document_title: Britain's Got Talent

question_text: who came up with britain's got talent

question_tokens: who came up with britain 's got talent

text: Britain's Got Talent

text: History[edit]

text: The show's format was devised by X Factor creator and Sony Music executive, Simon Cowell, who was involved in the creation of other Got Talent programmes across several different countries. To showcase his idea, a pilot episode was filmed in September 2005, with the judging panel consisting of Cowel, then-This Morning presenter Fern Britton, and tabloid journalist Piers Morgan;[4] the pilot was not broadcast on television until it was shown as part of a documentary series entitled The Talent Show Story in January 2012.[4]

text: The original plan for the show was for it be aired within 2005-06, before the broadcast of America's Got Talent, with Paul O'Grady presenting the programme under the title Paul O'Grady's Got Talent, after having hosted the pilot, with his selection as host due to the popularity he was attaining from his teatime chat show, The Paul O'Grady Show.[5] However, complication arose when O'Grady was involved in a row with ITV and refused to appear on another show of the broadcaster, eventually defecting to Channel 4 to continue hosting his teatime show, effectively putting plans for the programme on hold.[6] In a 2010 interview, O'Grady commented about the row by stating:[7]

text: "I did the pilot for Britain's Got Talent – which was originally going to be called Paul O'Grady's Got Talent. But I told the producers they were having a joke if they thought I would front a show with that title. The original panel of judges was going to be Simon Cowell, Fern Britton and Piers Morgan. I was the host. Then when I had the row with ITV I was banned from the studios. I remember I rang Simon and told him he had a huge hit on his hands, but there was no way I could do it. I said, if I am banned I have to be banned from everything. I can’t be a hypocrite and come in and do this. I had to bow out."

text: On 12 February 2007, following the success of America's Got Talent the previous year, ITV announced their intentions for a British series of Got Talent. Their announcement revealed changes to the original plan for the programme, with Ant & Dec revealed to be the hosts for the new programme. While Cowell remained as part of the judging panel, the new plan intended for David Hasselhoff and Cheryl Cole. However, both resigned before the programme was due to air, leading to Morgan being part of the panel as originally planned, and actress Amanda Holden joining him and Cowel as a judge; Hasselhoff would later join the panel for the programme's fifth series after being a part of the panel for America's Got Talent, while Cowell later employed Cole to be a replacement for Sharon Osbourne on The X Factor. At the same time, the broadcaster also announced that the show would be accompanied by a sister show on ITV2, entitled Britain's Got More Talent, with Stephen Mulhern as its presenter.

text: Format[edit]

text: Auditions[edit]

text: The auditions take place in front of the judges and a live audience at different cities across the UK. At any time during the audition, the judges may show disapproval to the act by pressing a buzzer which lights a large red "X" on the stage. If all the judges press their buzzers, the act ends immediately. There was a case where the act continued to perform after all the buzzers had been pressed. Even if a buzzer has been pressed, the judge that pressed it can still say "Yes". There have been instances of judges pressing other judges' buzzers.

text: From series 1 to 5, it was three buzzers due to the show having three judges, but from series 6 onwards it is four buzzers due to the show having four judges. From series 1 to 5, (with the sole exception of the Manchester auditions in series 3, since there were four judges), voting worked on a majority-of-two basis where two positive votes were required. From series 6 onwards, voting works on a majority-of-three basis as there are four judges. The judging panel give an act a "Yes" if they like them and would like them to return in a subsequent episode, and a "No" if they dislike the act and do not wish to see them again. Series 8 saw a new golden buzzer, which each judge, along with Ant & Dec, could press once and only once during the entirety of the auditions. Pressing the buzzer would immediately send the act through to the live semi-finals, regardless of the other judges' opinions.

text: Judges' Decisions[edit]

text: This stage is also known as Deliberation Day. After the auditions, the judges have to whittle the successful acts down to the semi-finalists. Series 1 had 24 semi-finalists, which increased to 40 semi-finalists for the next four series and again to 45 semi-finalists from series 6 before returning to 40 for series 11. The performers are called back to discover if they have progressed to the live semi-finals. During series 5, some acts were asked to perform again as the judges were having difficulty coming to a final decision on whom to send through to the semi-finals.[8] This was the first and only time this had happened in the history of the show.

text: Semi-finals[edit]

text: The semi-finals and final are broadcast live from The Fountain Studios in Wembley (which is also used for The X Factor), with a varying number of semi-finals, followed by the one live final (sometimes split into two episodes over one night). During series 11, the live shows have been filmed at Elstree Studios. The remaining 40–45 acts perform in semi-finals, with the two most popular acts from each semi-final winning a position in the final. Judges may still end a performance early with three Xs from series 1 to 4, and four Xs from series 5 onward. After all acts have performed, phone lines open for a short time, while the public vote for the act they think was the best. After the votes have been counted, the act that has polled the highest number of public votes is automatically placed in the final. The judges then choose between the second and third most popular acts, with the winner of that vote also gaining a place in the final. All other acts are then eliminated from the competition.

text: From series 5, the rules relating to judges' votes in the results show changed from previous series. In the past, the decision as to which act was sent through to the finals was made by the three judges (from which there would always be a majority). With four judges, if there is a two-way tie, then, just like The X Factor, the act with the second highest number of votes from the public would be sent through to the finals. The judges' vote was removed for the 11th series in 2017, meaning that the two highest acts as voted for by the public went through to the final.

text: The show's secondary theme song is a full orchestral version of "Lux Aeterna" by Clint Mansell (produced for the theatrical trailer of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, but originally written for the film Requiem for a Dream), which is used to create tension. It is also used for the judges' arrival at the beginning of every live show.

text: In the first series, the semi-finals aired from Thursday till Saturday, with the final on Sunday. In the second, fourth and fifth series, the semi-finals started on the Monday after the final auditions. The final aired on Saturday, the day after the last semi-final. In the third series, the live shows began on a Sunday with a break on Wednesday and finals on Saturday. A similar format was used for series six and ten, except the break was on Friday. In the seventh series, the live shows began on a Monday with a break on Wednesday. The last semi-final aired on the Saturday with the final the following Saturday. This format continued for series eight but the break was on Friday. In series nine, the semi-finals aired from Monday to Friday. There was no show on Saturday and the final aired on Sunday. The same format was due to be used for 2017, but was changed to the format of series 2, 4 and 5 to avoid a clash with a concert on BBC One.

text: Wildcard[edit]

text: In series 6, a wildcard element was introduced. This is where judges pick an eliminated act from the semi-finals, and that act is sent through to the final. In series 6, the wildcard act selected was The Mend. In series 7, the wildcard was Steve Hewlett and in series 8, Jon Clegg. In series 9, a second wildcard was added. In addition to the judges' wildcard, the public will vote on the acts eliminated in the top three to send one to the finals. The public's wildcard pick was Jesse-Jane McParland and the judges selected Boyband. In series 10, the public wildcard was Trip Hazard and the judges' wildcard was Shannon & Peter. In series 11, the public wildcard was cut, and Sarah Ikumu was chosen by the judges.

text: Series overview[edit]

text: To date, eleven series have been broadcast, as summarised below.

text:
Series
Start
Finish
Winner's prize 1
Winner
Runner-up
Third place
Presenters
Judges

Main
Guest

1
2
3
4

1
9 June 2007
17 June 2007
£100,000
Paul Potts
Not announced
Ant & Dec
Stephen Mulhern
(Britain's Got More Talent)

Simon
Amanda
Piers
N/A
N/A

2
12 April 2008
31 May 2008
George Sampson
Signature
Andrew Johnston

3
11 April 2009
30 May 2009
Diversity
Susan Boyle
Julian Smith
Kelly2

4
17 April 2010
5 June 2010
Spelbound
Twist and Pulse
Kieran Gaffney
Louis3

5
16 April 2011
4 June 2011
Jai McDowall
Ronan Parke
New Bounce
Michael
David H.

6
24 March 2012
12 May 2012
£500,000
Ashleigh and Pudsey
Jonathan and Charlotte
Only Boys Aloud
Alesha
David W.
Carmen5

7
13 April 2013
8 June 2013
£250,000
Attraction
Jack Carroll
Richard & Adam
N/A

8
12 April 2014
7 June 2014
Collabro
Lucy Kay
Bars & Melody
Ant & Dec6

9
11 April 2015
31 May 2015
Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse
Jamie Raven
Côr Glanaethwy
N/A

10
9 April 2016
28 May 2016
Richard Jones
Wayne Woodward
Boogie Storm
Kathleen7

11
15 April 2017
3 June 2017
Tokio Myers
Issy Simpson
Daliso Chaponda
N/A

text:
^ In addition to the cash prize, winners are given the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Performance.
^ Brook was a guest fourth judge for the Manchester auditions; was originally planned to be permanent judge.
^ Walsh served as a guest judge for the Birmingham auditions (substituting for Cowell) in series 4 and for the London auditions (substituting for Hasselhoff) in series 5.
^ Cowell was only a judge for the live shows in series 5. Holden served as head judge during the auditions.
^ Electra served as a guest judge for the London auditions (substituting for Holden) in series 6.
^ Ant & Dec served as guest judges on the first day of the Manchester auditions (substituting for Cowell) in series 8.
^ David Walliams' mother, Kathleen Williams, who was at one of the auditions served as a guest judge when Cowell was late for one of the sessions in series 10.

tag: ol

text: Series 1 (2007)[edit]

text: The first series of Britain's Got Talent began on 9 June 2007 and ended on 17 June 2007. The judges were Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell. The show was hosted by Ant & Dec on ITV, whilst Stephen Mulhern presented sister show Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2. During January and February 2007, applicants auditioned in Manchester, Birmingham, London and Cardiff. The first five episodes covered the auditions and the final four episodes were the live semi-finals and final. The series was eventually won by opera singer Paul Potts.

text: Series 2 (2008)[edit]

text: The second series of Britain's Got Talent included notable differences from the first series, including the fact that the auditions visited Scotland and that there were forty acts in the live semi-finals. The series also ran for longer, lasting for seven weeks instead of one. Morgan, Holden and Cowell returned as judges. Ant & Dec returned to present the main show and Mulhern returned to present Britain's Got More Talent. The series was won by street-dancer George Sampson, with dual dance group Signature coming in second and singer Andrew Johnston third.

