Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 63 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956, missing only four contests, in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956 in Lugano, and won it. Switzerland won the contest again in 1988, with the 1989 contest being held in Lausanne.

Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Switzerland
Participating broadcasterSwiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR)
Participation summary
Appearances63 (52 finals)
First appearance1956
Highest placement1st: 1956, 1988
Host1956, 1989
External links
Switzerland's page at Eurovision.tv Edit this at Wikidata
For the most recent participation see
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023

Lys Assia won the first contest in 1956 with the song "Refrain". She returned to place second in 1958. Switzerland would go on to finish second with Esther Ofarim (1963) and Daniela Simmons (1986) and third with Franca di Rienzo (1961) and Arlette Zola (1982), before winning the contest for the second time in 1988 with Celine Dion and the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". Annie Cotton gave the country its 15th top five result in 1993, when she placed third.

Since the introduction of the qualifying round in 1993, Switzerland has entered the top ten only four times. Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Switzerland have failed to reach the final in 11 of 19 contests, including finishing in last place in the semi-final on 4 occasions. Switzerland returned to the top five for the first time in 26 years when Luca Hänni gave the country its 16th top five result by finishing fourth in 2019, followed by its 17th top five finish, when Gjon's Tears placed third in 2021. It has also finished in last place in the semi-finals four times since their introduction in 2004, with Piero and the MusicStars (2004), Michael von der Heide (2010), Mélanie René (2015) and Rykka (2016).

Absences

Switzerland had been absent from Eurovision four times since their participation began in the first contest. These absences, in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2003 were caused by poor results in previous contests that led to relegation.[1][2][3][4]

National selections
See also: National selections for the Eurovision Song Contest

A mix of different selection processes have been used to determine Switzerland's entry in each year's contest. Since 2019, SRG SSR has used an internal selection process, although televised national finals were used in previous years, held under various names including Concours Eurovision from the 1950s to 2000s, and Die Grosse Entscheidungsshow between 2011 and 2018. In the 1980s, the Swiss national finals tended to have ten participating songs each year: three in French, three in German, three in Italian and one in Romansch.

Participation overview

Switzerland has four official languages, French, German, Italian, and Romansh. For decades, the song requirements stated that the song had to be performed in a national language, which gave Switzerland leeway as they could perform in any of the four languages. Out of their 60 appearances in the contest, Switzerland has sent 61 songs, 24 of which were in French, 12 in German, 15 in English, 10 in Italian and 1 in Romansh. Both of Switzerland's winning songs have been sung in French.

Table key
1 First place
2 Second place
3 Third place
◁ Last place
X Entry selected but did not compete
† Upcoming event
Year Artist Song Language Final Points Semi Points
1956 Lys Assia "Das alte Karussell" German —[lower-alpha 1] —[lower-alpha 1] No semi-finals
"Refrain" French 1
1957 Lys Assia "L'Enfant que j'étais" French 8 5
1958 Lys Assia "Giorgio" German, Italian 2 24
1959 Christa Williams "Irgendwoher" German 4 14
1960 Anita Traversi "Cielo e terra" Italian 8 5
1961 Franca di Rienzo "Nous aurons demain" French 3 16
1962 Jean Philippe "Le Retour" French 10 2
1963 Esther Ofarim "T'en va pas" French 2 40
1964 Anita Traversi "I miei pensieri" Italian 13 ◁ 0
1965 Yovanna "Non, à jamais sans toi" French 8 8
1966 Madeleine Pascal "Ne vois-tu pas ?" French 6 12
1967 Géraldine "Quel cœur vas-tu briser ?" French 17 ◁ 0
1968 Gianni Mascolo "Guardando il sole" Italian 13 2
1969 Paola "Bonjour, Bonjour" German[lower-alpha 2] 5 13
1970 Henri Dès "Retour" French 4 8
1971 Peter, Sue and Marc "Les Illusions de nos vingt ans" French 12 78
1972 Véronique Müller "C'est la chanson de mon amour" French 8 88
1973 Patrick Juvet "Je vais me marier, Marie" French 12 79
1974 Piera Martell "Mein Ruf nach Dir" German 14 ◁ 3
1975 Simone Drexel "Mikado" German 6 77
1976 Peter, Sue and Marc "Djambo Djambo" English 4 91
1977 Pepe Lienhard Band "Swiss Lady" German 6 71
1978 Carole Vinci "Vivre" French 9 65
1979 Peter, Sue and Marc, Pfuri, Gorps and Kniri "Trödler und Co." German 10 60
1980 Paola "Cinéma" French 4 104
1981 Peter, Sue and Marc "Io senza te" Italian 4 121
1982 Arlette Zola "Amour on t'aime" French 3 97
1983 Mariella Farré "Io così non ci sto" Italian 15 28
1984 Rainy Day "Welche Farbe hat der Sonnenschein" German 16 30
1985 Mariella Farré and Pino Gasparini "Piano, piano" German 12 39
1986 Daniela Simons "Pas pour moi" French 2 140
1987 Carol Rich "Moitié moitié" French 17 26
1988 Céline Dion "Ne partez pas sans moi" French 1 137
1989 Furbaz "Viver senza tei" Romansh 13 47
1990 Egon Egemann "Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus" German 11 51
1991 Sandra Simó "Canzone per te" Italian 5 118
1992 Daisy Auvray "Mister Music Man" French 15 32
1993 Annie Cotton "Moi, tout simplement" French 3 148 Kvalifikacija za Millstreet
1994 Duilio "Sto pregando" Italian 19 15 No semi-finals
1996 Kathy Leander "Mon cœur l'aime" French 16 22 8 67
1997 Barbara Berta "Dentro di me" Italian 22 5 No semi-finals
1998 Gunvor "Lass ihn" German 25 ◁ 0
2000 Jane Bogaert "La vita cos'è?" Italian 20 14
2002 Francine Jordi "Dans le jardin de mon âme" French 22 15
2004 Piero and the MusicStars "Celebrate" English Failed to qualify 22 ◁ 0
2005 Vanilla Ninja "Cool Vibes" English 8 128 8 114
2006 six4one "If We All Give a Little" English 16 30 Top 11 in 2005 final[lower-alpha 3]
2007 DJ BoBo "Vampires Are Alive" English Failed to qualify 20 40
2008 Paolo Meneguzzi "Era stupendo" Italian 13 47
2009 Lovebugs "The Highest Heights" English 14 15
2010 Michael von der Heide "Il pleut de l'or" French 17 ◁ 2
2011 Anna Rossinelli "In Love for a While" English 25 ◁ 19 10 55
2012 Sinplus "Unbreakable" English Failed to qualify 11 45
2013 Takasa "You and Me" English 13 41
2014 Sebalter "Hunter of Stars" English 13 64 4 92
2015 Mélanie René "Time to Shine" English Failed to qualify 17 ◁ 4
2016 Rykka "The Last of Our Kind" English 18 ◁ 28
2017 Timebelle "Apollo" English 12 97
2018 Zibbz "Stones" English 13 86
2019 Luca Hänni "She Got Me" English 4 364 4 232
2020 Gjon's Tears "Répondez-moi" French Contest cancelled[lower-alpha 4] X
2021 Gjon's Tears "Tout l'univers" French 3 432 1 291
2022 Marius Bear "Boys Do Cry" English 17 78 9 118
2023 Remo Forrer "Watergun" English 20 92 7 97
2024 Confirmed intention to participate †[5]

