Thousands turned out to watch a real-life Wacky Races as home-made cars hurtled down a hill course at Alexandra Palace.

The Red Bull Soapbox Race returned to the UK for the first time since 2022 on Saturday, June 22, with 59 teams racing through the grounds of Alexandra Palace.

The winners of the 2024 contest were The Hurry Houdinis from London.

Spectators were entertained by teams' bizarre and fantastic vehicle designs.

The Hurry Houdinis said it felt 'electric' to win (Image: Leo Francis / Red Bull Content Pool)

These included a Harry Potter-inspired 'Knight Bus', Fast and Furniture’s sideways Simpson’s sofa, and No Kane, No Gain’s 'Harry Crane' vehicle.

More than 250 teams applied to join this year's race, with some coming from as far afield as Glasgow and Northern Ireland.

Freestyle skier and Red Bull athlete Kirsty Muir, former The Traitors contestant and BMX star Matt Harris, professional mountain bike rider Jono Jones, and fitness lifestyle creator Esme Gummer formed this year's judging panel.

They judged on participants' creativity, speed, and showmanship.

The judging panel included athletes and lifestyle creatorsThe judging panel included athletes and lifestyle creators (Image: Leo Francis / Red Bull Content Pool)

The Hurry Houdinis said it felt "electric" to win.

After lifting the trophy, the team said: "We can’t believe we have actually won.

"When we arrived and saw all the other carts, we thought we would have been lucky to get in the top 1 or 2.

"We will be back to defend the title with a few tricks up our sleeves to make it bigger and better for the next race."

The 'Harry Crane' flew the flag for EnglandThe 'Harry Crane' flew the flag for England (Image: Leo Francis / Red Bull Content Pool)

The Every Can Counts team finished third - up 24 places from their last race - with their "recycling truck" soapbox called "Chitty Chitty Can Can".

Other soapbox designs were inspired by Mario Kart, Taylor Swift, and Peaky Blinders.

However, not all teams reached the finish line—Swifty Air, inspired by Taylor Swift, crashed into haybales.

This year’s event also saw the Creators Race for the first time, broadcast live on Red Bull’s YouTube Channel.

Straight out of the Wizarding WorldStraight out of the Wizarding World (Image: Will Douglas / Red Bull Content Pool)

The fastest creators down the track during the half-time race were ItalianBach & Arthur TV.

Red Bull has held more than 100 Soapbox races globally since the first one in Brussels in 2000.

For more information and race highlights, visit: https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/events/red-bull-soapbox-race-london.