text: Series 3 (2009)[edit]

text: Britain's Got Talent returned for its third series on 11 April 2009.[9] Ant & Dec continued as hosts and Mulhern returned to host Britain's Got More Talent. Cowell, Holden and Morgan returned as judges. Kelly Brook was originally announced as a new fourth judge[9] but was fired after just six days, having acted as a judge at the Manchester auditions only.[10] The semi-finals were from 24–29 May (no semi-final on 27 May) and the final was on 30 May. Diversity were announced the winners, with Susan Boyle as runner-up and Julian Smith in third.

text: Series 4 (2010)[edit]

text: The 2010 panel of judges remained unchanged, with Cowell, Holden and Morgan all returning. Auditions were held in Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff, Newcastle, Birmingham, and London. Due to illness, Simon was unable to attend the filming of the Birmingham auditions and Louis Walsh stood in for him.[11] The first programme of series 4 was broadcast on 17 April 2010.[12] Spelbound won the final on 5 June 2010, with Twist and Pulse as runners-up and Kieran Gaffney placing third.

text: Series 5 (2011)[edit]

text: Britain's Got Talent returned for its fifth series on 16 April 2011.[13] Auditions took place in January 2011 in Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, London and, for the first time, Liverpool. Ant & Dec continued as main hosts on ITV, while Mulhern again hosted Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2. Among the judges, Piers Morgan left the show due to him hosting his new show Piers Morgan Tonight in America.[14] Cowell was only present for the live shows only as during the auditions he was busy launching The X Factor USA.[15] Amanda Holden returned to the regular judging panel, joined by David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre.[16][17] Louis Walsh also appeared as a guest judge in the London auditions whilst Hasselhoff was appearing in pantomime.[18] The winner was Jai McDowall, while Ronan Parke finished as runner-up and New Bounce in third.

text: Series 6 (2012)[edit]

text: ITV confirmed in June 2011 that Britain's Got Talent would be returning for a sixth series in 2012. In September and November 2011, it was announced that McIntyre and Hasselhoff would not be returning to the judging panel.[19] Despite rumours of Holden being absent for the auditions stage, she confirmed via her Twitter account that she would be participating in the entire series.[20] In December 2011, it was announced that Cowell would be returning as a full-time judge for the series.[21][22] On 2 January 2012, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon were confirmed as judges, with Dixon leaving her role on Strictly Come Dancing.[23] Holden missed some of the auditions due to her pregnancy and due to being critically ill after giving birth.[24] The series was won by Ashleigh and Pudsey, a girl and her dancing dog. Opera duo Jonathan and Charlotte came second and Welsh boys choir Only Boys Aloud took the third place. Ashleigh and Pudsey received £500,000 as a prize for their win.

text: Series 7 (2013)[edit]

text: ITV confirmed on 12 May 2012 that series 7 would air in 2013. The judges would remain as Cowell, Holden, Dixon, and Walliams. Ant & Dec would remain as hosts for the main show and Stephen Mulhern also returned to ITV2 as host of Britain's Got More Talent. On 16 January 2013, the live judges audition tour started in Cardiff and ended in Birmingham. The series first aired on ITV on 13 April 2013.[25] The series was won by Attraction, with Jack Carroll finishing second and Richard & Adam coming third.

text: Series 8 (2014)[edit]

text: Cowell confirmed on 1 June 2013 that series 8 would air in 2014. He returned to the judging panel alongside Holden, Dixon and Walliams.[26] Cowell was unable to attend the first day of the Manchester auditions and the final day of the London auditions. The main show's presenters Ant & Dec served as guest judges at the Manchester auditions. The series first aired on ITV on 12 April 2014 and saw a new golden buzzer, in which each judge (and Ant & Dec) could press once and only once during the entire auditions. Pressing the buzzer would immediately send the act through to the semi-finals, regardless of the other judges' opinions. The series was won by Collabro, with Lucy Kay finishing second and Bars & Melody, a golden buzzer act, coming third.

text: Series 9 (2015)[edit]

text: At the conclusion of the eighth series, it was announced that the show would return for a ninth series.[27] On 31 October 2014, Holden confirmed that she, Cowell, Dixon and Walliams would return as judges.[28][29] The new series started airing on 11 April 2015. This is the first ever series to have free voting via the app.[citation needed] Jesse-Jane McParland and Boyband were brought back to the final as wildcards. The winner of the series was Jules O'Dwyer and her dog Matisse, with Jamie Raven taking second and Cor Glanaethwy finishing third.

text: Series 10 (2016)[edit]

text: At the conclusion of the ninth series, it was announced that the show would return for a tenth series.[30] On 16 March 2015, Walliams confirmed he would return for his fifth series.[31] On 7 April 2015, Holden also confirmed her return to the show.[32] On 25 June 2015, Mulhern announced he will also return to host Britain's Got More Talent.[33] On 27 September 2015, all four judges signed for the tenth series, meaning Walliams and Dixon both return for their fifth series on the panel, while Holden and Cowell both return for their tenth series. Ant and Dec will also be back to host the main show and Mulhern will return to host the spin-off show. The series was won by magician Richard Jones.

text: Series 11 (2017)[edit]

text: At the conclusion of the tenth series, it was announced that the show would return for a eleventh series. Ant & Dec returned to present the main show on ITV, whilst Stephen Mulhern returned to present the spin-off show Britain's Got More Talent on ITV2. Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden returned for their eleventh series on the judging panel and Alesha Dixon as well as David Walliams returned for their sixth series. This series was won by a male pianist, Tokio Myers.

text: Future series[edit]

text: Britain's Got Talent has been renewed until at least 2019, meaning there will be series 12 & 13.[34] Simon Cowell has stated that, in Series 12, Stephen Mulhern will be allowed a golden buzzer.

text: Golden buzzer[edit]

text: Series 8 saw the introduction of the new golden buzzer. During the auditions, as well as the standard buzzers, there was a golden buzzer placed in the centre of the judges' desk. Each judge was allowed to press this buzzer only once, and it would send that auditionee straight through to the live semi-finals regardless of the opinions of the other three judges.[35] Ant & Dec were given the opportunity to press the golden buzzer as well.[36] The golden buzzer has previously been used on Germany's Got Talent.[37]

text: Cowell has stated that from series 12, Stephen Mulhern will get a Golden buzzer. However, there is no confirmation yet.

text:
Series
Simon Cowell
Amanda Holden
Alesha Dixon
David Walliams
Ant & Dec
Stephen Mulhern

8
Bars and Melody
Paddy & Nico
REAformed
Christian Spridon
Toju
N/A

9
Calum Scott
Revelation Avenue
Entity Allstars
Lorraine Bowen
Boyband

10
Boogie Storm
Beau Dermott
100 Voices of Gospel
Anne & Ian Marshall
Jasmine Elcock

11
Sarah Ikumu
Daliso Chaponda
MerseyGirls
Kyle Tomlinson
Matt Edwards

12

text: Presenters[edit]

text: Since the first series in 2007, the main show has been presented by comedy duo Ant & Dec, consisting of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. Stephen Mulhern hosts the spin-off show, Britain's Got More Talent, on ITV2 and has also done so since 2007. Sometimes, Ant and Dec make appearances on Britain's Got More Talent.

text:
Presenters gallery

Anthony McPartlin

Declan Donnelly

Stephen Mulhern (Britain's Got More Talent)

text: Judges[edit]

text: The first two series consisted of original judges, music executive and television producer Simon Cowell, television and West End star Amanda Holden, and newspaper editor and journalist Piers Morgan. As series 3 started, it was announced that the show would have a fourth judge, actress and glamour model Kelly Brook. However, after less than a week of filming, it was announced that Brook had been dropped as the producers believed that the format would be "too complicated" with four judges; Brook was later credited as a guest judge.[38][39] Series 4 would remain with just Cowell, Holden and Morgan as judges. Cowell fell ill at one point and was unable to attend the Birmingham auditions, so fellow The X Factor judge Louis Walsh stepped in for him.[40]

text: Morgan revealed that he would not return as a judge for the fifth series as he was preparing to take over the highly popular Larry King Live talk show on CNN in America. Cowell also announced he would not be present during the auditions, as he would be busy launching The X Factor USA; however he confirmed he would be present for the live shows.[41] It was revealed that comedian Michael McIntyre would be completing the judging panel,[42] as would actor, singer and former America's Got Talent judge David Hasselhoff.[43] Hasselhoff was absent during the London auditions due to his commitments with a pantomime and Walsh returned as a guest judge. For the live shows, Hasselhoff and McIntyre remained as judges, with Cowell becoming a fourth judge.

text: In October 2011, it was announced that neither Hasselhoff nor McIntyre would be returning as a judge for the sixth series, while Cowell returned full-time.[19] On 2 January 2012, it was announced that Alesha Dixon and David Walliams would replace McIntyre and Hasselhoff for the sixth series.[44] Holden missed some auditions due to her giving birth to her daughter, and some after-effects. On 6 February 2012, actress and model Carmen Electra was announced as Holden's replacement for the London auditions. Series 7 remained with Cowell, Holden, Dixon and Walliams on the judging panel. It was announced that all judges from series 6 and 7 would return for series 8. Cowell was unable to attend the first day of the Manchester auditions and the final day of the London auditions. The show's presenters Ant & Dec filled in for him in Manchester. All four judges returned for series 9 and 10. All the judges have announced their return for Series 11. Cowell, Holden and Dixon said they were going to be back. On 17 January, ahead of auditions, Dixon confirmed Walliams and Ant and Dec would be returning via Instagram.[45]

text:
Judges gallery

Simon Cowell (2007– )

Amanda Holden (2007– )

Piers Morgan (2007–10)

David Hasselhoff (2011)

Michael McIntyre (2011)

Alesha Dixon (2012– )

David Walliams (2012– )

text: Britain's Got More Talent[edit]

text:
Britain's Got More Talent

Created by
Simon Cowell

Presented by
Stephen Mulhern

No. of series
11[46]

Production

Producer(s)
Tim Dean

Location(s)

The Fountain Studios (2007–2017)[47]
Elstree Studios (2017–)

Running time
60–65 minutes

Release

Original network
ITV2 (UK)
TV3 (Ireland)

Picture format
1080p: HDTV (2011–)
576i: SDTV (2007–10)

Original release
9 June 2007 (2007-06-09) – present

Chronology

Related shows
Britain's Got Talent

External links

Website
talent.itv.com

text: Britain's Got More Talent is a companion show which is broadcast on ITV2 and on TV3 in Ireland, after the main ITV and TV3 Britain's Got Talent broadcast, similar to The X Factor's ITV2 companion show The Xtra Factor. Stephen Mulhern has hosted the show from the first series. It features acts that were not shown in the main show, as well as before and after interviews with the contestants and behind-the-scenes footage.

