants strive to arrive first at "pit stops" at the end of each leg of the race to win prizes and to avoid coming in last, which carries the possibility of elimination or a significant disadvantage in the following leg.

Contestants travel to and within multiple regions in a variety of transportation modes, including planes, balloons, helicopters, trucks, bicycles, taxi cabs, personal cars, jeeps, trains, buses, boats and by foot. The participants will race through 11 cities and provinces in the country.

Clues provided in each leg lead the teams to the next destination or direct them to perform a task, either together or by a single member. These challenges are related in some way to the local region or culture. Teams are progressively eliminated until three are left and at that point, the team that arrives first in the final leg is awarded the grand prize.

Director and actor Dustin Nguyen, who is known for his roles in Dong Mau Anh Hung (The Rebel) and Canh Dong Bat Tan (The Floating Lives), will host and direct the game show.

"The show will be shot in an exciting way, as it's produced like a movie with action scenes, and that attracted me to this project," he said.

The Vietnamese format of The Amazing Race will air 13 episodes at 8pm on VTV3 every Fridays from May 18. — VNS