Jeux Sans Frontieres
Encyclopedia
Jeux Sans Frontières was a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

-wide television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

.

In its original conception, it was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25...

 and featured teams from different European countries in outlandish costumes (often large latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...

 suits) competing to complete bizarre tasks in funny games. The original series run ended in 1982 but was revived a few years later with a different complexion of nations and hosted by smaller broadcasters.

In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, participants came from the heats of It's a Knockout
It's a Knockout
It's a Knockout was adapted from the French show Intervilles. It ran between from 7 August 1966 to 25 December 1988 on BBC1, 28 May 1990 on ITV, 3 August 1991 to 24 December 1994 on S4C and from 3 September 1999 to 6 January 2001 on Channel 5, produced by Richard Hearsey and Ronin Entertainment...

. The original presenter was Macdonald Hobley, but he stayed for just one season before handing over to Katie Boyle
Katie Boyle
Katie Boyle is an Italian-born British actress, television personality, and game show panelist, well known for appearing on TV panel games such as What's My Line? and for presenting the Eurovision Song Contest in the 1960s and 1970s....

, who in turn was replaced by David Vine
David Vine
David Martin Vine was a British television sports presenter. He presented a wide variety of shows from the 1960s onwards.-Early life:...

 and Eddie Waring
Eddie Waring
Edward Marsden "Eddie" Waring was a British rugby league football coach, commentator and television presenter....

. It was not until 1971 that the presenter most associated with the role Stuart Hall
Stuart Hall (television presenter)
James Stuart Hall is a BBC radio and television presenter.Hall claims to have coined the phrase "The Beautiful Game" as a youngster to describe football...

, took over presenting the UK heats and also provided the British commentary for the international version along with Waring, who was better known as the BBC's Rugby League commentator. Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 had its own team between 1991 and 1994 and the programme was broadcast on S4C in Welsh by Iestyn Garlick.

The idea of the show came from French President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....

, whose wish was that French and German youth would meet in a series of funny games to reinforce the friendship between France and Germany. The games were inspired by the matches between French cities. Some games were played in swimming pools. In 1965, three French men (Pedro Brime, Claude Savarit, Jean-Louis Marest) brought the idea of the games to all Europe with success. Teams representing France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 took part in the first edition of the show called Inter Nations Games.

Each participating country hosted one round of the games, presented by the host broadcaster. Every game was umpired by one or two "international" judges. The first judges became household names in the UK Gennaro Olivieri
Gennaro Olivieri (television personality)
Gennaro Olivieri was a Swiss ice hockey referee, better known in the English speaking world for his role as the main official overseeing the 1980s Jeux Sans Frontières TV shows, usually working with colleague and friend Guido Pancaldi.-Professional background:Olivieri refereed around 200...

 (1922–2009) and Guido Pancaldi (1922-2011). Both were Swiss and had been international ice-hockey referees (although Pancaldi is often wrongly referred to as being Italian, probably due to his coming from the Italian speaking Canton of Ticino). Olivieri, from the French speaking Canton of Neuchatel, referreed the Olympic Ice Hockey Final at the Winter Games in Innsbruck in 1964.

Judges

  • Gennaro Olivieri
    Gennaro Olivieri (television personality)
    Gennaro Olivieri was a Swiss ice hockey referee, better known in the English speaking world for his role as the main official overseeing the 1980s Jeux Sans Frontières TV shows, usually working with colleague and friend Guido Pancaldi.-Professional background:Olivieri refereed around 200...

     (1965 - 1982)
  • Guido Pancaldi (1966 - 1989)
  • Mike Swann (1988 - 1989)
  • Bernard Galley (1990 - 1991)
  • Denis Pettiaux
    Denis Pettiaux
    Denis Pettiaux is a Belgian acrobat and former referee of the EBU production Jeux Sans Frontières.His first contact with Jeux Sans Frontières was in 1981 when he participates in an episode in the French town of Annecy. The Belgian team played Pettiaux on a tightrope walking game and also played...

     (1990 - 1999)
  • Carlo Pegoraro (1996, 1998 - 1999)
  • Arthur Ellis (1971 - 1982)
  • Nenad Romano (1979 - 1982)
  • Bernhard Galley (1990 - 1992) (not sure on time)
  • Denis Pettiaux
    Denis Pettiaux
    Denis Pettiaux is a Belgian acrobat and former referee of the EBU production Jeux Sans Frontières.His first contact with Jeux Sans Frontières was in 1981 when he participates in an episode in the French town of Annecy. The Belgian team played Pettiaux on a tightrope walking game and also played...

     (1990 - 1999)

Participating countries and wins (summer competitions)

Between the span of 1965 and 1999, 20 countries participated in 30 editions of JSF (considering Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 as separate participants):
Country Years of participation Editions Wins
1965–1982, 1988–1989 20 2
1965–1980 16 6
1965–1968, 1970–1982, 1988–1992, 1997–1999 25 3
1965–1982, 1988–1999 30 4
1967–1975, 1977–1982, 1992–1999 24 2
1967–1982,1991–1994 20 4
1970–1977, 1997–1998 10 0
1976 1 * 0
1978–1982, 1990 6 0
1979–1982, 1988–1998 15 5
1988, 1990–1992 4 1
1989–1991 3 0
1992 1 0
1992 1 1
1993–1995 3 2
1993–1999 7 1
1993–1999 7 3
1994, 1996–1997, 1999 4 0
1994–1995 2 0

  • Liechtenstein
    Liechtenstein
    The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...

     participated in 1976, replacing Switzerland
    Switzerland
    Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

     in one single heat, and using thus the code FL (instead of CH).


