[a] It is also widely known in English as It's a Knockout, the title of the BBC's domestic version that was its national selection for the international competition.
The show spawned a winter version held in ski resorts, and single-episode Christmas specials.
Teams representing France, West Germany, Belgium, and Italy took part in the first edition of the show held that same year with the title Inter Nations Games.
Historic market squares or the grounds of famous buildings were often used for the settings, although the surrounds of swimming pools or quay sides for lakes or the sea were very commonly used.
Infamously, a freak storm suddenly hit the 1970 Grand Final staged in the Verona Amphitheatre, leading to the unprotected audience having to flee from the torrential rain and the presenters being stranded without protection, but the show continued.
A team from Derry represented the UK in the German heat of the 1978 series and were designated as NI rather than GB for that episode.
Ratings were thus very low in the Netherlands as most viewers had already watched the show with Dutch commentary live from Flemish TV earlier.
Portugal joined in 1979, but West Germany left the competition after the 1980 series due to falling ratings.
Each heat was presented almost exclusively in the language of the host broadcaster, necessitating commentators explaining and describing the games and state of play to their domestic audiences.
In some cases, the BBC would add a pre-show introduction from host Stuart Hall and would often trim the show's length from the broadcast version.
Under the rules of the competition, Wolfsburg were declared the series winners as the team had scored higher in the Fil Rouge.
This gained the Portuguese team of Lisbon an extra point, tying them for series winners with Dartmouth.
[4] A winter festive themed special version of the show, usually broadcast during the Christmas period, was a single episode edition contested each year from 1973 until 1981.
It was generally alternately staged in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy by RAI (1973, 1975, 1976, 1979) and Aviemore, Scotland by the BBC (1974, 1977, 1981).
In the UK, the show was entitled It's a Christmas Knockout!, with the other competing broadcasters naming it Zeskamp Speciaal, Giochi Sotto L'Albero, Jeux de Noël, Weihnachtsspiele, Nyårs Knockout, and Jeux Sans Frontieres: Christmas Special.
[5] Interneige or Jeux sans frontières d'hiver is the winter spin-off edition of the competition held in ski resorts for eleven seasons (1965–1968, 1976–1981, and 1992).
In 2006, the EBU announced plans to relaunch the series in summer 2007, in collaboration with Mistral Production and Upside Television.
[6] Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Italy were thought to be participating countries.
In December 2016, the EBU in strategic planning for 2017–2020 included a new format based on the show, called Eurovision Super Games, a new attempt to revisit the TV programme last aired in 1999.
Nagui finally announced in October 2023 that the show was no longer a priority, given the cost of living and the financial difficulties of different cities.
[10] In 2019, the EBU lost the rights of the format and was franchised by Mediaset for a season retitled Eurogames [fr; it; es; el] filmed at Cinecittà World in Rome.
[11] The show was devoted to lighted matches between teams from Italy, Spain, Germany, and Greece alongside newcomers Poland, and Russia.
[12] The Italian version aired on Canale 5 from 19 September 2019 to 24 October 2019, with Ilary Blasi and Alvin as hosts.
[13][14][15] In Spain, six episodes premiered on the streaming service Mitele Plus on 3 January 2020, with Lara Álvarez and Joaquín Prat as hosts, and were later aired on Telecinco.