Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

The man behind the music of the Paris opera house

Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera premiered in London in 1986 and went on to become one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history. It is based on a novel by the French writer Gaston Leroux, published in 1910, which drew on real rumours about a ghost haunting the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris. The musical's blend of romance, horror and grand orchestral writing helped turn it into a global phenomenon.

An imaginary line with real consequences

The Equator passes through several African countries, including the Congo, as well as Ecuador, Brazil and Indonesia. Along this line, day and night are roughly equal in length throughout the year, and the climate tends to be hot and humid. Ships and explorers once used the Equator as a navigational reference, and crossing it still inspires playful ceremonies at sea.

One mountain range, many borders

The Alps stretch across eight countries, including France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. This makes the range a natural border and a shared cultural space rather than a feature of any single nation. Ski resorts, hiking trails and mountain passes link these countries, and several languages, from French and German to Italian and Slovene, are spoken across the region.

A river that links central Europe

The Danube flows through ten countries, more than any other river in the world, passing through Germany, Austria, Hungary and beyond before reaching the Black Sea. For centuries it served as a trade route and a cultural corridor between western and eastern Europe. Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade all sit on its banks, and its waters have inspired composers, poets and painters.

A peninsula with many neighbours

Spain occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with Portugal and the tiny principality of Andorra. A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides, and Iberia is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Bay of Biscay. This geography has shaped Spain's climate, its fishing traditions and its long history of maritime exploration.