The grand finale of the 25th edition of Koh Lanta takes place this Tuesday, June 4 in the evening! Who says final, says poles of the TF1 show, this legendary event in which the last competitors must remain standing on a pole for as long as possible to go to the final. She was born thanks to pelicans.
During this final, the participants are seated on a rectangle measuring 20 x 15 cm, which is the size of an A4 sheet folded in half! A rectangle which, over the course of the test, shrinks to a square of 10 cm by 10. Hell. The record is 5h16 and is held by Amel, the winner of season 2 of Koh Lantaedition where, moreover, these damn posts appeared.
The cult event did not yet exist in season 1. In 2001, when the game was launched, it was called The Adventurers of Koh Lanta and was presented by Hubert Auriol, former winner of the Paris-Dakar, with Denis Brogniart only providing the voice-over. Faithful to the original American format that inspired it, Survivorthe game ended with the “idol test”. A test of endurance since you had to keep your hand on a giant totem as long as possible in the middle of a dodger.
A unique event in the world
The final test was modified because it was as difficult for the viewers as for the competitors: in fact, not much happened and above all, it was endless. The winner of this event lasted 9h30. It was far too long and it was also a waste of money to mobilize a film crew and technical resources on a desert island for a sequence which, ultimately, on screen only lasted a few minutes. So we asked Father Fouras to find something else!
And yes, the designer of the tests Koh Lanta is the same one who imagines those of Fort Boyard. His name is Yann Le Gac and he is also the one who plays Father Fouras. He starts thinking and it’s completely by chance, seeing pelicans standing straight, motionless, on poles, which he tilts. He proposes the idea to production, the outcome of which is irremediable: it’s validated! And that’s how this terrible ordeal of the posts was born. Test which, by the way, only exists in France. Other adaptations of Survivor kept the original format. So good luck to the finalists of Koh Lanta for whom, this Tuesday evening, it will be poles, work, sleep…
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