text: Format and features[edit]

text: Each year, after the series has come to an end, Britain's Got More Talent has a week of special programmes entitled Britain's Got Talent: Best and Worst, featuring the best and worst auditions from the series, ranging from two to five episodes each year. This series is also hosted by Mulhern, though the series may feature clips of Ant & Dec interviewing the acts beforehand. This format changed in series 9, with the shows airing in the week before the show started. An episode was aired after the series though. In 2016, the format changed again, with the episodes airing the weekends before the show started. No episode aired after the series.

text: Regular contestants[edit]

text: Britain's Got Talent has seen many acts who have not got through to the live shows return to give another go at getting through. However, only few people have made it through to the live shows, in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2017. Only one act has won the show; this was George Sampson in 2008.

text:
Contestants
Number of attempts
Live shows
Notes

Alex Lees
2
(as of 2008)
No
Appeared in 2007, got angry and walked off, but tried again in 2008, failed to make it to live shows in 2008

David J. Watson
8
(as of 2017)
No
Didn't appear in 2009 or 2012

Gatis Kandis
2
(as of 2016)
Yes
2012 live shows only

Max the dog & David the owner[48]
2
(as of 2017)
No

George Sampson
2
(as of 2008)
Yes
2008 live shows only & won series 2

Kieran Gaffney
2
(as of 2010)
Yes
2010 live shows only

Ivor the Dance King
3
(as of 2016)
No

Kyle Tomlinson
2
(as of 2017)
Yes
2017 live shows only, received the Golden Buzzer from David Walliams on his second appearance & made it to the final

text: Reception[edit]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Britain's Got Talent has been nominated for a number of National Television Awards in the category of 'Most Popular Talent Show' since 2007. But has lost out to its sister shows The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. Ant and Dec have won the award for 'Most Popular Entertainment Presenters' at the same awards for twelve consecutive years (as of January 2014). Britain's Got Talent has also been nominated for two British Academy Television Awards in 2008, but failed to win any awards. In 2007 and 2008, the show was nominated at the TV Quick and Choice Awards in the 'Best Talent Show' category, losing out to The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing respectively.

text: In 2008, it was a recipient of a Royal Television Society Programme Award for its technical achievements. It has also won four Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards from five nominations. In 2009, it won its first ever Digital Spy Reality Award for George Sampson for 'Favourite Reality Contestant'. The show was further nominated in the 'Reality Show' category, but lost out to The X Factor in the 'Reality TV Presenter' category for Ant & Dec and two nominations in the 'Reality TV Judge' category for Cowell and Morgan.

text:
Year
Group
Award
Nominee
Result

2007
National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

Most Popular Entertainment Presenter
Ant & Dec
Won

Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards
Best Reality Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

Best TV Presenters
Ant & Dec
Won

TV Quick and Choice Awards
Best Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

2008
National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Nominated

Most Popular Entertainment Presenter
Ant & Dec
Won

Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards
Favourite Winner
George Sampson
Won

British Academy Television Awards
Lew Grade Award
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

Audience Award
Nominated

Royal Television Society Programme Awards
Best Production Design-Entertainment
Dominic Tolfts
Won

Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards
Best TV Presenters
Ant & Dec
Won

Best Family TV Show
Britain's Got Talent
Won

Best TV Baddie
Simon Cowell
Won

2009
TV Quick and Choice Awards
Best Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

Digital Spy Reality TV Awards
Favourite TV Reality
Nominated

Favourite TV Reality Judge
Simon Cowell
Nominated

Piers Morgan
Nominated

Favourite TV Reality Presenters
Ant & Dec
Nominated

Favourite Reality Contestant
George Sampson
Won

2010
National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

British Academy Television Awards
Best Entertainment Programme
Won

2011
National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Nominated

TV Choice Awards
Best Talent Show
Won

2012
National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Nominated

2013
Broadcast Awards
Best Entertainment Programme
Nominated

National Television Awards
Most Popular Talent Show
Nominated

2014
Nominated

2015
Nominated

TV Judge
Simon Cowell
Nominated

David Walliams
Won

2016
Most Popular Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

2016 British Academy Television Awards
Best Entertainment Programme
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated[49]

2017
22nd National Television Awards
Talent Show
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated[50]

TV Judge
Simon Cowell
Nominated[50]

David Walliams
Nominated[50]

2017 British Academy Television Awards
Best Entertainment Programme
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated[51]

Diversity in Media Awards
TV Programme of the Year
Britain's Got Talent
Nominated

text: Controversies and criticism[edit]

text: In series 1, the show was criticised for not visiting Scotland. Extra audition dates were added in series 2, and the judges visited Scotland.[citation needed]

text: The show was criticised by psychologist Glenn Wilson, who referred to it as a "freak show". He stated that "[contestants'] deficiencies and shortcomings are as important as their talent. We enjoy the stress we are putting these people under – will they or will they not survive?"[52]

text: The treatment of contestants at the audition stage was heavily criticised by the Daily Mail, which described applicants being kept waiting for over 10 hours with no food or drink provided, with no certainty of being allowed to perform more than a few seconds of their act. It also detailed how staff intentionally built up the hopes of low-quality performers in order to maximise the dramatic effect of the judges' put-downs, and the fine points of the contracts performers must sign, which gives the show infinite freedom to "modify" the footage for their own purposes, and to use the footage indefinitely for whatever purpose they choose.[53]

text: In two separate interviews in 2012, MC Kinky said "Shows like X Factor and Britain's Got Talent reduce the art of making music and practising your craft to the level of a low rent game show with huge financial backing and support. It's a means to make money, not a means to produce ground breaking or interesting artists that demonstrate what they are feeling or are compelled to do. It's corporate"[54] and "it's a churn 'em out fast food form of putrid shit that I have no affiliation with".[55]

text: In 2013, Bruce Forsyth questioned the show's allowing children to audition. He said, "I don't think that's entertainment. I don't think they should put children on that are too young. If you're going to do that, have a separate show. Have a children's show, British Children Have Talent."[56]

text: In 2013 it was revealed that up to 50% of acts on the televised shows had been headhunted by producers. In 2012, electropop band Superpowerless were approached to appear in the semi-finals. They attended the audition after assurances that the act would be portrayed in a positive light. On the day they felt that all interviews, especially those with Stephen Mulhern, were conducted in a manner intending to portray them in a negative light, reducing their act to a novelty/comedy routine intended for ridicule and humiliation. While many newspapers wrote articles on this topic, very few were published as the news outlets were told that running the story would cut that publication out of any advance coverage of the show in the future.[57]

text: Live tour[edit]

text: On 17 April 2008, a thirteen date live tour was announced visiting the UK's major cities during the month of June, featuring the semi-finalists, the finalists and the winner from series two, along with a few surprises. Stephen Mulhern hosted the tour, which began on 6 June. None of the judging panel were present, and there was no live voting. After high demand for tickets, the tour was later extended to twenty two performances, including matinées. The tour featured all ten finalists, as well as semi-finalists Tracey Lee Collins and Anya Sparks. The tour also featured a duet with Faryl Smith and Andrew Johnston.

text: On 13 January 2009, a four date tour was announced with dates in Newcastle, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester. More dates were later added and the tour ran for eighteen shows from 12–26 June 2009 and also travelled to Dublin, Birmingham, Belfast, Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Nottingham, London, Aberdeen and Bournemouth.

text: The tour in 2009 included: Diversity, Flawless, Aidan Davis, Shaun Smith, Stavros Flatley, Hollie Steel, 2 Grand, Julian Smith, Shaheen Jafargholi, Susan Boyle, Darth Jackson, DJ Talent and the 2008 winner, George Sampson. Stephen Mulhern hosted the tour.

text: The tour returned in 2010, this time hosted by comedian Paddy McGuinness. The show also added a new city to the schedule, Brighton. The tour included all the finalists: Spelbound, Twist & Pulse, Kieran Gaffney, Tobias Mead, Tina & Chandi, Paul Burling, Christopher Stone, Janey Cutler, Liam McNally and Connected. The tour lasted from 19 June to 11 July. With 16 cites and 23 shows, it was the longest Britain's Got Talent Tour to date.

text: The tour in 2011 included all the finalists: Jai McDowall, Ronan Parke, New Bounce, Razy Gogonea, Michael Collings, Paul Gbegbaje, Steven Hall, James Hobley, Les Gibson and Jean Martyn.[58]

text: In 2012, due to very low ticket sales the tour was axed.[59]

text: Best-selling albums[edit]

text: These albums were sold after Britain's Got Talent. The sales numbers are UK sales only.

text: Artists with BPI-certified albums[edit]

text:
Former contestant
Total sales
Debut album
Second album
Third album
Fourth album
Fifth Album
Sixth Album
Seventh Album

Susan Boyle
(Series 3, runner-up)
3,452,059
I Dreamed a Dream
(23 November 2009)
Syco/Columbia
7× platinum
2,100,000[60]
Peak: 1
The Gift
(8 November 2010)
Syco/Columbia
2× platinum
609,602
Peak: 1
Someone to Watch Over Me
(1 November 2011)
Syco/Columbia
Platinum
344,508
Peak: 1
Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs from the Stage
(13 November 2012)
Syco/Columbia
Gold
175,488
Peak: 5
Home for Christmas
(25 October 2013)
Syco/Columbia
Gold
122,448
Peak: 9
Hope
(21 October 2014)
Syco/Columbia
Silver
85,000
Peak: 13
A Wonderful World
(4 November 2016)
Syco/Columbia
N/A
15,013
Peak: 22

Paul Potts
(Series 1, winner)
680,000
One Chance
(16 July 2007)
Syco/Columbia
2× Platinum
680,000
Peak: 1
Passione
(1 June 2009)
Syco/Columbia
N/A
N/A
Peak: 5
Cinema Paradiso
(15 October 2010)
Sony
N/A
N/A
Peak: did not chart in the UK
Home
(12 October 2014)
Sony
N/A
N/A
Peak: did not chart in the UK

Richard & Adam
(Series 7, 3rd place)
300,000+
The Impossible Dream
(29 July 2013)
Arista Records, RCA Records
Platinum
300,000
Peak: 1
The Christmas Album
(2 December 2013)
Sony
N/A
N/A
Peak: 24
At the Movies
(8 August 2014)
Sony
N/A
N/A
Peak: 5
Believe – Songs of Inspiration
(26 February 2016)
Sony
N/A
N/A
Peak: 9

Collabro
(Series 8, winner)
253,100+
Stars
(18 August 2014)
Syco
Gold
193,100+
Peak: 1
Act Two
(1 June 2015)
Syco
Silver
60,000+
Peak: 2

