If you grew up in the 1970s or 1980s, you probably eagerly postponed going to bed just to watch this show! You might have chosen a team to support, followed every point, and asked your parents where each country was located. The popular show “Games Without Borders”, which took place across Europe, was first broadcast in 1965 under the umbrella of the European Broadcasting Union.
You surely remember how the show looked — teams of different nations “competed” in funny and entertaining games, in even funnier costumes, in pools or on dry land.
The first judges of the show became well-known names in every household that owned a television. The Swiss Gennaro Olivieri and Guido Pancaldi were previously ice hockey referees, and they hosted the show from the 1960s until 1982 and 1989 respectively. Since they came from a canton where Italian was the primary language, viewers often mistakenly thought they were Italian.
The idea for “Games Without Borders” came from the former President of France, Charles de Gaulle, who wanted to bring France and Germany closer together.
In the first edition of the competition, France, Germany, Belgium, and Italy participated. Later, other European countries joined, including SFR Yugoslavia. Our former country made its debut in this entertaining program in 1978.
Yugoslavia participated six times but never won the competition. Each European country hosted one round of the games, and Yugoslavia hosted in Belgrade (1981) and Vrnjačka Banja (1990).
“Games Without Borders” was organized until 1999. Germany had the most victories, winning the competition six times. Portugal is in second place (5 wins), and the United Kingdom is in third place (4 wins).
