The first season of the international television game show Jeux sans frontières was held in summer 1965. Broadcasters from Belgium, France, Italy, and West Germany participated in the competition coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The competition featured teams from towns from those countries competing against each other two by two, broadcast live from both competing towns, to all the participating broadcasters via the Eurovision network, with the broadcaster of the neutral jury's location serving as the broadcaster responsible for transmission. The winners of this edition were the cities of Ciney, Belgium, and Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, France.
Overview
Jeux sans frontières ("Games Without Borders" in French) is an international television game show, based on the French programme Intervilles which was first broadcast in 1962. It was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which owned the format. In non-French-speaking countries, the show had alternative titles. It is also widely known as It's a Knockout, the title of the BBC's domestic version and national selection for the programme. The idea of the show came from French President Charles de Gaulle, whose wish was that French and German youth would meet in a series of games to reinforce the friendship between the two countries.
Format In its original conception, teams from Belgium, France, West Germany, and Italy competed each week in head-to-head competition between two cities or towns from two of the four competing countries. There would be sports events, but also studio-based quizzes each week. Eventually, all teams would have competed against each other and the teams with the highest cumulative points for each nation from the series would meet in two semi-finals, with the two winners meeting in the final.
Participants Country Broadcaster Code Colour Cities RTB B Yellow Binche Stavelot Ciney ORTF F Green Dax Orange Saint-Amand-les-Eaux RAI I Dark Blue Camogli Orvieto Ischia ARD D Red Warendorf Siegburg Lemgo
Heats Heat 1 Heat 1 was hosted on 26 May 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman , André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and (Lugano), was based in Paris, France. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was ORTF. Place Country Town Points 1 D Warendorf 4 2 F Dax 0
Heat 2 Heat 2 was hosted on 9 June 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman , Claude Évelyne (Geneva), Max Ernst (Zurich) and (Lugano), was based in Milan, Italy. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was RAI. Place Country Town Points 1 F Orange 7 2 I Camogli 5
Heat 3 Heat 3 was hosted on 23 June 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman , André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and Marco Blaser (Lugano), was based in Cologne, West Germany. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was ARD. Place Country Town Points 1 B Binche 4 2 D Siegburg 4
Heat 4 Heat 4 was hosted on 7 July 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and Mascia Cantoni (Lugano), was based in Paris, France. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was ORTF. Place Country Town Points 1 F Saint-Amand-les-Eaux 4 2 B Stavelot -2
Heat 5 Heat 5 was hosted on 21 July 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and (Lugano), was based in Zurich, Switzerland. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was TV DRS on behalf of SRG SSR TSI. Place Country Town Points 1 I Orvieto 10 2 D Lemgo 4
Heat 6 Heat 6 was hosted on 4 August 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and Fausto Sassi (Lugano), was based in Zurich, Switzerland. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was TV DRS on behalf SRG SSR TSI. Place Country Town Points 1 B Ciney 6 2 I Ischia 4
Semi-finals Semi-final 1 Semi-final 1 was hosted on 18 August 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and (Lugano), was based in Cologne, West Germany. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was ARD. Place Country Town Points 1 B Ciney 13 2 D Warendorf 13
Semi-final 2 Semi-final 2 was hosted on 1 September 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman André Rosat (Geneva), Max Ernst (Zurich) and Mascia Cantoni (Lugano), was based in Paris, France. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was ORTF. Place Country Town Points 1 F Saint-Amand-les-Eaux 7 2 I Orvieto 5
Final The final was hosted on 15 September 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and Mascia Cantoni (Lugano), was based in Paris, France. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was ORTF. Place Country Town Points 1 B Ciney 11 1 F Saint-Amand-les-Eaux 11
Broadcasts The competition was broadcast live from both competing towns to the participating broadcasters via the Eurovision network, with the broadcaster of the neutral jury's location serving as the broadcaster responsible for transmission. + Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries Country Broadcaster(s) Channel(s) Presenter(s)/Commentator(s) RTB RTB Pierre Brive, Paule Herreman and Jean-Claude Menessier ORTF Simone Garnier, Yvonne Kasawicz, Guy Lux, Joseph Pasteur and Léon Zitrone RAI Lea Landi, Giulio Marchetti and Enzo Tortora ARD Arnim Dahl, Camillo Felgen, , Lilo Katzke, Albert Raisner and Otto Ernst Rock
+ Broadcasters and commentators in non-participating countries Country Broadcaster Channel(s) Presenter(s)/Commentator(s) SRG SSR TSI TSR Georges Kleinmann TV DRS Ernst-Ludwig Freisewinkel
References