Jonathan and Charlotte
(Series 6, runner-up)
160,000+
Together
(24 September 2012)
Syco
Gold
100,000
Peak: 5
Perhaps Love
(14 October 2013)
Sony Classical
Silver
60,000
Peak: 5
Solitaire (Charlotte Jaconelli)
(9 June 2014)
Sony Classical
N/A
N/A
Peak: 40

Tenore (Jonathan Antoine)
(13 October 2014)
Sony Classical
N/A
N/A
Peak: 13
Believe (Jonathan Antoine)
(19 August 2016)
Cavendish
N/A
N/A
Peak: 79

Faryl Smith
(Series 2, 4th place)
150,000+
Faryl
(9 March 2009)
Universal Classics and Jazz
Gold
150,000+
Peak: 4
Wonderland
(30 November 2009)
Universal Classics and Jazz
N/A
N/A
Peak: 56

Andrew Johnston
(Series 2, 3rd place)
120,000
One Voice
(29 September 2008)
Syco
Gold
120,000
Peak: 4

Escala
(Series 2, 4th place)
100,000
Escala
(25 May 2009)
Sony BMG/Syco
Gold
100,000
Peak: 2
Quadrasonic
(15 January 2016)
Arctic Poppy
N/A
N/A
Peak: N/A

Connie Talbot
(Series 1, finalist)
100,000+
Over the Rainbow
(26 November 2007)
Rainbow Recording Company
Gold
100,000
Peak: 35
Connie Talbot's Christmas Album
(24 November 2008)
Rainbow Recording Company
N/A
N/A
Peak: 93
Holiday Magic
(20 October 2009)
AAO Music
N/A
N/A
Peak: did not chart in the UK
Beautiful World
(26 November 2012)
Evosound
N/A
N/A
Peak: did not chart in the UK
Matters to Me
(25 March 2016)
Evosound
N/A
N/A
Peak: did not chart in the UK

text: Artists without BPI-certified albums[edit]

text:
Former contestant
Total sales
Albums

Charlie Green
(Series 2, semi-finalist)

Charlie Green (1 October 2008) did not chart
A Friend Like You (9 May 2010) did not chart
Rainbow (5 November 2012) did not chart

Hollie Steel
(Series 3, finalist)

Hollie (24 May 2010) did not chart
Hooray For Christmas (11 October 2011) did not chart
Children on the Titanic (19 April 2012) did not chart

Lucy Kay
(Series 8, runner-up)

Fantasia (24 September 2014) #18

Beau Dermott
(Series 10, 5th place)

Brave (1 Sept 2017) #73

text: Merchandise[edit]

text: There are 6 pieces of related merchandise:

text:
Best of The Auditions DVD (2009)
The Electronic Board Game (2009)
The Magic Set (2009)
Finalists of 2009: Annual 2010 (2009)
Be the judge buzzer (2010)
Finalists of 2010: Annual 2011 (2010)

text: BGT App[edit]

text: Since 2010, a Britain's Got Talent app has been available on Apple's App Store and Google Play. The features of the app vary from year to year but always include an interactive feature (e.g. a buzzer, polls or quizzes), relevant social media feeds and clips from the show. In 2015, free in-app voting was introduced. This means viewers are able to vote free of charge for five acts of their choice per voting window during the semi-finals and final rounds.[citation needed]


document_title: Ink Master (season 10)

question_text: who was eliminated on ink master last week

root

text: Ink Master (season 10)

text: Judging and ranking[edit]

text: The judge listing types are:

tag: p

text: Judging Panel

tag: ul

text: Master Jury

text: Contestants[edit]

text: Team Steve[edit]

text:
Contestant Name
Hometown

Garrett Bisbee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Jeremy Brown
Lake Elsinore, California

Rene "FAME" Montalvo
Willimantic, Connecticut

Gary Parisi
Chicago, Illinois

Katie Rhoden
LaPlace, Louisiana

Roly T-Rex
Orlando, Florida

tag: table

text: Team Anthony[edit]

text:
Contestant Name
Hometown

Mike Diaz
Lubbock, Texas

Jason Elliott
College Station, Texas

Amanda Leitch
Renton, Washington

Linzy Michelle
Ventura, California

Juan Salgado
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Daniel Silva
San Francisco, California

text: Team DJ[edit]

text:
Contestant Name
Hometown

Matt Buck
New York, New York

Lil’ D
Atlanta, Georgia

Josh Payne
Cortland, New York

Frank Ready
Easthampton, Massachusetts

Chris "Sparks" Sparks
Austin, Texas

Deanna Smith
Denton, Texas

text: Not Chosen[edit]

text:
Contestant Name
Hometown

Tim Furlow
Atlanta, Georgia

Rachael Head
Lexington, Kentucky

Rachel Helmich
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Christian Masot
Hawthorne, New Jersey

Koko Tatts
Chicago, Illinois

Slowburn
Jersey City, New Jersey

text: Contestant Progress[edit]

text:
No.
Contestant
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

No.
Flash Challenge
Winner
Team DJ
N/A
Team Anthony
Team DJ
N/A
Anthony Michaels
Team Steve
Roly T-Rex
N/A
Anthony Michaels
Team Steve
N/A
Team DJ
N/A
TBA

Roly T-Rex
IN
IMM
IN
IN
IN
IN
IN
IN
F/O
HIGH
IN
F/O
LOW
IN
TBA

Juan Salgado
IN
IN
IN
IN
HIGH
WIN
IN
IN
WIN
WIN
WIN
IMM
HIGH
IN
TBA

Josh Payne
IN
HIGH
IN
HIGH
HIGH
F/O
IN
WIN
WIN
HIGH
LOW
IMM
WIN
IN
TBA

4
Jason Elliott
IN
LOW
IN
WIN
IN
WIN
IN
IN
WIN
IN
LOW
F/O
LOW
OUT

5
Deanna Smith
LOW
LOW
HIGH
IN
IN
IN
IN
LOW
WIN
LOW
HIGH
F/O
OUT

6
Jeremy Brown
HIGH
IMM
HIGH
IN
HIGH
IN
IN
LOW
F/O
LOW
LOW
OUT

7
Daniel Silva
WIN
IN
IN
LOW
LOW
WIN
LOW
IN
WIN
LOW
OUT

8
Frank Ready
IN
WIN
HIGH
IN
IN
IN
IN
HIGH
WIN
OUT

9
FAME
IN
IMM
WIN
LOW
WIN
IN
LOW
IN
OUT

10
Amanda Leitch
LOW
LOW
IN
IN
IN
WIN
IN
OUT

11
Mike Diaz
IN
IN
IN
LOW
LOW
WIN
OUT

12
Gary Parisi
IN
IMM
IN
IN
HIGH
OUT

13
Lil’ D
IN
LOW
LOW
LOW
OUT

14
Katie Rhoden
IN
IMM
LOW
OUT

15
Matt Buck
IN
IN
OUT

16
Sparks
LOW
OUT

17
Linzy Michelle
IN
OUT

18
Garrett Bisbee
OUT

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

125
1
"Pick Your Side"
January 9, 2018 (2018-01-09)
N/A

24 artists arrive to Coney Island where they had six hours to impress the masters by tattooing a design in the style and subject of their choice. The judges and the masters then judged each tattoo in a blind critique without knowing who did what.

Team Picks – Part 1: The top nine artists who were among the favorites will pick the team they want to be on with three spots available for each team. Team DJ scored big with the number one, two and three ranked tattoos from Matt, Josh and Deanna respectively while Anthony and Steve continue to find someone on their respective. Juan and Jason were the fourth and fifth ranked tattoos of the day and they chose to be on Team Anthony. Steve got the upper hand from Anthony when Katie chose to be on the former's team. Seventh ranked artist Daniel finishes Team Anthony for now. Therefore, Steve is left with Garret and Roly T-Rex.
Elimination Tattoo: The remaining 15 artists had one last chance to impress when they had six hours to tattoo one of the masters’ choice styles which includes Japanese from Steve, illustrative woman's face from Anthony, and American Traditional from DJ.
Team Picks – Part 2: The masters called the shots with picking their final three members this time even though a tug-o-war occurred during the picking process. Anthony rounds out his team with the inclusion of Linzy in addition to DJ's original pick Amanda, and Steve's original pick Mike. Steve and DJ fought over Jeremy and Fame. But they later both chose Steve. Frank, Sparks and Lil D completed Team DJ. After being convinced by the 7 remaining artists why they want to be on his team, Steve chose Gary as his final pick.

Eliminated: Tim Furlow, Rachael Head, Rachel Helmich, Christian Masot, Koko Tatts and Slowburn

126
2
"Fill'er Up"
January 16, 2018 (2018-01-16)
N/A

Skill of the Week: Fundamentals
Flash Challenge: Using only 10,000 plastic cups, the masters must coach their teams in the first flash challenge of the season when the artists had five hours to line the cups up into one single image after filling each cup with water and food coloring.

Winner: Team DJ

Eimination Tattoo: The teams must navigate in the right direction during their first elimination tattoo by tattooing a maze. For this skull pick, DJ picked Matt and Josh to assign the skulls.

Best Tattoo of the Day: Daniel Silva
Coaches’ Bottom Pick: Garrett Bisbee
Bottom: Garrett Bisbee, Amanda Leitch and Deanna Smith
Eliminated: Garrett Bisbee

127
3
"Divine Proportion"
January 23, 2018 (2018-01-23)
N/A

Skill of the Week: Proportion

Master's Tattoo Face Off: The coaches must use their proportion skills by tattooing a freehanded design in the style and subject of their choice. Dave also revealed that this week will featured a double elimination featuring one member eliminated from each team.

Winner: Steve Tefft

Elimination Tattoo: Team Steve called the shots when they assigned not only the human canves but also the Greek god to each team with Team DJ tattooing Zeus and Team Anthony tattooing Hades. Then during the elimination, Anthony and DJ must decide on which of their respective teammates will be sent packing.

Best Tattoo of the Day: Frank Ready
Bottom: Sparks, Lil' D, Deanna Smith, Amanda Leitch, Linzy Michelle and Jason Elliot
Eliminated: Linzy Michelle and Sparks

128
4
"Step It Up"
January 30, 2018 (2018-01-30)
N/A

Skill of the Week: Ingenuity

Flash Challenge: The judges throw a curveball at the artists this week, testing their ingenuity by having them transform disjointed staircases into a massive flowing designs.

Winner: Team Anthony

Elimination Tattoo: Using two completely opposite tattoo styles, the artists must use ingenuity to weave these styles together in a way that makes sense and creates a cohesive design.

