The World's Most Extreme Festivals (2016 - 2017)

Radio 1's Chris Stark dons a loincloth and enters Hadaka Matsuri; a 500-year-old Japanese festival of naked men fighting over lucky sticks in a temple. Around 10,000 men take part in this extremely dangerous annual event, including local school teacher Jun who will be entering for the 13th time. If you get the sticks – thrown by a monk into the crushing crowd – it is believed you will enjoy good fortune in the year ahead. Nervous after discovering people have been badly injured and died at the festival, Chris is invited to Jun's friendship party and joins his team for a crazy Saturday night in rural Japan. Stark-naked participation and insane scenes, let the battle for sacred sticks commence.

Beats, bikinis, biceps and binge-boozing - can Chris Stark survive a crazy 24 hours of hard partying with Spring Breakers in Cancun? His Spring Break experience begins at a pumping beach party and, as Chris embraces Spring Break's hedonism, he also discovers the downsides of excessive drinking. Following advice from Spring Break legend MC Miky, Chris dives in the deep end, from riding a Killer Seabreacher in Cancun's crocodile-filled lagoon, to being blasted with neon paint at Señor Frog's legendary club night.

Chris checks out axe-fighting, fire-breathing and viking football at Lithuania's Kilkim Zaibu festival. With the festival celebrating Pagan warfare and the cult of dark arts, Chris initially struggles to enjoy it and has a bloody nightmare interviewing black metal legends Archgoat. But his festival friends Dani and Simon are fired up to show him a good time, despite the relentless rain as heavy as the music. From entering the fight circle with real weapons to a ferocious circle pit, Chris headbangs until he becomes a metalhead.

For his final Extreme Festivals adventure of the year, Chris Stark travels to the edge of the Arctic Circle to experience the Norwegian wonder that is Træna. Only accessible by boat, the remote islands of Træna sees a small fishing community of hundreds become thousands when it transforms every summer into a Scandi party paradise with endless sunlight. Chris completes his epic journey on a sailing boat racing to the festival, before meeting his fierce festival friends Ragna and Mira (AKA bad girl Norweigian rap duo KUUK). Popping his Pride parade cherry and invited to perform with a giraffe on the main stage, will beautiful Træna blow his mind?