Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad posed with the BBC team for a group photograph
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) team has departed Guyana following completion of their five-week shoot for their ‘Serious Explorers Raleigh’ series that seeks to retrace the footsteps of Sir Walter Raleigh in search of the fabled City of Gold, El Dorado.
The 10 half-hour-long programmes will be aired in October on the BBC 1 in the United Kingdom (UK).
Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad bid farewell to the team last Friday at the Baganara Island Resort, a report from the Government Information Agency reported. The team included seven children, Expedition Leader Ben Major and Series Producer Corwin Marshall.
During its sojourn in Guyana, the BBC team engaged in climbing Mount Roraima and scaling Kaieteur Falls. The latter so mesmerized them that they described Kaieteur Falls as one of nature’s wonders.
They reported spotting a 30-foot anaconda, harpy eagles, black caimans, and giant anteaters; and being engaged in trekking in unspoilt rainforest and experiencing the life of the local indigenous peoples, after visiting Waini, Kaieteur, Rupununi, Mahdia, Mt Roraima and Surama.
Minister Prashad said that the BBC series will help to sell and promote ‘Destination Guyana’, propelling it further into the international limelight; and that it will be a major boost for Guyana’s eco-tourism, nature tourism and adventure tourism.
He said Guyana really cannot pay for this kind of exposure, the minimum value of which would be US$1M in terms of advertisements, since this upcoming series will be viewed by over 150 countries around the world, reaching an audience of over 60 million viewers.
Minister Prashad asserted that Ben Major is indeed an ambassador for Guyana, adding: “What you do is promote Guyana, and we can’t ask you for more. We are very happy for this.”
He also deemed the children as “young ambassadors of Guyana.”
Major said the trip has been remarkable and absolutely phenomenal. He noted that the “biggest thing for me was actually working very closely with the local people”.
Regan, a young explorer, said: “Every moment has just been mind-blowing: from the savannahs, the ranch, to climbing Mount Roraima…”
He said his most special moment in Guyana was getting to the top of Kaieteur Falls, which is absolutely incredible and amazing to him.
Megan, another team member, said that her experience in Guyana has been absolutely amazing, having seen the beautiful rainforest, participated in horseback riding on ranches, and spotting three anacondas in just four hours, among other thrilling moments.
She concluded: “This whole place is El Dorado,” adding, “I am going to have to come live here. I think…I love it.”
The Serious TV series is an observational documentary series made by the BBC and broadcast as part of their children’s programming.
It covers Serious Jungle (2002), Serious Desert (2003), Serious Arctic (2005), Serious Amazon (2006), Serious Andes (2007) and Serious Ocean (2008/09). Serious Ocean consists of ten 30-minute episodes, while each previous series consisted of six 30-minute episodes. The programmes have won numerous awards, among them honours from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the Royal Television Society.
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