The 20th season of the international television game showJeux sans frontières was held in the summer of 1989. Broadcasters from Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, and San Marino 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 Castiglione delle Stiviere (Italy), Tomar (Portugal), Nice (France), and Brussels (Belgium). The grand final was held in Funchal (Portugal). The head international referees in charge of supervising the competition was Guido Pancaldi [it].[1]
For each heat, each broadcaster sent a mixed team of twelve members (six men and six women) 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 eight 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. Due the complexity of the production, and that each broadcaster had its own personalized coverage, the episodes were filmed first and each broadcaster broadcast them at their convenience later.[2]
The season was won by the team from Azores, Portugal, being the runner-up the team from Monte Argentario, Italy.[3]
