text: Typically, the programmes were staged outdoors during the European summer months, although occasionally (such as the Dutch heat in 1971 staged at the Ahoy Sports Arena) the competition took place indoors. 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. The outdoor settings meant that bad weather could often have an impact on the competition, but the games took place regardless of hostile weather conditions. 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.
  The series culminated in a grand final, with the most successful team from each country in the series participating. Each finalist would qualify by winning their heat. If a country won more than one heat, the highest scoring winning team for that country would go to the final. Any country that had not won a heat would be represented by the highest scoring team that placed second. Occasionally, this meant that a team with a higher score, but who had finished lower than second, would be displaced by a lower-scoring team that had achieved a second place. In the rare event that none of the country's teams had achieved a win or second place in any heat (such as GB in 1967, France in 1968 or Portugal in 1979), the highest-scoring team regardless of place would participate in the final.