Gumball 3000

Entrants travel on public roads in a mixture of vehicles ranging from custom classic cars to hypercars, attending a VIP party, dinner or event each night. Rally participants pay an entry fee that is not publicly disclosed. Participants are split evenly each year between new and returning entrants — the latter referred to as alumni. All participants are referred to as Gumballers. Organisers emphasise that the event is a road trip and not a race, with the rally slogan "It's a rally, not a race".

The first Gumball 3000 took place in 1999, originating from a drive across Europe with Cooper's friends in supercars. The initial entry fee was $8,700 and participants used their own vehicles. The first event took inspiration from the Cannonball races of the 1970s — events held in honour of motorcycle racer Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, who had crossed the United States coast-to-coast in 54 hours in 1933. The first prize in those Cannonball events was a gumball machine, a possible origin of the brand name.

The first rally ran from London to Rimini, Italy and back to London. Coverage in the British media was extensive, with noted attendees including Kate Moss, Guy Ritchie, and Kylie and Dannii Minogue.

The 2000 rally began at Marble Arch in London, flew to Spain, and continued through Bilbao, Cannes, Milan, Hotel Bühlerhöhe Castle, the Nürburgring GP circuit, and Hamburg before returning to London. MTV filmed the 2001 rally for a Jackass Special that earned the network its highest ratings for that year. Entrants in 2001 included Formula One World Champion Damon Hill in a Lamborghini and comedian Vic Reeves in a Mercedes-AMG.

In 2002 the rally made the first coast-to-coast journey across the contiguous United States, from New York City to Los Angeles. Checkpoints included the White House, Graceland in Memphis, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and the Playboy Mansion. Participants included Donna Karan, Jodie Kidd, Amy Wesson and Matthew McConaughey.

In 2003 the film Gumball 3000: The Movie was released, a 98-minute feature directed by Steven Green and narrated by Burt Reynolds. The 2004 rally commenced at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, travelled through Biarritz, Madrid, Marbella, and Morocco, and finished in Cannes for the Cannes Film Festival.

Jenson Button waved the start flag for the 2005 rally, which travelled from London to Monte Carlo via Brussels, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Sicily, Rome and Florence. Participants included Caprice Bourret, Jodie Kidd, Jay Kay from Jamiroquai, and Ken Block.

The 2006 rally began in London, passed through Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade, then flew to Thailand, continued through Phuket and Bangkok, flew to Salt Lake City and finished at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Travis Barker participated, as did Martine McCutcheon who drove a pink Range Rover in an all-female team. A film, 3000 Miles, documented five entrants: skateboarders Tony Hawk, Bam Margera and Mike Vallely, BMX rider Mike Escamilla, and Margera's Jackass co-star Ryan Dunn.

The 2007 route was scheduled from London to Istanbul via Amsterdam, Munich, Tirana, Dubrovnik and Athens. The entrance fee was £28,000 for first-time drivers. That year, two people in North Macedonia died in a traffic incident when a TechArt Porsche 997 Turbo driven by Nicholas Morley collided with a Volkswagen Golf. Organisers cancelled the remainder of the rally as a mark of respect. Morley was subsequently convicted of "endangering traffic, leading to death" and received a two-year suspended sentence.

In 2008 the rally travelled from San Francisco to China, finishing at the Beijing Olympics, passing through Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas before flying to Nanjing, with a night in North Korea for the Mass Games.

More than 100 cars participated in the 2010 rally, which ran from London to New York via Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Boston, Quebec City and Toronto. It was on this rally that Cooper met Grammy-winning rapper Eve, whom he later married in 2014. The 2011 rally began at London's Covent Garden and finished in Istanbul, featuring David Hasselhoff, Eve, Xzibit and Tony Hawk.

The 2012 rally was a Sea to Shining Sea US route from New York to Los Angeles. In 2013, Chernin Entertainment and Warner Bros acquired the rights to develop a film based on the rally.

The 2014 rally, with a rumoured participant cost of £40,000, began in Miami, passed through Atlanta, New York City, Edinburgh, London, Paris and Barcelona before finishing on the island of Ibiza. Deadmau5 and co-driver Tory Belleci drove a Nyan Cat-inspired Ferrari 458 Spider named "Purrari" that received a cease-and-desist order from Ferrari; the car was later sold for $380,000.

In 2015, the rally ran from Stockholm to Las Vegas via Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Reno, San Francisco and Los Angeles, including a drive through Death Valley. Lewis Hamilton joined the final stage from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in a Koenigsegg Agera HH.

