The Grand Tour relishes African filming locations
Filming on location in southern Africa was reportedly a highlight for Jeremy Clarkson and his production team during the second series of Amazon’s motoring show The Grand Tour.
By Nick Goundry 11 Dec 2017
Filming on location in southern Africa was reportedly a highlight for Jeremy Clarkson and his production team during the second series of Amazon’s motoring show The Grand Tour.
The series follows Clarkson and his former Top Gear colleagues James May and Richard Hammond as they explore exotic parts of the world in an array of different vehicles.
Clarkson highlighted Mozambique, on Africa’s south-east coast, as one of his personal favourites, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“Mozambique, without a doubt,” Clarkson told the outlet. “That’s a lovely country. Filming in southern Africa – Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, any of those countries – is heaven. They simply don’t understand what you mean by health and safety. You can do anything you like. Anything is possible. And it’s beautiful, the weather is lovely and you’re uninterrupted by any of the things that curse the western world.
“I love southern Africa, so filming there is a joy. Now, fingers crossed we’ll be able to go film in Zimbabwe next year now that that’s become available.”
Clarkson never had the chance to film in Zimbabwe when they were with Top Gear, partly because the BBC was banned from filming in the country for nearly ten years by former leader Robert Mugabe.
For the new series of The Grand Tour, the production team filmed its ‘studio’ sequences in a tent that was set up in the Cotsworlds in the UK, rather than in international locations as they did previously.
The decision was made partly because all three presenters were injured or taken ill at various times during the shoot for Series Two, which impacted the production schedule. However, filming all the studio segments in the same place over a shorter timeframe ultimately meant there was more money available for driving sequences.
Image: Amazon Prime Video
Clarkson highlighted Mozambique, on Africa’s south-east coast, as one of his personal favourites, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“Mozambique, without a doubt,” Clarkson told the outlet. “That’s a lovely country. Filming in southern Africa – Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, any of those countries – is heaven. They simply don’t understand what you mean by health and safety. You can do anything you like. Anything is possible. And it’s beautiful, the weather is lovely and you’re uninterrupted by any of the things that curse the western world.
“I love southern Africa, so filming there is a joy. Now, fingers crossed we’ll be able to go film in Zimbabwe next year now that that’s become available.”
Clarkson never had the chance to film in Zimbabwe when they were with Top Gear, partly because the BBC was banned from filming in the country for nearly ten years by former leader Robert Mugabe.
For the new series of The Grand Tour, the production team filmed its ‘studio’ sequences in a tent that was set up in the Cotsworlds in the UK, rather than in international locations as they did previously.
The decision was made partly because all three presenters were injured or taken ill at various times during the shoot for Series Two, which impacted the production schedule. However, filming all the studio segments in the same place over a shorter timeframe ultimately meant there was more money available for driving sequences.
Image: Amazon Prime Video
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