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.[1]
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.[2]
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.[3]
Heat 1 was hosted on 26 May 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman Pierre Brive[fr], André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and Mascia Cantoni[it] (Lugano), was based in Paris, France. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was ORTF.
Heat 2 was hosted on 9 June 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman Georges Kleinmann[fr], Claude Évelyne (Geneva), Max Ernst (Zurich) and Grytzko Mascioni[it] (Lugano), was based in Milan, Italy. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was RAI.
Heat 3 was hosted on 23 June 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman Joseph Pasteur[fr], André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and Marco Blaser (Lugano), was based in Cologne, West Germany. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was ARD.
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.
Heat 5 was hosted on 21 July 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and Dario Robbiani[it] (Lugano), was based in Zurich, Switzerland. The broadcaster responsible for the transmission was TV DRS on behalf of SRG SSR TSI.
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.
Semi-final 1 was hosted on 18 August 1965. The neutral jury, composed of chairman André Rosat (Geneva), Lilo Haussener (Zurich) and Maria Maddalena Yon[it] (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
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