but first, back in april, christa headed to norway to try her hand at playing musical instruments made out of ice. she's so cool! i start my trip at norway's ice music festival in finse. you're really feeling, you can see it in the air — it is cold here. word is, it's going to reach a low of —24 tonight. so i'd better rug up. what makes this festival extra—special is that the instruments are actually made on the day from nearby ice. i really like it cos it's kind of the sound of nature. it doesn't sound like anything else you have ever heard. we don't get to practise, so the music gets made on the stage

in front of the audience and that's really special. i think people are like, "what, is this possible?" it is almost not possible so it's pretty cool that we can do it. i guess there's a lot of folk music in it, it's very nordic, with the ice and snow and cold winters. just in the nick of time, all is ready and we gather for an evening of ice music. singing. applause.

in the 1960s, beirut was the height of glamour, dubbed the paris of the middle east. and few spots epitomised this ideal better than one of the city's five—star destinations. this commemorative book was produced a few years ago to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the hotel, and when you look through it, it really gives you an idea of the calibre of celebrity who have stayed here. they've got marlon brando.

there's brigitte bardot. even the great muhammad ali. today, a generation of young lebanese are determined to shake the dust and debris from the city's reputation. and it's the nightlife that's really putting beirut back on the map. the music hall is one of the capital's most famous venues, hosting a cabaret packed with an eclectic mix of musicalforms. i said i'm going to create a place where you have extremes, it can be classical music and then something that is totally punk or very kitsch.

i try to work on cultural entertainment. usually those two words do not meet because entertainment is nightlife and alcohol, and culture is museums and theatres. with its bill celebrating both the city's prewar golden age and contemporary music trends, the music hall offers a vision of beirut comfortable with its past and living in the moment. this beautiful, grand and iconic building is city hall and it's from that balcony that mandela gave his first speech after being released from prison. back then, this entire area

was completely jam—packed with people, eager to catch a glimpse of him and hear what he had to say. but almost a quarter of a century after the end of apartheid in 1994, i wanted to see how far these hopes for the rainbow nation have come. we are on our way to mitchells plain, a township in the suburbs of the city. in the past, people from areas like this just would not get many opportunities but things are slowly changing, giving the next generation the chance for their talents to be recognised. at the neighbourhood dance studio, children aged as young as four are having their final rehearsals ahead of a prestigious ballroom competition. their footwork is impressive. it's bringing young south africans from all backgrounds together. it's a new day and it's showtime, a dazzling parade of

sequins, lycra and colour. we're here at the super series national championship and people have come from all over the country to compete on this dance floor. although events like this are now a regular part of the calendar across south africa, it is sobering to remember that not so long ago, under apartheid, it was socially taboo for black and white couples to dance together, so competitions like this would be unthinkable. i remember when we did ourfirst competition in johannesburg and we were the only black children dancing in the competition, and we were in the corner. i remember being invisible. i remember being a champion, knowing what it means to be a champion but also not really being recognised. i remember them not knowing my name. the amazing thing about seeing the born—free generation which is they don't really know what it feels like to see or feel segregation.

you actually see couples who are dancing from two different, you know, a white boy and a black girl dancing together, and i think that's amazing. well done! no—one would deny the country still has some way to go before fulfilling mandela's dream, but in their own small way, step by step, the young hopefuls here in cape town are doing their bit to carry his legacy into the future. to end this look back at 2018, we couldn't finish without remembering that this year we said goodbye to a familiar travel show face. he has now swapped being on the tv for playing a leading man in hollywood. ever since i can remember, my family has been my whole life. rachel! henry has been with us since the start, back in 2014. we've had plenty of adventures

together, clocked up countless miles, and hollywood success could not have happened to a nicer bloke, so good luck, henry, and as a parting gift from everyone here on the travel show, here are your best bits. a baby. what's the baby's name? his name mina. mina, wow, so small. they're determined to make me sweat even more. i've got a fair way to go yet.

straight, straight. i don't want to rip my pants. you're much stronger than i am. this ride is getting bumpier and bumpier. it's almost like trying to stay on a bucking bronco. 0h! i'm done, i'm finished. i'm going to go home and rest my sore bum, i think. it's been a long day. so that's it for our look back on 2018. i hope you've enjoyed following us on our travels this year

and willjoin us in 2019 as we hit the road to bring you some of the best stories from around the world and, you never know, maybe even provide you with inspiration for your next trip. until then, from me, ade adepitan, and all the travel show presenters and the crew on the programme, we'd like to wish you, wherever you are, a happy and healthy new year. see you in 2019. good evening, the sun has set on another day. cloudy sort of day, we did have some beautiful sunset pictures sent in by our weather watchers. this was the scene in aberdeen earlier in the evening. as we head through the rest of tonight, in fact for the final few days of 2018, no great changes in the

weather. we have high pressure, still pretty cloudy, mild and mostly dry. not everywhere, there's a bit of rain in forecast across the northern half of the uk. that's courtesy of this front that you can see here. we have high pressure to the self, but this fairly weak front will bring patchy rain across northern ireland for the next three hours. tonight that patchy rain works its way across scotland into northern england as well. clear spells down towards east anglia and the southeast for the longest. that's where the temperatures will fall to lowest. there will be a touch of frost across the southeast with temperatures falling just a degree or two above freezing. elsewhere, it's looking generally frost free, with quite a lot of cloud. patchy rain first thing tomorrow. tomorrow, similar to what we had today, most places its drive. that rain will lingerfor we had today, most places its drive. that rain will linger for the northern isles, the clouds will be thick enough for patchy drizzles. the best of any sunshine tomorrow will be for eastern scotland in the east coast of england as well. it's going to be mild, the temperatures

around ten to 12 degrees on sunday. looking ahead into new year's eve on monday, high—pressure, well and truly in the driving season dominating our weather. light winds for much of the country, whether french is lingering to the north will bring a bit of rain for new year's eve across the northwest of scotland. perhaps thinking little bit further south later on in the day, for the self that should stay dry. a lot of clouds, could be missed and fogged over the hills in the west will stop best of any brightness again will be in the east. temperatures on the mild side, double figures wherever you are. if you have plans to see in the new year outdoors, things are looking drive. again, mostly cloudy conditions, it could be a bit of mist and fog. if you have plans to watch some of those fireworks. looking ahead to new year's day, high pressure will be the driving feature. we have got a week weather front to bring just a few spots of light rain in the north. generally, a lot of dry reasonably mild weather as we look ahead towards new year's

day. a bit of a change as those temperatures start to take a bit to the deck, so slightly colder more wintry weather as we head to the first week of 2019. this is bbc news. i'm carole walker. the headlines at 7pm. the rising number of migrants crossing the channel in small boats the home secretary cuts short his holiday and the immigration minister visits dover to discuss the issue. he is on his way back and he will be at his desk on monday but yes, he is taking control of the situation and i'm in regular contact with him and we had a conference calljust yesterday. one person has died and 23 people have been taken to hospital after a minibus overturned in the scottish borders. more than £100 million is to be spent chartering extra ferries to bring in vital supplies in the event of a no—deal brexit. also in the next hour, more than 1,000 people are named in the new year's honours list. they include the british divers

who rescued a boys football team