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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 features 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. The winners of this edition were the cities of Ciney, Belgium, and Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, France. ^[1]

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. ^[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]

Participants

Country	Broadcaster	Code	Colour	Cities
Belgium	RTB	B	Yellow	Binche
				Stavelot
				Ciney
France	ORTF	F	Green	Dax
				Orange
				Saint-Amand-les-Eaux
Italy	RAI	I	Dark Blue	Camogli
				Orvieto
				Ischia
West Germany	ARD	D	Red	Warendorf
				Siegburg
				Lemgo

Heats

Heat 1

Heat 1 was hosted on 26 May 1965.

Heat 2

Heat 2 was hosted on 9 June 1965.

Heat 3

Heat 3 was hosted on 23 June 1965.

Heat 4

Heat 4 was hosted on 7 July 1965.

Heat 5

Heat 5 was hosted on 21 July 1965.

Heat 6

Heat 6 was hosted on 4 August 1965.

Semi-finals

Semi-final 1

Semi-final 1 was hosted on 18 August 1965.

Semi-final 2

Semi-final 2 was hosted on 1 September 1965.

Final

The final was hosted on 15 September 1965.

Broadcasts

The competition was broadcast live from both competing towns to the participating broadcasters via the Eurovision network.

Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries

Country	Broadcaster(s)	Channel(s)	Presenter(s)/Commentator(s)	Ref.
Belgium	RTB	RTB	Pierre Brive, Paule Herreman and Jean-Claude Menessier	[3]
France	ORTF	Première Chaîne	Simone Garnier, Yvonne Kasawicz, Guy Lux, Joseph Pasteur and Léon Zitrone
Italy	RAI	Secondo Programma	Lea Landi, Giulio Marchetti and Enzo Tortora
West Germany	ARD	Deutsches Fernsehen	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)	Ref(s)
Switzerland	SRG SSR TSI	TV DRS	Georges Kleinmann	[3]
		SSR TV	Ernst-Ludwig Freisinkel

References