Significance of December 21. And our season’s greetings

Do you know the significance of the date 21st of December? Exactly on this day Phileas Fogg, the main character in Jules Verne’s novel ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’, returned to London after completing his epic journey within this time frame. In 1872 he succeeded in circumnavigating the globe by using new means of transport. Instead of riding a horse, he took trains to travel over land and steamers to cross the oceans. It was considered revolutionary at that time.

Verne was fascinated by the technological innovations of the 19th century that opened up the possibility to travel around the world rapidly. Breakthroughs like the railroads in America and India and the opening of the Suez Canal inspired the Frenchman.

Inspired by Verne’s novel and the technological innovations of our time, the journey around the world can be completed by sustainable means of transport in 80 days. To race 40,000 kilometres without the use of fossil fuel and combustion engine already captivates the imagination of many.

To sum up: we have gathered TV producers, educational institutes, technology companies and entrepreneurs; actually all kind of people and organisations that embrace the idea of the challenge. 2014 was a great year for the 80 Day Race team. We welcomed passionate ambassadors from various industries and the announcement of the first team was another milestone.

Today we’re welcoming Javier de Rocafort, a successful entrepreneur and strategic advisor. And we’ll be announcing new ambassadors in the new year. Talks are ongoing with six cities and six potential teams who have expressed an interest in participating in the race. We are also taking the challenge to the captains of industry. 2015 promises to be an exciting year and we recommend to follow us closely for updates and insights.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and an adventurous New Year! The 80 Day Race team.