Where in the World is Matt Lauer?

Where in the World is Matt Lauer?
Format	Segment
Starring	Matt Lauer
Opening theme	"Where in the World is Matt Lauer?"
Country of origin	United States
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	April 27, 1998 – present
External links
Website

Where in the World is Matt Lauer? is a segment on NBC's Today show, which features co-host Matt Lauer traveling the world to various locations within one week. The title is similar to the children's computer game and PBS game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and the segment's opening theme for a time was a take on Rockapella's theme song for the game show. The current theme is by 615 Music. In most seasons, the Today Show co-hosts weren't informed in advance of Matt Lauer's location, and would make guesses before the location was revealed, based on a clue he offered (his appearance at this point was a close-up camera shot which didn't reveal anything about his location).

The planned Season 10 (2009) of Where in the World is Matt Lauer was planned to be replaced for the year by a domestic road trip called "Today Takes a Vacation" due to the economic downturn. That series was pushed back to mid-summer of 2009 due to the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak of the spring.

Matt's Travel Locations

Season 1 (1998)

April 27 – May 1

• Day 1: April 27, 1998 Cairo, Egypt
• Day 2: April 28, 1998 Venice, Italy
• Day 3: April 29, 1998 Athens, Greece
• Day 4: April 30, 1998 Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India (Taj Mahal)
• Day 5: May 1, 1998 Sydney, Australia

Season 2 (1999)

May 10 – May 14

• Day 1: May 10, 1999 Mt. Everest, Nepal
• Day 2: May 11, 1999 Cancelled due to bad weather and travel delays; Lauer reported from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal
• Day 3: May 12, 1999 USS Theodore Roosevelt, Ionian Sea
• Day 4: May 13, 1999 Rome, Italy
• Day 5: May 14, 1999 Badaling, China (Great Wall of China)

Season 3 (2000)

May 1 – May 5

• Day 1: May 1, 2000 Kīlauea, Hawaii, USA
• Day 2: May 2, 2000 Bilbao, Spain
• Day 3: May 3, 2000 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
• Day 4: May 4, 2000 Pisa and Florence, Italy Clue: "It was 85 degrees there, but today we'd be in the same time zone, but we'd be looking at something more like 5 degrees."
• Day 5: May 5, 2000 Reykjavík, Iceland (An online poll determined the Day 5 destination. The voting results were 18% for Iceland, 16% for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, 15% for Stonehenge, 13% for Rio de Janeiro, and 12% for Niagara Falls.)

Season 4 (2001)

May 7 – May 11

• Day 1: May 7, 2001 Machu Picchu, Peru
• Day 2: May 8, 2001 North Sea (Britannia oil platform) Clues: "The city where I am has no roads, but the people here require more gas than just about any other city where we've ever been." "The highest point in this city is about 410 feet above sea level; the lowest point is about 420 feet below sea level."
• Day 3: May 9, 2001 Paris, France Clues: "There are two banks here. Both are open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day." "Up until very recently, there was a law here that said no building could be built higher than 66 feet."
• Day 4: May 10, 2001 Bangkok, Thailand
• Day 5: May 11, 2001 Mykonos, Greece Clue: "I'm not in Marrakech. I'm not at the Matterhorn. I'm not at Stonehenge. And I'm not in Amsterdam." (These were the other four choices used in an Internet poll to decide the Day 5 destination.)

Season 5 (2002)

May 13 – May 17

• Day 1: May 13, 2002 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Day 2: May 14, 2002 Marrakech, Morocco Clue: "What did Alfred know about our next location?"
• Day 3: May 15, 2002 Dornoch (Skibo Castle) and St Andrews (The Old Course), Scotland Clue: "If you need a holiday, this place could change your life, but if you want to come back, you're going have to join the club."
• Day 4: May 16, 2002 Angkor Wat, Cambodia Clues: "You wouldn't want to swim there, but it sure sounds nautical." "For us it's on fourth, for Abbott and Costello it was on second."
• Day 5: May 17, 2002 Monte Carlo, Monaco and Cannes, France Clue: "We'll deal with Santana."

