Video: The Grand Tour Goes to the Arctic Circle

The holidays are here and The Grand Tour has filmed a very special "Happy Finnish Christmas" episode – in northern Finland deep in the arctic circle! This time DHL not only delivers the now infamous black marquee to this remote location, but also a special treat to fill it. Go behind the scenes with us to find out what’s inside.

Few airports are as close to the north pole as Ivalo, Finland’s northernmost airport. It’s remote, it’s cold, and it’s where DHL flew in a special delivery for Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, hosts of one of this year’s most-talked-about shows: The Grand Tour.

If you haven’t caught one of the first episodes of The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime Video, then you’re missing out on one heck of a ride! This famous trio of self-described “car journalists” have gone from the California desert in three amazing hybrid hypercars to the Cradle of Humankind outside Johannesburg, South Africa in an Aston Martin Vulcan to the picturesque port of Whitby, England in a Rolls-Royce Dawn and so much more!

For their special Happy Finnish Christmas episode, it seems Clarkson, Hammond and May may have been hoping to test Santa’s sleigh by heading deep into the arctic circle in northern Finland. What snowy adventures they have in store for you is anyone’s guess. You’ll just have to see for yourself.

Special deliveries
Some extraordinary logistics went into this extraordinary episode. Transporting very delicate and very expensive production equipment over 3,000 kilometers in snowy, freezing temperatures is an obvious logistics challenge, but the show’s premiere piece – the tent – had to travel in a temperature-controlled environment. That’s because the tent material couldn’t be allowed to freeze during transport.

Because this is our Christmas show, we wanted to do something a bit different, something very special, and sort of treat some UK audience.

Chris Hale, Senior International Producer, The Grand Tour

A second delivery of an unusual nature also took place. Chris Hale, Senior International Producer of The Grand Tour, conjured up the idea of a competition to bring fans from the UK to be in the audience. “Because this is our Christmas show, we wanted to do something a bit different, something very special,” he says. 

They asked us to help, and we stepped in to organize the logistics, leveraging our expertise and global network to shuttle the 100 winners from the UK to Ivalo.

“It went really well,” says Chris Hale. “They created a fantastic atmosphere in there.”

A last-minute request to ship some important gadgets from the show’s production offices in London became yet another special delivery. With the arctic convoy well underway, the race was on to get these gadgets to the tent in time – an express delivery that you’ll see turned out to be well worth the time and effort.

Have a Happy Christmas!
Indeed, this Christmas episode was something special – and it (nearly) went off without a hitch. As Clarkson, Hammond and May were waiting to depart Ivalo in the wee hours of the morning the day after the show, they left a little message for DHL: “Thank you for everything, except the early start…”

Have a Happy Christmas!

Jeremy Clarkson

Well, Mr. Clarkson, we are known for our international overnight express deliveries! Jokes aside, the trio – though tired – were grateful that the show’s logistics is something they don’t have to worry about.

“If we survive the flight – and the early start – thank you ever so much,” said Clarkson.

After Finland, The Grand Tour travels to Germany, across the Atlantic to Nashville before jetting to the other end of the globe for filming in Dubai.

In case you missed it: The Grand Tour premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 18. A new episode of will air every Friday for 12 weeks. The series is currently set to run three seasons.

Keep up with Clarkson, Hammond, and May on Twitter @thegrandtour. And stay tuned for more from DHL right here on InMotion.