Best Tattoo of the Day: FAME
Coaches' Bottom Pick: Matt Buck
Bottom: Matt Buck, Lil' D and Katie Rhoden
Eliminated: Matt Buck

129
5
"Ink On the Dotted Line"
February 6, 2018 (2018-02-06)
N/A

Skill of the Week: Precision

Flash Challenge: The coaches work side-by-side along their teams as precision is tested. Placing thousands of hole-punched colored dots onto a massive canvas to create an impressive work of art.

Winner: Team DJ

Elimination Tattoo: The artists must take images and break them down to individual squares and colors, inking their canvases with pixelated tattoos. With tons of lines and squares to complete, precision is of the utmost importance.

Best Tattoo of the Day: Jason Elliot
Coaches' Bottom Pick: Katie Rhoden
Bottom: Katie Rhoden, Lil' D and FAME
Eliminated: Katie Rhoden

130
6
"Chin Up"
February 13, 2018 (2018-02-13)
N/A

Skill of the Week: Adaptability

Master's Flash Challenge: The artists place their fates in the hands of their coaches when adaptability is tested and DJ, Steve, and Anthony must tattoo an incredibly difficult part of the body: the under chin.

Winner: Anthony Michaels

Elimination Tattoo: From oozing wounds and rotting skin to decomposing hair and nails, the artists must use adaptability to turn the living into the undead on canvases’ skin.

Best Tattoo of the Day: FAME
Coaches' Pick: Daniel Silva
Bottom: Daniel Silva, Mike Diaz and Lil' D
Eliminated: Lil' D

131
7
"Eye of the Tiger"
February 20, 2018 (2018-02-20)
N/A

Skill of the Week: Consistency

Elimination Tattoo: The artists must work as teams to tattoo not one, but two tattoos on one human canvas at the same time: one of a living animal, and one of its skeleton.

Best Tattoo of the Day: Team Anthony

Face Off Tattoo: Josh and Gary face off for survival in the competition, tasked with inking black and grey realistic tiger heads in just six hours.

Eliminated: Gary Parisi

132
8
"Pane in the Glass"
February 27, 2018 (2018-02-27)
0.73[1]

Skill of the week: Dimension

Flash Challenge: Both the artists and the coaches are tested this week on dimension, tasked with painting layered panes of plexiglass to create cohesive dimensional pieces of art.

Winner: Team Steve

Elimination Tattoo: To capture the strength and depth of carved stone, the artists must tattoo textured cracks and deep divots so that their designs look like they were chiseled right out of their canvases’ skin. Due to certain problems in every tattoo that did not hit the challenge, the judges decided there is no Best Tattoo of the Day.

Coaches' Bottom Pick: Daniel Silva
Bottom: Daniel Silva, Mike Diaz and FAME
Eliminated: Mike Diaz

133
9
"Ink Raider"
March 6, 2018 (2018-03-06)
0.74[2]

Skill of the Week: Detail

Flash Challenge: Inspired by the 2018 film adaption of the Tomb Raider video game reboot, the competition welcomed human canvases that are strong women who overcame obstacles – and want to get tattooed by the tools that empower them in the first individual flash challenge.

Winner: Roly T-Rex

Elimination Tattoo: From intricate ropes to colorful and elaborate patterns, the artists must make sure every tiny detail is on point as they tattoo technicolor hot air balloons.

Best Tattoo of the Day: Josh Payne
Coaches' Bottom Pick: Deanna Smith
Bottom: Deanna Smith, Jeremy Brown and Amanda Leitch
Eliminated: Amanda Leitch

134
10
"Some Assembly Required"
March 13, 2018 (2018-03-13)
N/A

Skill of the Week: Accuracy

With nine artists remaining, they must compete in a marathon where they have to tattoo a different creature of land, sea or sky in each round.

Team Safety Marathon - Round 1: The teams created octopus tattoos with one artist doing the linework while the other adds in the shadding before the third artist colors the tattoo. The winning team in this round will be safe from elimination. As winner of the last elimination tattoo, Josh assigned all the human canvases.

Best Tattoo of the Day: Team Anthony

Team Safety Marathon – Round 2: Team DJ and Team Steve work on pegasus tattoos. But they won't be doing it alone as each team must tag team its respective partner and coach every hour.

Best Tattoo of the Day: Team DJ

Face Off Tattoo: Steve watches his team square off in a fight for survival as they tattooed a full-bodied jaguar in the style selected by him which was realistic black and grey.

Eliminated: FAME

Note: This episode was released online ahead of its respective airdate.

135
11
"Quit Buggin' Me"
March 20, 2018 (2018-03-20)
N/A

Skill of the Week: Technical Application

Flash Challenge: The coaches try to get every detail they could when they had two hours to tattoo their respective micro-realistic insect.

Winner: Anthony Michaels

Elimination Tattoo: The artists must prove their mastery of technical application by tattooing the gateway to the heart – aka the sternum.

Best Tattoo of the Day: Juan Salgado
Coaches' Bottom Pick: Frank Ready
Bottom: Frank Ready, Jeremy Brown and Deanna Smith
Eliminated: Frank Ready

136
12
"Total Meltdown"
March 27, 2018 (2018-03-27)
TBD

Skill of the Week: Composition

Flash Challenge: The teams and their respective coaches work with granulated wax to create a masterpiece by stenciling the design with tape onto a 4 x 6 canvas before using heat guns and torches to spread the wax while leaving behind a negative space the tape covered.

Winner: Team Steve

Elimination Tattoo: The artists must change their perspectives and create a masterpiece out of what is not there - by inking negative space tattoos.

Best Tattoo of the Day: Juan Salgado
Coaches' Bottom Pick: Daniel Silva
Bottom: Daniel Silva, Jeremy Brown and Jason Elliott
Eliminated: Daniel Silva

137
13
"Monkey See, Monkey Do"
April 3, 2018 (2018-04-03)
TBD

Skill of the Week: Finesse

Elimination Tattoo: The final six attempt to match the masters' standards. Roly was concerned when Steve showed him and Jeremy a skull with the heads of a deamon and a woman. Team DJ and Team Anthony on the other hand had no problem with the design from their respective coaches.

Face Off Tattoo: Deanna, Jason, Roly T-Rex and Jeremy must design a free hand tattoo in order to save themselves from elimination. Jeremy tried to use the design Team DJ had in the elimination tattoo which concerns the masters. Team Steve struggled the most with their tattoo.

Eliminated: Jeremy Brown

138
14
"No Stain, No Gain"
April 10, 2018 (2018-04-10)[3]
TBD

Skill of the Week: Contrast

Flash Challenge: The battle intensifies as the coaches and artists are given six hours to layer coats of paint on gigantic wooden canvases in order to create high-contrast works of art.

Winner: Team DJ

Elimination Tattoo: With only one color at the artists’ disposal, contrast is absolutely crucial as the final five are tasked with tattooing masterful monochromatic portraits.

Best Tattoo of the Day: Josh Payne
Coaches' Bottom Pick: Deanna Smith
Bottom: Deanna Smith, Roly T-Rex and Jason Elliott
Eliminated: Deanna Smith

139
15
"Final Exam"[3]
April 17, 2018 (2018-04-17)[3]
TBD

Elimination Tattoo: The final four remaining artists are tasked with tattooing a one-session twelve hour tattoo on the arm, with the style and subject being the artists choice. Josh's tattoo was considered the best twelve hour tattoo and this earned him a spot in the finale, additionally allowing DJ to call to call the first shot in the Master Face-Off.

Elimination Tattoo: Having a style and subject picked by the opposing team coaches based on their weaknesses, the final four must tattoo a six hour tattoo without tracing. Juan's six hour tattoo was considered the best six hour tattoo and this allowed Anthony to call the second shot in the Master Face-Off

Eliminated: Jason Elliott

140
16
TBA
April 24, 2018 (2018-04-24)[3]
TBD


document_title: List of long place names

question_text: which us state has the longest official name

text: List of long place names

text: Single-word names[edit]

text:
Full name: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (85 letters)
Short-forms: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu (57 letters) Taumata (7 letters) Location: North Island, New Zealand Language: Māori Translation: "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one" Notes: Listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest official placename in the world.

The station sign at Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, with a pronunciation guide underneath.

