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The 17th season of the international television game show Jeux sans frontières was held in the summer of 1981. Broadcasters from Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Yugoslavia participated in the competition coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The different heats were hosted by each of the participant broadcasters in locations in their countries such as Lignano Sabbiadoro (Italy), Pula (Yugoslavia), Annecy (France), Meiringen-Hasliberg (Switzerland), Lisbon (Portugal), Sunderland (United Kingdom), and Charleroi (Belgium). The grand final was held in Belgrade (Yugoslavia). The head international referee in charge of supervising the competition were Gennaro Olivieri and .[1]
For each heat, each broadcaster sent a mixed team from a city or town from its country that competed against each other in a series of games –funny physical games played in outlandish costumes, though none-the-less technically difficult– themed in the specific topic of the episode. After the seven heats, the most successful team from each country competed in the grand final. Each of the episodes was presented by the host broadcaster in its own language. Each of the participating broadcasters had their own presenters who did some on-site presentations for their audience and commented on the competition in their language.[2]
The season was won by the teams from Lisbon, Portugal, and Dartmouth, United Kingdom.[3]
| Heat | Date | Host | Theme | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcaster | City | |||||
| 1 | 26 May | RAI |  Lignano Sabbiadoro | "Water" | Lignano Sabbiadoro | |
| 2 | 10 June | JRT (TV Zagreb) | Pula | "The Cinema" | Pula | |
| 3 | 24 June | RTP | Lisbon | "The Festival of Saint Anthony" | Lisbon | |
| 4 | 8 July | RTBF |  Charleroi | "Professions" | Finale Ligure | |
| 5 | 29 July | SRG SSR TSI | Meiringen-Hasliberg | "Mountain Holidays, Legends of the Swiss Alps" | Ittigen | |
| 6 | 12 August | Antenne 2 |  Annecy | "Games of the World" | Lessines | |
| 7 | 25 August | BBC |  Sunderland | "A Country-House Weekend in the 1920s" | ||
| 8 September | JRT (TV Belgrade) | Belgrade | "The Music, la Musique, die Musik... Long live the Music!" |
Heat 1 was hosted by RAI on 26 May 1981 in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy, and was themed about the sea.
| Place | Country | Town | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I | Lignano Sabbiadoro | 46 | |
| 2 | CH | Regensdorf | 41 | |
| 3 | YU | Šibenik | 31 | |
| 3 | GB | Sherborne | 31 | |
| 5 | B | Torhout | 27 | |
| 6 | P | São Miguel | 26 | |
| 7 | F | Bitche en Moselle | 22 |
Heat 2 was hosted by TV Zagreb on behalf of JRT on 10 June 1981 at the Roman amphitheatre in Pula, Yugoslavia, and was themed about cinema.
| Place | Country | Town | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | YU | Pula | 45 | |
| 2 | CH | Saint-Légier | 44 | |
| 3 | F | Argentan | 34 | |
| 4 | I | San Felice Circeo | 31 | |
| 5 | GB | Kingston-upon-Hull | 30 | |
| 6 | B | Molenbeek-Saint-Jean | 25 | |
| 7 | P | Santarém | 19 |
Heat 3 was hosted by RTP on 24 June 1981 in front of the Belém Tower in Lisbon, Portugal, and was themed about the feast of Saint Anthony.
| Place | Country | Town | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | Lisbon | 48 | |
| 2 | GB | Dartmouth | 39 | |
| 3 | F | Digne-les-Bains | 37 | |
| 4 | B | Herent | 34 | |
| 5 | I | Montorio al Vomano | 32 | |
| 6 | CH | Rancate | 25 | |
| 7 | YU | Osijek | 24 |
Heat 4 was hosted by RTBF on 8 July 1981 in Charleroi, Belgium, and was themed about professions.
| Place | Country | Town | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I | Finale Ligure | 43 | |
| 2 | YU | Zenica | 37 | |
| 3 | F | Les Gets | 36 | |
| 4 | B | Charleroi | 32 | |
| 4 | CH | Saas Fee | 32 | |
| 6 | P | Madeira | 28 | |
| 7 | GB | Luton | 21 |
Heat 5 was hosted by SRG SSR TSI on 29 July 1981 in Meiringen-Hasliberg, Switzerland, and was themed about the holidays in the mountains and legends of the Swiss Alps.
| Place | Country | Town | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CH | Ittigen | 40 | |
| 2 | F | Le Cannet | 39 | |
| 3 | GB | Dunfermline | 35 | |
| 3 | YU | Pirot | 35 | |
| 5 | B | Bornem | 31 | |
| 6 | I | Merate | 30 | |
| 7 | P | Braga | 19 |
Heat 6 was hosted by Antenne 2 on 12 August 1981 in Annecy, France, and was themed about the sports in the town.
| Place | Country | Town | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Lessines | 45 | |
| 2 | CH | Intragna | 43 | |
| 3 | F | Annecy | 37 | |
| 4 | P | Aveiro | 31 | |
| 5 | GB | Warrington | 28 | |
| 6 | YU | Majdanpek | 24 | |
| 7 | I | Agropoli | 21 |
Heat 7 was hosted by the BBC on 25 August 1981 in Sunderland, United Kingdom, and was themed about the British week-end traditions.
| Place | Country | Town | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CH | Les Bois | 38 | |
| 1 | F | Issy-les-Moulineaux | 38 | |
| 3 | B | Evergem | 36 | |
| 4 | YU | Bitolj | 33 | |
| 5 | I | Senigallia | 30 | |
| 6 | GB | Sunderland | 28 | |
| 6 | P | Algarve | 28 |
The teams with the most points from each country advanced to the grand final:
| Country | Town | Place won | Points won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Lisbon | 1 | 48 | |
| I | Lignano Sabbiadoro | 1 | 46 | |
| B | Lessines | 1 | 45 | |
| YU | Pula | 1 | 45 | |
| CH | Ittigen | 1 | 40 | |
| F | Issy-les-Moulineaux | 1 | 38 | |
| GB | Dartmouth | 2 | 39 |
The final was hosted by TV Belgrade on behalf of JRT on 8 September 1981 at the swimming pool complex of the Tašmajdan Sports and Recreation Center in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and was themed about music.
| Place | Country | Town | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | Lisbon | 38 | |
| 1 | GB | Dartmouth | 38 | |
| 3 | YU | Pula | 36 | |
| 4 | I | Lignano Sabbiadoro | 33 | |
| 5 | CH | Ittigen | 26 | |
| 6 | F | Issy-les-Moulineaux | 24 | |
| 7 | B | Lessines | 19 |
The competition was transmitted to the participating broadcasters via the Eurovision network. In most cases, broadcasters aired the episodes live in their territory.
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Channel(s) | Presenter(s)/Commentator(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTBF | RTBF1 | Paule Herreman | ||
| BRT | TV1 | |||
| Antenne 2 | ||||
| RAI | Rete 2 | Michele Gammino | ||
| RTP | RTP1 | |||
| SRG SSR TSI | TSR | |||
| TV DRS | ||||
| TSI | ||||
| BBC | BBC1 | Stuart Hall | ||
| JRT | TVB 1 | Minja Subota | ||
| TVZ 1 | unknown | |||
