were held in the 1970s, with the first prize being a gumball machine. It has been suggested, this is where Cooper got the name for the event from. The first event took place in 1999, with the 3,000 mile journey starting in London, to Rimini, Italy and then back. Cooper planned different events on each night of the rally, ranging from parties to dinner events. The rally received coverage in the British media at the time as the rally and events surrounding The Gumball 3000 were attended by high-profile figures, such as Kate Moss and Guy Ritchie. The event commenced with a party at the Bluebird club in London. Cars that took place in this first rally included a British Police car borrowed from the British television show The Bill driven by Alexandra Aitken, a Lotus Esprit and a Lamborghini Diablo. Cooper made the decision not to use any form of timing or prizes for placed finishes in order to avoid criticism and promote safety. Following the success of the first Gumball 3000 rally, the second event in 2000 began at the Marble Arch in London, before heading to Stansted airport to fly over to Spain. The rally then continued through Bilbao, Cannes, Milan, Hotel Bühlerhöhe Castle, Nürburgring GP circuit and Hamburg, before heading back to the starting city, London. The 2000 event again attracted celebrities and high-profile names. They included Goldie and Cass Lewis in an Aston Martin V8, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Bruce Reynolds. The third Gumball 3000 saw the convoy travel from London through Berlin, Malbork, Vilnius, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Copenhagen before returning to London for the finale. The 106 cars that participated in the rally were filmed by MTV for a Jackass Special, the episode earned MTV their highest ratings for the year. Entrants who featured in the 2001 rally included Formula One World Champion Damon Hill in a Lamborghini and comedian Vic Reeves who drove a Mercedes-AMG. In 2002, the Gumball 3000 made the first coast-to-coast journey across the contiguous United States, from New York City to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Checkpoints along the route included a stop at the White House in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee for lunch in Elvis Presley's mansion, Graceland, then Texas, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, with the final stop at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Among the participants were