When a team from Belfast represented Great Britain, they were identified as 'NI' for Northern Ireland rather than GB. Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 participated from 1991 to 1994 on behalf of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and were identified by the code GB in mainland Europe and by C (Cymru, the Welsh name for Wales) in Wales itself. Welsh was the transmission language of the participating broadcaster (S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...

).

Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 participated in 1992 with Czech teams only. There was no Slovak participation in JSF that year. In 1993 the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 entered the show as an independent country.

The show inspired Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...

's 1980 hit single, "Games Without Frontiers
Games Without Frontiers (song)
"Games Without Frontiers" is a hit 1980 single by Peter Gabriel, released on his third self-titled solo album. It features Kate Bush on backing vocals and became his first UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #4. It ties with 1986's Sledgehammer as his highest-charting song in the UK. It peaked at #48 in the...

" (the direct English translation of the title), in which backing vocalist Kate Bush sings "jeux sans frontières" during breaks. The lyrics also refer to the original title: "It's A Knockout".

Revival attempts

The EBU announced plans to relaunch the series in summer 2007 with Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Italy thought to be participating countries. However due to financial setbacks, the plans were put on hold - originally for 12 months but later abandoned altogether.

Parody

The BBC Radio 4 comedy programme I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again was a BBC radio comedy programme which originated from the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus...

 featured a version called Guerre Sans Frontieres where Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 always had to play the Joker
Joker (playing card)
Joker is a special type of playing card found in most modern decks, or else a type of tile in some Mahjong game sets.-Name:It is believed that the term "Joker" comes from a mispronunciation of Jucker, the German/Alsatian name for the game Euchre. The card was originally introduced in about 1860 for...

.

See also

  • It's a Knockout
    It's a Knockout
    It's a Knockout was adapted from the French show Intervilles. It ran between from 7 August 1966 to 25 December 1988 on BBC1, 28 May 1990 on ITV, 3 August 1991 to 24 December 1994 on S4C and from 3 September 1999 to 6 January 2001 on Channel 5, produced by Richard Hearsey and Ronin Entertainment...

  • Telematch
    Telematch
    Telematch was the name of a German television show broadcast during the 1970s till 1979 and based on its French counterpart Intervilles. It first consisted of a match between teams from two German towns . The match was composed of several games. For each game the participants would typically dress...

  • Jeux Sans Frontières 1991-1992
    Jeux Sans Frontières 1991-1992
    Jeux Sans Frontières was a Europe-wide television game show. : orange : blue : white : red- Heat 1 :- Heat 2 :- Heat 3 :- Heat 4 :- Semi-Final :Semi-Final tables- Final :...

  • Jeux Sans Frontières 1993
    Jeux Sans Frontières 1993
    : white and red : orange : red : blue and white : yellow : light blue : green-Rhyl, Wales:-Passariano, Italy:-Loèche-les-Bains, Switzerland:-Amarousion, Greece:-Coimbra, Portugal:...

  • Jeux Sans Frontières 1994
    Jeux Sans Frontières 1994
    : cerise : orange : red : dark blue : yellow : light blue : white : light green : dark green-Batalha, Portugal:-Valletta, Malta:-Hradec Králové, Czech Republic:...

  • Jeux Sans Frontières 1995
    Jeux Sans Frontières 1995
    : red : orange : dark blue : yellow : light blue : white : green-Milan, Italy:-Brno, Czech Republic:-Milan, Italy:-Vilamoura, Portugal:-Milan, Italy:-Athens, Greece:...

  • Jeux Sans Frontières 1996
    Jeux Sans Frontières 1996
    : red : blue : yellow : white : green : fuchsia-Heat 1:-Heat 2:-Heat 3:-Heat 4:-Heat 5:-Heat 6:-Heat 7:-Heat 8:-Heat 9:...

  • Jeux Sans Frontières 1997
    Jeux Sans Frontières 1997
    : light blue : dark blue : yellow : white : orange : green : fuchsia : red-Heat 1:Broadcast Date : Monday 30 June 1997;Venue: Óbuda Esplanade, Budapest, Hungary...

  • Jeux Sans Frontières 1998
    Jeux Sans Frontières 1998
    : light blue : dark blue : yellow : white : orange : green : red-Heat 1:Venue: Palazzo delle Albere, Trento, Italy-Heat 2:Venue: Palazzo delle Albere, Trento, Italy-Heat 3:...

  • Jeux Sans Frontières 1999
    Jeux Sans Frontières 1999
    : light blue : dark blue : yellow : white : green : red-Heat 1:Broadcast Date : Monday 5 July 1999Venue: Castello Aragonese, Le Castella-Heat 2:Broadcast Date : Monday 12 July 1999...


External links

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