In the beginning round, open auditions are held at four cities across Afghanistan: Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, and a fourth city which alternates every season (season one, the Tora Bora mountain range; season two, Badakhshan; season three, Ghor). Contestants have been known to trek over three hundred miles across minefields, glaciers, and poppy fields to reach one of the four cities in time. The three judges of the show, who rotate every round out of a pool of twelve, will select twelve contestants from each city to advance to the national round. These candidates are given an all-expenses paid trip to Kabul in a disused T-80 Russian tank, at which point the show truly begins.