Season 6 (2004)

February 9 – February 13

• Day 1: February 9, 2004 Mombo Camp, Botswana Clue: "It's free to get in, but it will cost a dollar or two to get out."
• Day 2: February 10, 2004 Zermatt, Switzerland (The Matterhorn) Clue: "Automatically, the people there are two stops from the park."
• Day 3: February 11, 2004 Hong Kong, China Clue: "We'll be on central time, a long way from home."
• Day 4: February 12, 2004 Moscow, Russia (Red Square) Clue: "Four more sides and we would have to stop."
• Day 5: February 13, 2004 Necker Island, British Virgin Islands Clue: "If Jack Sparrow comes calling, there are no neighbors to run to."

Season 7 (2005)

November 7 – November 11

Day	Date	Location	Clue
1	November 7, 2005	Easter Island, Chile	"The Shuttle could land here in a pinch without turning heads."
2	November 8, 2005	Panama Canal and Colón, Panama	"People are still asking me about the one I got in 2002, which was almost 90 years after this most famous one was built."
3	November 9, 2005	Innsbruck, Austria	"The gold flowed here for a second time after a bust in the Rocky Mountains."
4	November 10, 2005	Shanghai, China	"This river city is known for its shopping, but the surprise is there is no Eiffel Tower."
5	November 11, 2005	Dubrovnik, Croatia (Dalmatian Coast)	"We've jumbled Cruella's evil plan."

Season 8 (2007)

April 30 – May 4

Day	Date	Location	Clue
1	April 30, 2007	Everett, Washington, USA (Boeing Everett Factory)	"This is the second time we've stopped in this country, but our last four trips all began here."
2	May 1, 2007	County Clare (Cliffs of Moher) and Galway, Ireland	"Clare speaks the language. But if you need translation, you'll find Ann holding it down when some of us hit the road."
3	May 2, 2007	Paro, Bhutan	"As the son also rises, power is money here, with billions on the horizon."
4	May 3, 2007	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	"Although we can't top the Himalayas, we will sail to new heights in a place that will soon host the world."
5	May 4, 2007	Cape of Good Hope and Cape Town, South Africa	"To the West, it is 10 degrees colder. To the East, there is warmth in the air. To the North, there's a seat at the table. To the South, there's a formal affair."

Season 9 (2008)

April 28 – May 2

Day	Date	Location	Clue
1	April 28, 2008	Buenos Aires, Argentina	"We'll travel great distances in almost no time and let a fair wind take us to a place where the people look in their prime...but the prime rate won't bust the bank."
2	April 29, 2008	Schermerhorn and Amsterdam, Netherlands	"The people in our second destination are accustomed to being looked down upon...we'll let the winds lead us to them...and we should get there on time...unless we stop for the lights."
3	April 30, 2008	Vientiane, Laos	"The country is an anagram of a synonym of a homophone of an even prime number." (prime number= two; homophone= too; synonym= also, anagram= (of also) Laos)
4	May 1, 2008	Istanbul, Turkey	"The prime rate you guessed, the red lights you saw through. The anagram even proved easy to chew. In this place you can rock and there's one heck of a mall, with a turn of the head, different continents call."
5	May 2, 2008	Praslin, Seychelles	"Many come here to see the natural wonders, but the national symbol is for your eyes only."

Season 10 (2011)

November 7 – November 11

Day	Date	Location	Clue
1	November 7, 2011	Walvis Bay, Namibia	"It conjures up thoughts of a child's worst fright, but there are no people to scare in this skier's delight."
2	November 8, 2011	Madrid, Spain	"Don Pardo might say it is a 'Pin in Earth in blue sea.' Its cup runneth over, high in the sky, where the best things can be free!"
3	November 9, 2011	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	"It may seem a bit unlucky, but we've moved ahead without you as we take an "L" to welcome you to this bridge over dry land."
4	November 10, 2011	Jungfraujoch, Switzerland	"Time is of the essence as we train our sights on where it all began for us back in 1998."
5	November 11, 2011	Sandy Lane Hotel, Barbados	"With the Alps to our backs, we make tracks for a party of epic proportions."

External links

• Where in the World is Matt Lauer? on MSNBC.com (Official site)