Graham David Hughes (born 28 February 1979) was the first person, according to
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
, to visit all 193
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
member states
A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation.
Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...
and several other territories across the world without flying. While on his journey he presented the television programme ''Graham's World'' on the
National Geographic Adventure
Nat Geo People was an international pay television channel owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). Targeted at female audiences, with programming fo ...
channel.
Early life
Hughes was born in Liverpool in 1979. He attended Blackmoor Park School and the
Liverpool Blue Coat School
The Liverpool Blue Coat School is a grammar school in Wavertree, Liverpool, England. It was founded in 1708 by Bryan Blundell and the Reverend Robert Styth as the Liverpool Blue Coat Hospital and was for many years a boys' boarding school befo ...
. He attended the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
. He moved to
Orrell Park
Orrell Park is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is a small residential area of northern Liverpool between the larger neighbouring districts of Aintree and Walton-on-the-Hill. It is part of the Liverpool Walton Parliamentary con ...
and set up a video production company firstly in Dale Street and then in the Baltic Triangle.
The Odyssey Expedition
The Odyssey Expedition was a visit to all of the 193
UN member states
The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the United Nations General Assembly, UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest international o ...
. For the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, Hughes visited all of the four
constituent countries that make up the kingdom and counted the UN member state as four separate countries. Hughes also visited the non-member state of
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
, as well as the
partially recognised
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accorde ...
non-member states of
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
,
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
, and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, for a total of 201 "countries" without flying. He noted people wonder how he got to countries like North Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan, but claims that "they were the easy ones".
Before embarking on the journey, Hughes contacted
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
to agree the rules of his journey. The rules were: no flying as part of the journey, no private taxis over long distances (shared "bush" taxis were okay), no hitch-hiking, Hughes could not drive a vehicle or ride a motorbike as part of the journey (
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
does not permit people to "race" on public roads in private vehicles in order to set or break records), he must set foot on dry land (sailing into territorial waters did not count) and no travelling to far-flung territories and counting them as a visit to the motherland. Private transport was permitted over short distances (such as taking a private taxi across town), private transport was also permitted over water and he was allowed to take a break from the journey for personal reasons so long as he did not fly as part of the journey and he returned to the exact spot from which he left, something he did twice on his journey. It was agreed that the clock would not stop.
Events of the trip included imprisonment in the
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
, getting caught sneaking into
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, and running the blockade into
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. He was arrested in
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
and
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, then he spent jail time in
Congo-Brazzaville
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
and
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
.
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
were reportedly unhappy with his entry into
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
as it was the only country he entered without passing an official border post. In January 2013 Hughes returned to Russia, this time with a visa.
While on The Odyssey Expedition, Hughes helped raise funds and awareness for the charity
WaterAid.
World records
Hughes set a new Guinness World Record by visiting "133 countries in one year by scheduled ground transport" during the first year of his four-year journey.
In February 2014, it was announced that
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
had confirmed Hughes's Odyssey Expedition was "The fastest time to visit all countries by public surface transport" (4 years and 31 days) after an extraordinarily long verification process.
Marco Frigatti Marco Frigatti (born 1970 in Venice, Italy) is the head of the global records management team for ''Guinness World Records''. He also starred in the Sky One television show ''Guinness World Records Smashed'' where he presides over all the record att ...
, Head of Records at
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
was quoted as saying "I can't remember a more absorbing record to verify in recent years."
Television shows and filmmaking
Hughes's video log of the first year of his expedition was made into an eight-part television series called "Graham's World" or "Lonely Planet's The Odyssey". It was commissioned by the
National Geographic Adventure channel, produced by
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books.
History Early years
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...
and distributed by
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
.
Travel writing
Hughes's debut travel memoir, "Man of the World: Book One of The Odyssey Expedition", an account of the first year of his journey to every country without flying, was published by ATBOSH Media in October 2017.
YouTube work
Graham has been active on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
since Sep 12, 2006 and in the summer of 2013, Hughes's "One Second Every Country"
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
video went viral, amassing almost one million views in just a few weeks, which led to appearances on BBC News and CBS This Morning as well as articles about his travels on Buzzfeed and Esquire.
Post travel activities
SOS Island
On 12 December 2013, Hughes was declared the winner of ''SOS Island'', a ''
Survivor
Survivor(s) may refer to:
Actual survivors
*
*Last survivors of historical events
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Survivors, characters in the 1997 ''KKnD'' video-game series
* ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Found ...
''-like show featuring
Les Stroud
Les Stroud (born October 20, 1961) is a Canadian survival skills, survival expert, filmmaker and musician best known as the creator, writer, producer, director, cameraman and host of the television series ''Survivorman''. Stroud was named Chief ...
which relied on social media to promote
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
products on a desert island setting. The prize was $100,000 towards a future island adventure of his choice. He chose to buy an island in Bocas Del Toro, Panama, from fellow British adventurer
Ian Usher. Hughes renamed it "Jinja Island" and lived there off-grid for the best part of three years.
Global Scouse Day
Hughes is the founder of
Global Scouse Day, a celebration of "all things Liverpool" held every year in his home town on his birthday.
Anti-Brexit activism
In the wake of the
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
referendum, Hughes wrote to his local
Labour Party MP,
Stephen Twigg
Stephen Twigg (born 25 December 1966) is a British Labour Co-op politician who was Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate from 1997 to 2005, and for Liverpool West Derby from 2010 to 2019.
He came to national prominence in 1997 by winning ...
, threatening to stand against him in an upcoming election if he voted with the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
to activate
Article 50
Withdrawal from the European Union is the legal and political process whereby an EU member state ceases to be a member of the Union. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union ( TEU) states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from t ...
without any protection for EU citizens living in the UK or British citizens living in the EU (against the wishes of a majority of his constituents). When
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
called a snap election in April 2017, Hughes, true to his word, returned to the UK to run against Twigg as an independent candidate. He received 0.7% of the votes, subsequently losing his deposit having not met the 5% threshold.
Since then, Hughes has been a vocal advocate of remaining in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, leading and emceeing the "People's March For Europe" in September 2017. He stood as a candidate for the
Liberal Democrats in the 2018 local government elections for his home ward of Knotty Ash, Liverpool and came third with just over 6% of the vote.
Party political activism
Hughes is a political supporter of the British Labour Party and has created the Youtube channel Labour Social
[url=https://www.youtube.com/@laboursocial] in cooperation with other political commentators on Youtube, with the main co-author being fellow Labour supporter Phil Moorhouse.
References
External links
The Odyssey Expedition websiteGraham Hughes's Personal Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Graham
British television presenters
Living people
Writers from Liverpool
British travel writers
British music video directors
1979 births
People from Knotty Ash
21st-century travelers