Full name: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (58 letters)
Short-forms: Llanfair PG (10 letters), Llanfairpwll (12 letters) or Llanfairpwllgwyngyll (20 letters) Location: Isle of Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom Language: Welsh Translation: "Saint Mary's Church in a hollow of white hazel near the swirling whirlpool of the church of Saint Tysilio with a red cave"
Notes: The longest official one-word placename in Europe.[citation needed]
Full name: Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg (45 letters)
Short-forms: Lake Chaubunagungamaug (17 letters)[1] Webster Lake (11 letters) Location: a lake in Webster, Massachusetts, United States Language: Nipmuc Translation: "Fishing Place at the Boundaries – Neutral Meeting Grounds"[2]
Notes: Believed to be the longest official one-word placename in the United States.
Full name: Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein (44 letters)[3][4][5][6]
Location: a farm in the North West province of South Africa Language: Afrikaans Translation: "Two-Buffalos-Shot-Totally-Dead-with-One-Shot Fountain"
Notes: The longest one-word placename in Africa.
Full name Azpilicuetagaraycosaroyarenberecolarrea (39 letters).[7]
Location: Azpilkueta, Navarra, Spain. Language: Basque
Translation: The low field of high pen of Azpilkueta[8]
Full name: Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä (35 letters)
Location: Lapland, Finland Language: Finnish (northern dialect) Translation: Unknown etymology, probably gibberish (see entry for more).
Notes: The longest official one-word placename in Finland, and the second longest in Europe.
Full name: Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik (31 letters)
Location: a lake in Manitoba, Canada Language: Cree Translation: "where the wild trout are caught by fishing with hooks"
Notes: The longest official one-word placename in Canada.[9]
Full name: Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta (28 letters)
Location: a village in Andhra Pradesh, India Language: Telugu Translation: "Venkatanarasimharaju's city"
Notes: The longest one-word placename in India.
Full name: Bovenendvankeelafsnysleegte (27 letters)
Location: a farm in the Upper Karoo in South Africa Language: Afrikaans
Translation: "Upper end of throat-cut valley" ("hollow" may be better than "valley")
Full name: Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya (26 letters)
Location: a hill in South Australia, Australia Language: Pitjantjatjara Translation: "Where the devil urinates"
Notes: The longest official one-word placename in Australia.[10]
Full name: Schmedeswurtherwesterdeich (26 letters)
Location: a hamlet outside the village of Schmedeswurth, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Language: German
Translation: "West levee of the smith's hill-village"
Full name: Bullaunancheathrairaluinn[11] (25 letters)
Location: a bullaun in County Galway, Ireland Language: Anglicisation of Irish Ballán an Cheathrair Álainn[11] Translation: "Bullaun of the Four Beauties"
Notes: Believed to be the longest official one-word Irish-derived placename in Ireland.
Full name: Gasselterboerveenschemond (25 letters)
Location: a hamlet in Drenthe, Netherlands Language: Dutch Translation: "Delta of Gasselt's (surname) farmer's bog"
Notes: The longest official one-word placename in the Netherlands.
Full name: Verkhnenovokutlumbetyevo (24 letters)
Location: a village in Orenburg Oblast, Russia Language: Russian In Cyrillic alphabet: Верхненовокутлумбетьево (23 letters) Translation: "The upper new settlement named after Kutlumbet (a Turkic male personal name)"
Notes: Believed to be the longest one-word name of a settlement in Russia.[12]
Full name: Staronizhestebliyevskaya (24 letters)
Location: a stanitsa in Krasnodar Krai, Russia Language: Russian In Cyrillic alphabet: Старонижестеблиевская (21 letters) Translation: "The old settlement named after Nizhne-Stebliyevskiy kurin (of Zaporizhian Sich)"
Notes: The name of the kurin means "the lower one named after Stebliv".
Full name: Svalbarðsstrandarhreppur (23 letters)
Location: a municipality in Iceland Language: Icelandic Translation: "Cool Edge's Shore's Municipality"
Notes: The longest official one-word place name in Iceland.
Full name: Onafhankelijkheidsplein (23 letters)[13][14]
Location: a central square in Paramaribo, Suriname Language: Dutch
Translation: "Independence Square"
Full name: Kvernbergsundsødegården (23 letters)[15]
Location: Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway Language: Norwegian
Translation: "The Deserted Farm of The Mill Mountain Strait"
Full name: Nunathloogagamiutbingoi (23 letters)
Language: Nunivak Cup'ig
Location: a beach on the southeastern coast of Nunivak Island in Bethel Census Area, Alaska
Full name: Nizhnenovokutlumbetyevo (23 letters)
Location: a village in Matveyevsky District, Orenburg Oblast, Russia Language: Russian In Cyrillic alphabet: Нижненовокутлумбетьево (22 letters)
Translation: "The lower new settlement named after Kutlumbet (a Turkic male personal name)"
Full name: Yamagawahamachiyogamizu (23 letters)
Location: Ibusuki, Kagoshima, Japan Language: Japanese In Japanese character (hiragana): やまがわはまちよがみず (11 letters) In Chinese character (kanji): 山川浜児ヶ水 (6 letters)
Translation: "Beach of the children's water in the mountains and river region" (located near Yamagawaokachiyogamizu)
Full name: Kuchistiniwamiskahikan (22 letters)
Location: an island in Quebec, Canada Language: Cree Translation: The island where boats entering the bay[16]
Notes: The longest official one-word placename in Quebec.[9]
Full name: Parangaricutirimicuaro (22 letters)
Location: a city in Michoacán, Mexico Language: Purépecha Translation: The word itself is a kind of tongue-twister, similar to the English "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".
Notes: The longest placename in Mexico. The village, now known as Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, is also called San Juan, Nuevo San Juan, and Parangaricutiro.
Full name: Drehideenglashanatooha (22 letters)[citation needed]
Location: a bridge in County Tipperary, Ireland Language: Anglicisation of Irish Droichidín Glaise na Tuaithe
Translation: "Little Bridge of the Tribe's Green"
Full name: Muckanaghederdauhaulia (22 letters)
Location: townland in Kilcummin, County Galway, Ireland Language: Anglicisation of Irish Muiceanach idir Dhá Sháile Translation: "Piggery between two briny places"
Notes: Formerly regarded as the longest placename (spelled in English) in Ireland (22 letters), it has been superseded by awareness of longer names.
Full name: Yamagawaokachiyogamizu (22 letters)
Location: Ibusuki, Kagoshima, Japan Language: Japanese In Japanese character (hiragana): やまがわおかちよがみず (11 letters) In Chinese character (kanji): 山川岡児ヶ水 (6 letters)
Translation: "Hill of the children's water in the mountains and river region" (located near Yamagawahamachiyogamizu)
Full name: Gschlachtenbretzingen (21 letters)
Location: a suburb of Michelbach an der Bilz, Schwäbisch Hall, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Language: Swabian German Translation: "fertile Bretzingen" (as opposed to neighbouring Rauhenbretzingen, "rough Bretzingen")
Notes: The contraction of the "ge-" prefix to "g-" is a feature of Swabian. The name is therefore occasionally written in standard German as "Geschlachtenbretzingen" (22 letters).
Full name: Saaranpaskantamasaari (21 letters)
Location: small uninhabited island located in Lake Onkamojärvi in northeastern Finland Language: Finnish
Translation: "An island shat by Saara"
Full name: Jászfelsőszentgyörgy (20 letters)
Location: a village in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County, Hungary Language: Hungarian language
Translation: "Upper St. George in Jászság"
Full name: Siemieniakowszczyzna (20 letters)
Location: a village in Hajnówka County, Poland Language: Polish
Translation: "ground of Siemieniak" (lit. "Siemieniakishness")
Full name: Tissvassklumptjønnin (20 letters)
Location: Lierne, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway Language: Norwegian
Translation: "The Slow Freezing Water's Lump Ponds" ("klump" here means "mountain")
Full name: Vanhankaupunginselkä (20 letters)
Location: Finland Language: Finnish
Translation: "Old City Bay"
Full name: Mittelschaeffolsheim (20 letters)
Location: a small village in Alsace, France Language: Alsatian
Translation:
Full name: Niederschaeffolsheim ( 20 letters)
Location: a small village in Alsace, France Language: Alsatian
Translation:
Full name: Newtownmountkennedy (19 letters)
Location: a village in County Wicklow, Ireland Language: English Translation: "A new town near Mt. Kennedy"
Notes: the longest official one-word English-derived placename in Ireland.
Full name: Cottonshopeburnfoot (19 letters)
Location: a hamlet in Northumberland, England Language: English
Translation: "The end of the Cottonshope Burn" (a tributary that flows into the River Rede)
Full name: Nyugotszenterzsébet (19 letters)
Location: a small village in Baranya, Hungary
Language: Hungarian
Full name: Bienwaldziegelhutte (19 letters)
Location: a small village in Alsace, France Language: Alsatian
Translation: "Brick cottage near the bees' wood"
Full name: Kirkjubæjarklaustur (19 letters)
Location: a village in the Skaftárhreppur municipality, Iceland Language: Icelandic language
Translation: "Church farm cloister"
Full name: Kristiinankaupunki (18 letters)
Location: a town at western coast of Finland Language: Finnish
Translation: "Christina's Town" (referral to Queen Christina of Sweden)
Full name: Oberschaeffolsheim (18 letters)
Location: a small village in Alsace, France Language: Alsatian
Translation:
Full name: Pietramontecorvino (18 letters)
Location: a town in Apulia, Italy Language: Italian
Translation: Stone of the Corvino mount
Full name: Thiruvananthapuram (18 letters)
Location: a city in Kerala, India Language: Malayalam[citation needed] Translation: "City of Lord Anantha"[17]
Notes: Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of Kerala.
Full name: Breuschwickersheim (18 letters)
Location: a village in Alsace, France Language: Alsatian
Translation: "Home of the vicar (living next to the) Bruche (river)"
Full name: Rhosllannerchrugog (18 letters (Welsh spelling))
Location: a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales Language: Welsh
Translation: "Moor of the Heathery Glade"
Full name: Prachaksinlapakhom (18 letters)
Location: a district (Amphoe) in Udon Thani Province, Thailand Language: Thai
Translation: Named after Prince Prachaksinlapakhom, son of King Mongkut of Siam
Full name: Tauberbischofsheim (18 letters)
Location: a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany Language: German
Translation: "Home of the bishop (living next to the) Tauber (river)"
Full name: Andoharanomaintso (17 letters)
Location: a town in Madagascar Language: Malagasy
Translation: "The place of green springs"
Full name: Civitacampomarano (17 letters)
Location: a village in Molise, Italy Language: Italian
Translation: "Village of Marano field"
Full name: Kleinfeltersville (17 letters) Location: an unincorporated community in Heidelberg Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States
Full name: Mooselookmeguntic (17 letters)
Location: a populated place in Franklin County, Maine, United States Language: Abenaki
Translation: "Moose feeding place"
Full name: Jazgarzewszczyzna (17 letters)
Location: A village in Poland Language: Polish
Translation: "Jazgarzewski's estate"
Full name: Kirchheimbolanden (17 letters)
Location: A town in Germany Language: German
Translation: Unknown, but it includes phrases like "church" and "home".
Full name: Papahānaumokuākea (17 letters)
Location: Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, United States, world's largest protected area (2016) Language: Hawaiian Translation: not known
Full name: Georgsmarienhütte (17 letters) Location: a little city near Osnabrück, Germany Language: German
Translation: The town where King Georg of Hannover and his wife Marie built a steelwork.
Full name: Casalpusterlengo (16 letters)
Location: a little city in Lombardy, Italy Language: Italian
Translation: Unknown
Full name: Doddiscombsleigh (16 letters)
Location: Devon, United Kingdom Language: English
Translation: Unknown
Full name: Esperantinópolis (16 letters)
Location: Maranhão, Brazil Language: Brazilian - Portuguese
Translation: "City of Esperantina"
Full name: Hódmezővásárhely (16 letters)
Location: Csongrád County, Hungary Language: Hungarian
Translation: "Beaver Field Marketplace"
Full name: Moretonhampstead (16 letters)
Location: Devon, United Kingdom Language: English
Translation: "Moor town, Homestead"
Full name: Mustafakemalpaşa (16 letters)
Location: Bursa Province, Turkey Language: Turkish
Translation: "General Mustafa Kemal"
Full name: Brzyskorzystewko (16 letters)
Location: Żnin County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland Language: Polish
Translation: Unknown
Full name: Bhimarayanagudi (15 letters)
Location: a camp town in Gulbarga, Karnataka, India Language: Kannada
Translation: "Temple of Bheemaraya(Bhima)"
Full name: Pindamonhangaba (15 letters)
Location: São Paulo, Brazil Language: Tupi
Translation: "Place where fish hooks are made"
Full name: Streisângeorgiu (15 letters)
Location: Hunedoara, Romania Language: Romanian
Translation: Unknown
Full name: Senangkhanikhom (15 letters)
Location: a district (amphoe) in Amnat Charoen Province, Thailand Language: Thai
Translation: "Army settlement"
Full name: Wachiraphayaban (15 letters)
Location: a subdistrict (khwaeng) in Dusit, Bangkok, Thailand Language: Thai
Translation: "Vajira Hospital" (located in the subdistrict)
Full name: Thepphamongkhon (15 letters)
Location: a subdistrict (tambon) in Bang Sai District (1413), Ayutthaya, Thailand Language: Thai
Translation: "Auspicious god"
Full name: Itaquaquecetuba (15 letters)
Short form: Itaquá[18] Location: São Paulo, Brazil Language: Tupi
Translation: "Place of abundant bamboo sharp as knives"
Full name: Thrakomakedones (15 letters)
Loacation: a village in Acharnes municipality, Greece Language: Greek
Translation: "Thraco-Macedonians"

text: Names with spaces or hyphens[edit]

text:
Bangkok: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit (176 letters)

in Thai: กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยา มหาดิลกภพ นพรัตนราชธานีบูรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์มหาสถาน อมรพิมานอวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยวิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์ (132 letters + 7 spaces)

