automobile competition over a specified public route with a driver and navigator attempting to keep to a predetermined schedule between checkpoints. The course is generally unknown to contestants until the start of the rally. Such competition began in 1907 with a Beijing-to-Paris event of about 12,000 km (7,500 miles). The Monte-Carlo Rally, with various starting points, began in 1911 and continued thereafter except for wartime interruptions. Rallies became very popular after World War II in Europe and elsewhere, and international competitions were instituted. Weekend rallies came to be common worldwide, ranging from those held by local clubs to events sponsored by larger organizations. The Dakar (Senegal) Rally, first held in 1978, covers up to 15,000 km (9,300 miles) and is considered among the most grueling rally events. (In 2009 the Dakar Rally was relocated to South America after its organizers, citing terrorist threats in Africa, cancelled the 2008 race.) The longest was the London-to-Sydney rally in 1977, about 31,107 km (19,329 miles).