The UK might be in the grips of Love Island fever right now, but the show’s popularity doesn’t stop at the border.
While our version is screened around the world, a whole host of countries have also launched their own take on the hit format – although we’re not quite sure how catchphrases including ‘grafting’ and ‘cracking on’ have translated in German, French or Polish.
As the meteoric rise of Love Island shows no signs of slowing down any time soon, we’re taking a closer look at how the international versions of the show compare...
Love Island Germany 🇩🇪
The German version of Love Island was the first international edition to launch, with the first series airing on RTL II in 2017.
Hosted by presenter and model Jana Ina, it is locally called Love Island: Heiße Flirts & wahre Liebe, which translates as Hot Flirts and True Love.
As with the UK show, the villa is located in Mallorca, Spain, which is a traditional property that has been given a modern vibe.
So far, there have been five series, two of which which were produced in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the fourth series, Cathy Hummels presented some episodes after Jana contracted the virus.
All German series of Love Island have been relatively short, clocking in at between three to four weeks, which pales in comparison to our eight week runs.
Love Island Australia 🇦🇺
Australia’s version of Love Island is arguably the most famous of the international ones, with its explosive action making headlines here in the UK in 2018 before we could even watch it.
Its first series began just days before our fourth season kicked off, sparking speculation there could be some description of cross-over given the villa was located in the same region of Mallorca as ours.
While that never came to be, Australia’s version became a hit for digital channel 9Go!, pulling in around 500,000 viewers an episode when catch-up figures were included.
The series is hosted by singer, model and Bachelorette Australia star Sophie Monk, with Irish comedian Eoghan McDermott as the narrator. Fun fact: He got the gig after originally auditioning for Iain Stirling’s job on the UK show.
The first run was won by Grant Crapp and Tayla Damir, who took home $50,000AU (£27,000).
The series also featured a familiar face to UK fans in the shape of contestant John James Parton, who was previously a housemate on Big Brother UK 11, famously forging a relationship with winner Josie Gibson.
After weeks of watching YouTube clips and reading news stories online, bosses eventually brought the show to our shores, airing it on ITVBe in late 2018. This was then repeated on ITV2 in 2020 in lieu of a new UK series.
The second series of Love Island Australia, which aired in 2019, moved to a new villa in Fuji and was promoted to Nine’s primary channel. The series was won by Anna McEvoy and Josh Packham.
The show is confirmed to return in 2021, with reports suggesting it will take place in an Australian villa on the Gold Cost, due to the pandemic.
Love Island Belgium and the Netherlands 🇧🇪/🇳🇱
The two nations have teamed up to produce a Dutch-Flemish version of Love Island, featuring contestants from both countries.
The first series kicked off in May 2019 with two hosts – Belgium’s Viktor Verhulst and the Netherlands’ Holly Mae Bread – and two narrators, Rinie van Den Elzen/Kaj van der Ree from the Netherlands, and Jeroen Verdick from Belgium.
While the villa used in the first series was also located in Spain, this modern abode was housed on the island of Gran Canaria.
For its second series in 2020, the villa relocated to a much more spacious property in the hills of the Spanish island. Sander Lantinga also took over narration in the Netherlands.
It airs on Dutch channel RTL 5 Videoland and Belgium’s Vier, and their joint trailer for the first series took massive inspiration from the UK used to promote the fourth run back in 2018.
Love Island Sweden 🇸🇪
Love Island launched in Sweden in August 2018, with 13 Islanders making their way into the villa in the hope of finding love over the six weeks it was on air.
The Swedish presenter comes in the shape of radio host Malin Stenback, who also copied an outfit as worn by Caroline Flack in the UK series four advert for this promo shot. She was joined by Malin Gramer for the second series in 2019.
The Swedish villa is located on the island of Corfu in Greece, and dare we say it, it looks a little bit basic – although it still features familiar elements like the firepit and a swimming pool.
The first series was won by Jacob Olsson & Victoria Eklund Gustafsson, and they chose love over money, opting to share the 500,000 krona prize (£41,000), while the second season saw Sofia Jenks and Simon Dannert crowned winners.
Love Island Norway 🇳🇴
Norway coupled up with Love Island in 2018, but their romance was short-lived as it was cancelled after just one series.
The show, which aired on TV3, was hosted by Norwegian singer Tone Damli, who found fame on the Norwegian version of Pop Idol in 2005.
The eagle-eyed among you may also notice that Norway used the same Canary Islands villa as the Belgian/Dutch version – albeit with a few tweaks.
The series was won by couple Andrea Sveinsdottir & Morten Dalhaug, who pocketed a cash prize of NOK 500,000 (£45,500).
However, the show was revived by rival network TV2 in early 2020, with the villa moving to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Morten Hegset taking over as host.
The winners were later named as Nora Haukland and Johannes Klemp.
A third series is due to air in 2021.
Love Island Denmark 🇩🇰
The Danish edition only lasted one season after launching in October 2018.
The series was also set in the same villa as the original Norwegian and Belgian/Dutch versions, again with some minor decorative changes.
The show was hosted by radio and TV presenter Lisbeth Østergaard, with narration from Dan Andersen, who you can see together below in the villa.