Some long Thai place names are also:

Nikhom Sang Ton-eng Lam Dom Noi, Sirindhorn, Ubon Ratchathani
Phra Borom Maha Ratcha Wang, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok
Khlong Nakhon Nueang Khet, Mueang Chachoengsao District
Pak Phanang Fang Tawan Tok (The western Pak Phanang), Pak Phanang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat
Pak Phanang Fang Tawan Ok (The eastern Pak Phanang), Pak Phanang District
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province
Pak Khlong Phasi Charoen, Phasi Charoen, Bangkok
Thung Kratat Phatthana, Nong Ki, Buriram
Khlong Udom Chonlachon, Mueang Chachoengsao District

Longest place name in Canada: Corporation of the United Townships of Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn, Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde (61 letters, 68 non-space characters), usually shortened to Dysart, et al., Ontario
Montevideo: Muy Fiel y Reconquistadora Ciudad de San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo (60 letters)
Caracas: Santiago de León de Caracas (23 letters)
Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte (23 letters)
Some long U.S. place names appearing in the Geographic Names Information System are:[19]

Winchester-on-the-Severn, Maryland, and Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas are the longest hyphenated place names in the U.S. (21 letters)
Rancho Santa Margarita, California
Little Harbor on the Hillsboro, FL
Pops Hammock Seminole Village, FL
Friendly Village of Crooked Creek, GA
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts
Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida
Hamilton-Wenham, MA
Little Diamond Island Landing, ME
Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico
Orchard Point At Piney Orchard, MD
Point Field Landing on the Severn, MD
Riverside Village of Church Creek, MD
Monmouth Heights at Manalapan, NJ
Staffordville Public Landing, NJ
Holly View Forest-Highland Park, NC
The Village of Indian Hill, Ohio
Slovenska Narodna Podporna Jednota, Pennsylvania
The Landing at Plantation Point, SC
Big Thicket Creekmore Village, TX
Kinney and Gourlays Improved City Plat, UT
Little Cottonwood Creek Valley, Utah
West Virginia Central Junction, West Virginia
Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota

The U.S. state with the longest name is Rhode Island, which officially is named '‘the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.[20]
The original name of Los Angeles, CA, in 1781, was "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula"; in English this means "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Porciúncula River".[21]
The longest hyphenated name in England is the 29-letter-long name Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, the name of a tiny village in North Yorkshire.
The longest names for communes in France, with 38 letters each, are Saint-Remy-en-Bouzemont-Saint-Genest-et-Isson, Marne (45 characters including hyphens), Saint-Germain-de-Tallevende-la-Lande-Vaumont, Calvados (44 characters), and Beaujeu-Saint-Vallier-Pierrejux-et-Quitteur, Haute-Saône (43 characters).
The longest place name in Austria is Pfaffenschlag bei Waidhofen an der Thaya (40 characters).
The longest place name in Spain is Villarcayo de Merindad de Castilla la Vieja, in the province of Burgos (37 characters).
The longest place name in Finland is Semmonen niemi, jossa käärme koiraa pisti, in the municipality of Perho (36 characters, including a comma). The English translation is That cape where a snake bit the dog.
The longest municipality name in the Czech Republic is the name of Nová Ves u Nového Města na Moravě (33 characters), the second one is the city of Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav (32 characters).
The longest single place name in Germany is Hellschen-Heringsand-Unterschaar in Schleswig-Holstein (32 characters). In the standard official naming scheme, however, small villages are disambiguated by prefixing them with the name of the main town in the district. The longest official place name is therefore Michelbach an der Bilz-Gschlachtenbretzingen (40 characters).
The longest place names in Italy are Pino sulla Sponda del Lago Maggiore and San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore, with 30 letters, or it's Cortaccia sulla Strada del Vino - Kurtatsch an der Weinstraße considering the official name both in Italian and German.
The longest place names in Poland are Sobienie Kiełczewskie Pierwsze and Przedmieście Szczebrzeszyńskie, with 30 letters (including spaces).
The municipality with the longest name in Brazil is Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade, with 32 characters (including spaces).
The municipality with the longest name in Mexico is Dolores Hidalgo Cuna de la Independencia Nacional (49 characters).[22]
The longest place name in Mexico is San Pedro y San Pablo Tequixtepec (28 letters).
The longest city name in Argentina is San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca (30 letters).
Truth or Consequences is a spa city and the county seat of Sierra County, New Mexico, United States.
The longest name of a settlement in Russia with spaces (not counting official names of municipalities) is (in ISO 9) "posyolok Central'noj usad'by` sovxoza imeni 40-letiya Velikogo Oktyabrya" (Russian: посёлок Центральной усадьбы совхоза имени 40-летия Великого Октября, 50 letters (if not counting the word posyolok/посёлок, which is a generic name for a settlement), and 2 digits, which would give another 6 letters). The English translation is a settlement of The Central Farmstead of the Sovkhoz named after the 40-years Anniversary of the Great October.
The longest hyphenated name of a settlement in Russia is Kremenchug-Konstantinovskoye (Кременчуг-Константиновское (ru), 25 letters). The English translation is (new) Kremenchug named after Konstantin (a first settler)".


document_title: Drakensberg

question_text: what is the average height of the highest peaks in the drakensberg mountain range

text: Drakensberg

text: Etymology[edit]

text: The Afrikaans name Drakensberge comes from the name the earliest Dutch settlers to the region gave it. They called them the Drakensbergen, or "Mountains of Dragons". Several possible reasons for this name include the pointy tops giving an appearance similar to that of the back of the mythical European dragon, old local myths of dragons roaming the mountains, and possible findings of dinosaur fossils (which would have been confused with the remains of dragons).[3]

text: When most South Africans and visitors speak of the Drakensberg, they refer to the Great Escarpment that forms the border between Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal, believing it to be a range of mountains extending into Lesotho, more correctly known as the Lesotho Highlands. This highest portion of the Great Escarpment is known as uKhahlamba ("Barrier of up-pointed spears")[4] in Zulu and Maluti in Sotho.

text: Geological origins[edit]

text: About 180 million years ago, a mantle plume under southern Gondwana caused bulging of the continental crust in the area that would later become southern Africa.[5] Within 10–20 million years rift valleys formed on either side of the central bulge, which became flooded to become the proto-Atlantic and proto-Indian oceans.[5][6] The stepped steep walls of these rift valleys formed escarpments that surrounded the newly formed Southern African subcontinent.[5] With the widening of the Atlantic, Indian and Southern oceans, Southern Africa became tectonically quiescent. Earthquakes rarely occur, and there has been no volcanic or orogenic activity for about 50 million years.[7] An almost uninterrupted period of erosion has continued to the present, resulting in layers several kilometers thick having been lost from the surface of the plateau.[5] A thick layer of marine sediment was consequently deposited onto the continental shelf (the lower steps of the original rift valley walls) which surrounds the subcontinent.[6]

text: During the past 20 million years, further massive upliftment, especially in the East, has taken place in Southern Africa. As a result, most of the plateau lies above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) despite the extensive erosion. The plateau is tilted such that its highest point is in the east, and it slopes gently downwards towards the west and south. The elevation of the edge of the eastern escarpments is typically in excess of 2,000 m (6,600 ft). It reaches its highest point (over 3,000 m (9,800 ft)) where the escarpment forms part of the international border between Lesotho and the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal.[5][8]

text: The upliftment of the central plateau over the past 20 million years and erosion resulted in the original escarpment being moved inland, creating the present-day coastal plain.[5][9][10] The position of the present escarpment is approximately 150 km inland from the original fault lines which formed the walls of the rift valley that developed along the coast during the break-up of Gondwana. The rate of the erosion of the escarpment in the Drakensberg region is said to average 1.5 m (5 ft) per 1000 years, or 1.5 millimetres (1⁄16 in) per year.[10]

text: Because of the extensive erosion of the plateau, which occurred over most of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras, none of its surface rocks (except the Kalahari sands) are younger than 180 million years.[5][11] The youngest rocks that remain cap the plateau in Lesotho. These are the Clarens Formation laid down under desert conditions about 200 million years ago, topped by a 1,600 m (5,200 ft) thick layer of lava which erupted, and covered most of Southern Africa, and large parts of Gondwana, about 180 million years ago.[5][6][12] These rocks form the steep sides of the Great Escarpment in this region, where its upper edge reaches an elevation in excess of 3,000 m (9,800 ft).

