Wetten, dass..?
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Wetten, dass..? (also: Wetten dass..? and Wetten, daß..? – engl. "Wanna Bet, That..?") is a television show popular in German speaking countries and is the most successful TV show in Europe.
History
On February 14, 1981, the German channel ZDF aired the first episode in cooperation with the Austrian channel ORF and the Swiss channel SF DRS. The inventor of the show, Frank Elstner hosted the show until the 39th episode in 1987. Except for during brief interstice (1992-1993) when the show was hosted by Wolfgang Lippert, Wetten, dass..? has since continually been hosted by entertainer Thomas Gottschalk who hosted the show for the 100th time on March 27, 2004.
Concept
The core gimmick of the show are the bets: common people offer to perform some unusual (often bizarre) and very difficult task. Some examples, all of which were performed successfully:
- Lighting a pocket lighter using an excavator's shovel (February 19th 1983).
- Assembling a V8 engine from parts within 9 minutes (November 2nd, 1991)
- 13 swimmers towing a 312 tonnes ship over a distance of 25 meters (October 7th, 1995)
- Recognising 5 of 6 (out of a total of 75) species of birds blindfolded by feeling a single feather (November 9th, 2002).
The other major attraction of the show are the top-rank celebrity guests, with considerable screen time given to the host greeting and chatting with them. Each of the guests must bet on the outcome of one of the performances and offer a wager, usually a humorous and/or mildly humiliating, sometimes also charitable activity to be carried out if they lose. However, until 1987 all celebrities bet on all the performances and the most accurate one was selected to be that show's ' bet king' (Wettkönig) Ever since, one of the people performing the task is selected by a telephone vote.
Additionally, until 2001, members of the audience could offer bets against the host to find a certain number of unusual persons (e.g. 10 ladies over the age of 65 driving motorbikes). One of these was selected at the beginning of the show and had to be fulfilled by its end. Now, the host bets against the entire city where the show is held.
Between the bets and the celebrity smalltalk, there are musical performances by top-rank artists, sometimes by the celebrity guests themselves.
Wetten, dass..? is broadcast live six or seven times per year from different cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Apart from the bets (between four and seven - currently five, including the city bet), the show includes musical performances and banter with the national and international celebrity guests. There have also been three summer shows, broadcast from Xanten, Palma de Mallorca and Paris.
Guests
The show is famous for featuring many guest from all parts of the society: politics, sports, entertainment, history, science and others. More than 400 famous were there, like Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Michael Jackson, Leonardo di Caprio, Michael Schumacher, Franz Beckenbauer, Kylie Minogue, Sting, Richard Gere, Phil Collins, Ozzy Osbourne, Faith Hill, David Coulthard, Niki Lauda, Isabel Allende, Backstreet Boys, David Beckham, Paul Belmondo, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Richard Chamberlain, John Cleese, David Copperfield, Glenn Close, Kevin Costner, Cindy Crawford, Roy Disney, Jane Fonda, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mel Gibson, Steffi Graf, Boris Becker, Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Paul Hogan, Liz Hurley, Enrique Iglesias, Günther Jauch, Angelina Jolie, Heidi Klum, Hildegard Knef, Karl Lagerfeld, Oskar Lafontaine, Sophia Loren, Loriot, Reinhold Messner, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, Peter O'Toole, Lilli Palmer, José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, Johannes Rau, Gabriela Sabatini, Will Smith, Spice Girls, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ringo Starr, Justin Timberlake, Ivana Trump, Tina Turner, Peter Ustinov, Jan Ullrich, Katarina Witt, Elijah Wood, Renée Zellweger, Gerhard Berger, Senta Berger, Fred Sinowatz and others.
Another famous section are the musical performances: Bryan Adams, Aerosmith, Destiny's Child, Alphaville, Paul Anka, The Bangles, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Cher, Joe Cocker, Céline Dion, Dixie Chicks, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Gloria Estefan, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, Bee Gees, Josh Groban, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Elton John, Norah Jones, R. Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Limp Bizkit, Cindy Lauper, Madonna, Meat Loaf, N'Sync, Pink, Cliff Richard, Lionel Richie, LeAnn Rimes, Carlos Santana, Jennifer Rush, Shakira, Britney Spears, Supertramp, Rod Stewart, The Corrs, Toto, Shania Twain, Westlife, Barry White, Stevie Wonder and others.de: Wetten dass..?