Love Island Denmark was won by Julie Melsen & Oliver Erngart, who decided to split the 250,000 kroner (£29,700) prize during the final decider.
Love Island Finland 🇫🇮
It was announced Finland was one of the Nordics launching their own version of Love Island in 2018, with the first series beginning at the end of September and lasting for two months.
The Finnish edition originally came from a palatial-looking villa in Marbella on the Costa Del Sol, but it changed locations to a similarly impressive pad on the Estepona coast in Malaga in Spain.
The show was fronted by Shirly Karvinen for the first two series, with narration coming from stand-up comic Riku Sottinen.
Veronica Verho is set to take over as host of the third season, which is due to air in 2021.
Aura Lampi & Jeffrey Lawman were crowned the winning couple of the first series, bagging €25,000 (£22,300), which they said they’d be spending on a washing machine and a trip to Paris. We’re guessing washing machines are seriously expensive in Finland.
The second series in 2019 was won by Islanders Sofia and Eetu.
Love Island France 🇫🇷
The French edition was the most recent international launch, kicking off in March 2020. However, just two weeks into filming, the series was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The contestants had been flown out to Cape Town in South Africa, where they stayed in one of the most stylish villas we’ve seen on our worldwide tour.
The show was hosted by Nabilla Benattia, who also served as the narrator of the series.
After the series was pulled from the air, a vote for the winning couple was opened, with Angele and Tristan later being declared the winners.
Prior to its suspension, Love Island France was also the first to debut on a streaming service, airing exclusively on Prime Video.
Love Island USA 🇺🇸
The US version of Love Island launched with great fanfare on the CBS network in 2019, and boasted perhaps the most impressive of all the international villas, with a beachside residence in Fuji.
Social media star Arielle Vandenberg was brought into host the series, with comedian Matthew Hoffman on narrating duties.
After a month in the villa, Zac Mirabelli and Elizabeth Weber were crowned the winning couple, scooping $100,000.
Producers had to think on their feet when the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, and the show was relocated closer to home for the second series due to international travel restrictions.
Instead of a villa, the contestants lived on the top of The Cromwell Hotel in Las Vegas, which was transformed to look like a Love Island pad. The Islanders all quarantined and were tested for Covid-19 before entering the ‘villa’.
After the first US series aired in the UK on ITVBe, the second was promoted to ITV2 and saw Justine Ndiba and Caleb Corprew crowned winners.
The show returned for a third series in 2021, moving locations yet again – this time to Hawaii in the biggest villa the franchise has ever seen.
Yes, that is a huge water slide you can see in the villa tour.
Love Island Hungary 🇭🇺
Love Island came to Hungary in September 2019, with the villa located in Paphos in Cyprus.
The show is one of the few editions to have a male host, who comes in the form of Lali Csoro.
Eleven Islanders initially entered the villa (and is it just us or does this promo picture look awfully familiar?) and after six weeks Zsofi Nemeth & Tician Lakatos emerged as the winning couple.
A second series was commissioned for 2020, but was placed on an indefinite hold due to the pandemic.
Love Island Poland 🇵🇱
Like Hungary, Love Island aired its first series in Poland in September 2019, on the TV Polsat network. Locally, it is known as Love Island – Island Of Love.
Karolina Gilon serves as the show’s host, with Sylwia Madeńska and Mikołaj Jędruszczak emerging as the winners of the first series, taking home PLN 100,000.
A second series began airing in August 2020, and was won by Julia Nowakowska and Dominik Grot.
It was later announced Love Island Poland would be returning for two series in 2021, with the second due to kick off in the autumn.
Love Island Spain 🇪🇸
Spain has a long association with Love Island, having been the home of the UK summer series since 2015, but it has taken six years for the country to get its own version.
The show chose Gran Canaria as the setting for the show, and the villa may already look a little familiar to those paying attention – it is the same one the a Dutch-Flemish version introduced in its second series.
Hosted by Spanish actor Cristina Pedroche, the first series kicked off in April 2021, and saw 10 Islanders introduced in the launch episode.
Among them emerged the winning couple, Celia Zanon and Miguel Lopez, who took home 50,000 euros.
Love Island Italy 🇮🇹
Love Island Italy was another international version to debut in 2021, but that’s not the only thing it shares in common with the Spanish edition – it too also shares the Gran Canaria villa from the Dutch-Flemish show.
As with the French version, the show premiered on a streaming service, on the Italian Discovery Plus platform.
It is hosted by social media influencer Giulia de Lellis, and began airing in June.
Love Island South Africa 🇿🇦
South Africa served as the setting for the UK show in 2020, and the following year, the country finally got their own version, which was produced locally in a villa in Cape Town.
Actor Leandie du Randt was unveiled as the host of the show, with the first series kicking off in late February 2021.
However, in the lead up to its launch, the show faced much criticism for not having enough diversity in its cast.
Love Island SA’s distributor DStv told the BBC there would be more diversity later on in the show, saying: “Viewers can be assured that this will become more apparent in future episodes of Love Island SA.”
The series also faced criticism over its production values, with the network later apologising and promising to fix issues with production and editing.
The first series of Love Island South Africa was won by Libho Geza & Thimna Shooto.