Tobagonians excited for Amazing Race premiere Wednesday night

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Former Tourism Secretary Tracy Davidson-Celestine said she is excited for the premiere of ‘The Amazing Race’ on October 14 (today) on CBS as the first leg of season 32, which was filmed in Trinidad and Tobago.

The majority of the filming took place in Tobago.

The Amazing Race is an Emmy award-winning reality show. It involves a team of two persons, racing around the world to reach pit stops and receive prizes. Teams are booted out along the way, and the team to arrive first at the end of the race wins the grand prize. It is reported to have an average of 10 million viewers per episode.

Commenting on the benefits of the production to Tobago Davidson-Celestine told Guardian Media, “Of course any opportunity to showcase Tobago to millions of people around the world is a plus for all Tobagonians.”

She added: “We need to harness the exposure from shows like The Amazing Race to increase international travellers’ appetites for Tobago. The Amazing Race provides access to screens across the globe, and we need to recognise the value of that. With every viewer, we have a potential visitor.”

People like the show’s local locations manager LaToya Williams said it was “a proud moment” for her.

“Actually, it’s a proud moment…for the entire of Trinidad and Tobago. We all should be proud of something like this,” she said on the promotion video, aired on CBS.

She also said participants and crew visited the Nylon Pool, took part in goat racing in Buccoo, and played steel pan with Redemption Sound Setters Steel Orchestra.

Lorraine O’Connor, Local Facilitator, said she was happy the show’s promoter chose Trinidad and Tobago to kick off season 32. She said she was also excited they hired local talent.

She told Guardian Media that approximately 300 persons were hired. “One of the exciting moments is when they told us we had to hire like over 100 people. This is so exciting, so many people are going to get this opportunity,” she said on one of the show’s promotional videos.

The Government was also involved in facilitating production through FilmTT when shooting took place in 2018.