The 2016 rally ran from Dublin to Bucharest via Edinburgh, London, Rust, Prague and Budapest. David Coulthard and Jean Alesi participated, as did Eve, Afrojack, and a Lamborghini Gallardo styled as the Batmobile by Team Galag. Over one million fans attended across all locations.

The 2017 rally ran from Riga through Warsaw, Kraków, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Porto Montenegro, Tirana and Volos before finishing in Athens and Mykonos.

The 2018 rally began in London on 5 August and travelled via France and Italy before flying on a chartered Malaysia Airlines aircraft — stopping in Kazakhstan to refuel — to Osaka, Japan. Participating vehicles were flown to Japan via two cargo planes. The route continued from Osaka to Kyoto and Nanao before crossing the finish line in Tokyo.

The 2019 rally ran from Mykonos to Ibiza, passing through Thessaloniki, Porto Montenegro, Venice, Monaco and Barcelona. Afrojack participated in a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse and a Bugatti Chiron in matching blue camouflage livery.

The 2020 rally, planned from Toronto to Havana, Cuba, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic — the first full cancellation in Gumball 3000's history. It was subsequently postponed again in 2021.

The 22nd Annual Rally took place in May 2022 from Toronto, Canada to Miami, United States. The finish location was changed from Havana due to Cuba's relationship with Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The rally began on 27 May with a free public concert at Toronto's Yonge–Dundas Square, featuring rapper Bun B and Deadmau5. David Hasselhoff dropped the start flag. The route passed through Indianapolis — where participants watched the Indy 500 with VIP hospitality — Nashville and Atlanta before finishing at Inter Miami's DRV PNK Stadium, where the inaugural Gumball Goodwill Cup Charity Football Match took place, pitting the Gumball All-Stars XI against a Laureus Sport for Good World XI.

Also in November 2022, Gumball 3000 held a Middle East rally — the first time two rallies were held in a single year — running a circular route from Dubai through Oman via Jebel Akhdar, Salalah and Muscat, returning via Ras Al Khaimah before finishing in Abu Dhabi, where participants enjoyed VIP hospitality at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

In June 2023 the rally returned to Europe for the first time in four years, running from Edinburgh to Porto Montenegro via London, Amsterdam, Verbier, Venice and Budapest.

The 25th Anniversary Rally took place in September 2024 in South East Asia, beginning in Saigon, Vietnam, and passing through Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia before finishing in Singapore for the Singapore F1 Grand Prix. During the Cambodia stop, the Gumball 3000 Foundation held its annual charity auction and gala at Angkor Wat, raising over $600,000 for charitable projects. The event also achieved a Guinness World Record for the largest display of supercars at a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with 179 cars on display.

The 26th rally ran from Istanbul to Ibiza from 20–27 September 2025, with major stops in Bucharest, Belgrade, Florence, Nice and Valencia.

The Gumball 3000 Foundation was established in 2013 to benefit underprivileged youth through education and recreational infrastructure projects worldwide.

Gumball 3000 launched an apparel line designed in-house and in collaboration with fashion brands including Puma, Adidas, Guess and Kappa. From 2018 to 2023, Gumball 3000 partnered with Kappa on rally capsule collections; during the same period, it partnered with eyewear brand Carrera for limited-edition releases. In 2015, Guess designed exclusive drivers' jackets for participants and joined the Stockholm-to-Las Vegas rally in three Dodge Vipers.

In 2000 Top Trumps released a version of their card game under the Gumball 3000 brand. In 2002 a video game was released for the PlayStation 2, developed by Climax Studios and published by SCi. Gumball 3000 announced a five-year partnership with MTV in 2001, with MTV also covering the 2007 rally.

Gumball 3000 has released limited-edition toy cars with Hot Wheels, limited-edition watches with Nixon, Armin Strom, G-Shock, and in 2024 a 150-unit limited-edition Ulysse Nardin "Freak" model.

In 2023 Hard Rock was announced as an official hotel and casino partner in a long-term multi-million dollar sponsorship deal, including use of Hard Rock venues along rally routes and limited-edition menu items in Edinburgh, Venice, London and Budapest locations for the 2023 rally.

Pertamina is listed among automotive and fuel partnerships; automotive brands that have supported the rally include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Nissan, Rimac, Aston Martin and Koenigsegg.

Alcohol brand collaborations have included Jägermeister, Belaire, WhistlePig and XIX Vodka. The current "Gumball Orange" flavoured vodka with the Sidemen's XIX Vodka brand retails in Tesco and Wetherspoons locations in the UK; to promote it, Sidemen member Vikkstar drove in the 2024 rally in a Land Rover Defender 130 wrapped to match the bottle design.

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