text: The erosional retreat of the escarpment from the coast to its present position, means that the rocks of the coastal plain are, with very few and small exceptions, older than those that cap the top of the escarpment. Thus the rocks of the Mpumalanga Lowveld below the Mpumalanga portion of the Great Escarpment are more than 3000 million years old.[11] The rocks of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands belong, in the main, to the Beaufort and Ecca Groups (of the Karoo Supergroup), aged 220–310 million years, and are therefore considerably older than the Drakensberg lavas (aged 180 million years) which cap the escarpment on the border between KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho.[11]

text: The entire eastern portion of the Great Escarpment (see the accompanying map) constitutes the Drakensberg.[8][13] The Drakensberg terminate in the north near Tzaneen at about the 22° S parallel. The absence of the Great Escarpment for about 450 km (280 mi) to the north of Tzaneen (to reappear on the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique in the Chimanimani Highlands) is due to a failed westerly branch of the main rift that caused Antarctica to start drifting away from Southern Africa during the breakup of Gondwana about 150 million years ago. The lower Limpopo River and Save River drain into the Indian Ocean through what remains of this relict incipient rift valley which now forms part of the South African Low veld.[5]

text: Geomorphology[edit]

text: Appearance[edit]

text: The escarpment seen from below looks like a range of mountains. The Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Lesotho Drakensberg have hard erosion-resistant upper surfaces and therefore have a very rugged appearance, combining steep-sided blocks and pinnacles (giving rise to the Zulu name "Barrier of up-pointed spears"). Who first gave these mountains their Afrikaans or Dutch name Drakensberg, and why, is unknown.[4]). The KwaZulu-Natal – Free State Drakensberg are composed of softer rocks and therefore have a more rounded, softer appearance from below. The top of the escarpment is generally almost table-top flat and smooth, even in Lesotho. The "Lesotho Mountains" are formed away from the Drakensberg escarpment by erosion gulleys which turn into deep valleys which contain tributaries of the Orange River. The large number of tributaries give the Lesotho Highlands a very rugged mountainous appearance, both from the ground and from the air.

text: The higher parts of Drakensberg has a mildly periglacial environment. It is possible that recent climate change has diminished the intensity of periglaciation.[14]

text: Composition of rocks[edit]

text: The geological composition of Drakensberg (escarpment wall) varies considerably along its more than 1000 km length. The Limpopo and Mpumalanga Drakensberg are capped by an erosion resistant quartzite layer which is part of the Transvaal Supergroup which also forms the Magaliesberg to the north and northwest of Pretoria.[5] These rocks are more than 2000 million years old. South of the 26°S parallel the Drakensberg escarpment is composed of Ecca shales, which belong to the Karoo Supergroup, which are 300 million years old.[5][11] The portion of the Drakensberg that forms the KwaZulu-Natal – Free State border is formed by slightly younger Beaufort rocks (250 million years old) which are also part of the Karoo Supergroup. The Ecca and Beaufort groups are composed of sedimentary rocks which are less erosion resistant than the other rocks which make up the Drakensberg escarpment. This portion of escarpment is therefore not as impressive as the Mpumalanga and Lesotho stretches of the Drakensberg. The Drakensberg which form the north-eastern and eastern borders of Lesotho, as well as the Eastern Cape Drakensberg are composed of a thick layer of basalt (lava) which erupted 180 million years ago.[5][11] That rests on the youngest of the Karoo Supergroup sediments, the Clarens sandstone, which was laid down under desert conditions, about 200 million years ago.[5][11]

text: Highest peaks[edit]

text: The highest peak is Thabana Ntlenyana, at 3,482 m (11,424 ft). Other notable peaks include Mafadi (3,450 m (11,319 ft)), Makoaneng at 3,416 m, Njesuthi at 3,408 m, Champagne Castle at 3,377 m, Giant's Castle at 3,315 m, Ben Macdhui at 3,001 m, and Popple Peak at 3331m, all of these are in the area bordering on Lesotho. Another popular area for hikers is Cathedral Peak. North of Lesotho the range becomes lower and less rugged until entering Mpumalanga where the quartzite mountains of the Transvaal Drakensberg are loftier and more broken and form the eastern rim of the Transvaal Basin, the Blyde River Canyon lying within this stretch. The geology of this section is the same as and continuous with that of the Magaliesberg.

text: Mountain passes[edit]

text: Ecology[edit]

text: The high treeless peaks of the Drakensberg (from 2,500 m (8,200 ft) upwards) have been described by the World Wildlife Fund as the Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands ecoregion. These steep slopes are the most southerly high mountains in Africa, and being further from the equator provide cooler habitats at lower elevations than most mountain ranges on the continent. The high rainfall generates many mountain streams and rivers, including the sources of the Orange River, southern Africa's longest, and the Tugela River. These mountains also have the world's second-highest waterfall, the Tugela Falls (Thukela Falls), which has a total drop of 947 m (3,107 ft). The rivers that run from the Drakensberg are an essential resource for South Africa's economy, providing water for the industrial provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng, which contains the city of Johannesburg.[15] The climate is wet and cool at the high elevations, which experience snowfall in winter.

text: Meanwhile, the grassy lower slopes (from 1,800 to 2,500 m (5,900 to 8,200 ft)) of the Drakensberg in Swaziland, South Africa and Lesotho constitute the Drakensberg Montane Grassland, Woodland, and Forest.

text: Flora[edit]

text: The mountains are rich in plant life, including a large number of species listed in the Red Data Book of threatened plants, with 119 species listed as globally endangered and "of the 2 153 plant species in the park, a remarkable 98 are endemic or near-endemic".[16]

text: The flora of the high alti-montane grasslands is mainly tussock grass, creeping plants, and small shrubs such as ericas. These include the rare Spiral Aloe (Aloe polyphylla), which as its name suggests has leaves with a spiral shape.

text: Meanwhile, the lower slopes are mainly grassland but are also home to conifers, which are rare in Africa, the species of conifer found in the Drakensberg is Podocarpus. The grassland itself is of interest as it contains a great number of endemic plants. Grasses found here include oat grass Monocymbium ceresiiforme, Diheteropogon filifolius, Sporobolus centrifugus, caterpillar grass (Harpochloa falx), Cymbopogon dieterlenii, and Eulalia villosa.

text: In the highest part of Drakensberg the composition of the flora is independent on slope aspect (dicrection) and varies depending on the hardness of the rock clasts. This hardness is related to weathering and is variable even within a single landform.[14]

text: Fauna[edit]

text: The Drakensberg area is "home to 299 recorded bird species"' making up "37% of all non-marine avian species in southern Africa."[16]

text: There are 24 species of snakes in the Drakensbergs 2 of which are highly venomous.[17]

text: Fauna of the high peaks[edit]

text: There is one bird that is endemic to the high peaks, the mountain pipit (Anthus hoeschi), while another six are found mainly here: Bush blackcap (Lioptilus nigricapillus), buff-streaked chat (Oenanthe bifasciata), Rudd's lark (Heteromirafra ruddi), Drakensberg rockjumper (Chaetops aurantius), yellow-breasted pipit (Anthus chloris), and Drakensberg siskin (Serinus symonsi). The endangered Cape vulture and lesser kestrel are two of the birds of prey that hunt in the mountains. Mammals include klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus), eland (Taurotragus oryx) and mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula). Other endemic species include three frogs found in the mountain streams, Drakensberg river frog, (Amietia dracomontana), Phofung river frog (Amietia vertebralis) and Maluti river frog (Amietia umbraculata). Fish are found in the many rivers and streams including the Maluti redfin (Pseudobarbus quathlambae), which was thought to be extinct but has been found in the Senqunyane River in Lesotho.[18] [19]

text: Fauna of the lower slopes[edit]

text: The lower slopes of the Drakensberg support much wildlife, perhaps most importantly the rare southern white rhinoceros (which was nurtured here when facing extinction) and the black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou, which as of 2011[update] only thrives in protected areas and game reserves). The area is home to large herds of grazing and antelopes such as eland (Taurotragus oryx), reedbuck (Redunca arundinum), mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula), grey rhebok (Pelea capreolus), and even some oribi (Ourebia ourebi). Chacma baboons are also present. Endemic species include a large number of chameleons and other reptiles. There is one endemic frog, forest rain frog (Breviceps sylvestris), and four more that are found mainly in these mountains; long-toed tree frog (Leptopelis xenodactylus), plaintive rain frog (Breviceps maculatus), rough rain frog (Breviceps verrucosus), and Poynton's caco (Cacosternum poyntoni).

text: Conservation[edit]

text: The high slopes are hard to reach so the environment is fairly undamaged. However, tourism in the Drakensberg is developing, with a variety of hiking trails, hotels and resorts appearing on the slopes. Most of the higher South African parts of the range have been designated as game reserves or wilderness areas. Of these the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park was listed by UNESCO in 2000 as a World Heritage site. The park is also in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (under the Ramsar Convention). The Royal Natal National Park, which contains some of the higher peaks, is part of this large park complex. Adjacent to the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg World Heritage Site is the 1900 ha Allendale Mountain Reserve which is the largest private reserve adjoining the World Heritage Site and is found in the accessible Kamberg area, the heart of the historic San (Bushman) painting region of the Ukhahlamba.

text: The grassland of the lower slopes meanwhile has been greatly affected by agriculture, especially overgrazing. Original grassland and forest has nearly all disappeared and more protection is needed, though the Giant's Castle reserve is a haven for the eland and also is a breeding ground for the bearded vulture.

text: The Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area was established to preserve some of the high mountain areas of the range.[20]

text: Urban areas[edit]

text: Towns and cities in the Drakensberg area include, from South to North, Matatiele and Barkly East in the Eastern Cape Province; Ladysmith, Newcastle, Ulundi – the former Zulu capital, Dundee and Ixopo in KwaZulu-Natal; all of Lesotho, whose capital is Maseru and Tzaneen in Limpopo Province.

text: San cave paintings[edit]

text: There are numerous caves in the easily eroded sandstone of Clarens Formation, the layer below the thick, hard basalt layer on the KwaZulu Natal-Lesotho border. Many of these caves have rock paintings by the San (Bushmen). This portion of the Drakensberg has between 35,000 and 40,000 works of San rock art[16][21] and is the largest collection of such work in the world. Some 20,000 individual rock paintings have been recorded at 500 different caves and overhanging sites between the Drakensberg Royal Natal National Park and Bushman's Nek.[21] Due to the materials used in their production, these paintings are difficult to date but there is anthropological evidence, including many hunting implements, that the San people existed in the Drakensberg at least 40,000 years ago, and possibly over 100,000 years ago. According to mountainsides.co.za, "[i]n Nd edema Gorge in the Central Ginsberg 3,900 paintings have been recorded at 17 sites. One of them, Sebaayeni Cave, contains 1,146 individual paintings."[22] The website south Africa.info indicates that though "the oldest painting on a rock shelter wall in the Ginsberg dates back about 2400 years.....paint chips at least a thousand years older have also been found."[16] The site also indicates that "[t]he rock art of the Drakensberg is the largest and most concentrated group of rock paintings in Africa south of the Sahara, and is outstanding both in quality and diversity of subject."[16]

text: In popular culture[edit]

text: The Drakensberg was featured in the 2009 American science fiction film 2012. It was mentioned in the last scene of the movie, where after twenty-seven days of a great flood which people tried to survive by building arks, the waters began receding. The arks approach the Cape of Good Hope, where the Drakensberg (now the tallest mountain range on Earth) emerges.