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
Further information: Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
Artist Song Language At Congratulations At Eurovision
Final Points Semi Points Year Place Points
Céline Dion "Ne partez pas sans moi" French Failed to qualify 10 98 1988 1 137

Hostings
Year Location Venue Presenter(s)
1956 Lugano Teatro Kursaal Lohengrin Filipello
1989 Lausanne Palais de Beaulieu Lolita Morena and Jacques Deschenaux

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards
Further information: Marcel Bezençon Awards
Year Category Song Composer(s)
lyrics (l) / music (m)		 Performer Final Points Host city Ref.
2021 Composer Award "Tout l'univers" Gjon Muharremaj, Xavier Michel, Wouter Hardy & Nina Sampermans (m & l) Gjon's Tears 3 432 Netherlands Rotterdam
[6]

Conductors
Year Conductor[lower-alpha 5] Musical Director Notes Ref.
1956 Fernando Paggi [lower-alpha 6] [7]
1957 Germany Willy Berking N/A [lower-alpha 7]
1958 Paul Burkhard
1959 France Franck Pourcel [lower-alpha 8]
1960 Cédric Dumont
1961 Fernando Paggi
1962 Cédric Dumont
1963 United Kingdom Eric Robinson [lower-alpha 9]
1964 Fernando Paggi
1965 Mario Robbiani
1966 Luxembourg Jean Roderes [lower-alpha 10]
1967 Hans Moeckel
1968 Mario Robbiani
1969 Germany Henry Mayer
1970 France Bernard Gérard [8]
1971 Hardy Schneiders
1972 France Jean-Pierre Festi
1973 France Hervé Roy
1974 Germany Pepe Ederer
1975 Peter Jacques
1976 Mario Robbiani
1977 Peter Jacques
1978 France Daniel Janin
1979 Germany Rolf Zuckowski
1980 Peter Reber [9]
1981 Germany Rolf Zuckowski
1982 Spain Joan Amils
1983 Robert Weber [lower-alpha 11]
1984 Mario Robbiani
1985 Anita Kerr
1986 Turkey Switzerland Atilla Şereftuğ
1987 No conductor
1988 Turkey Switzerland Atilla Şereftuğ
1989 France Benoît Kaufman [lower-alpha 12]
1990 Bela Balint N/A
1991 Italy Flaviano Cuffari
1992 Roby Seidel
1993 Marc Sorrentino
1994 Italy Valeriano Chiaravalle
1996 Portugal Switzerland Rui dos Reis
1997 Italy Pietro Damiani
1998 No conductor

Commentators and spokespersons

Over the years Switzerland has broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest on three television stations, SRF (German language), RTS (French language) and RSI (Italian language).

Year Commentator Spokesperson Ref.
SRF RTS RSI
1956 Fritz Schäuffele[10]Robert BurnierNo broadcastNo spokesperson
1957 No broadcast Commentary via RTF FranceMäni Weber
1958 Theodor Haller
1959 Boris Acquadro
1960
1961
1962 Commentary via RAI ItalyAlexandre Burger
1963 Georges Hardy
1964 Robert Burnier
1965 Jean Charles
1966 Georges HardyGiovanni Bertini
1967 Robert Burnier
1968 Georges Hardy
1969
1970
1971 No spokesperson
1972
1973
1974 Michel Stocker
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979 Max Rüeger
1980 Theodor Haller
1981
1982
1983
1984 Bernard ThurnheerSerge MoissonEzio Guidi
1985
1986
1987 Wilma Gilardi
1988 Ezio Guidi
1989 Thierry MasselotGiovanni Bertini
1990 Emanuela Gaggini
1991 Lolita Morena
1992 Mariano TschuorIvan Frésard
1993 Bernard ThurnheerJean-Marc Richard
1994 Wilma GilardiSandra Studer
1995 Heinz MargotJoanne HolderDid not participate
1996 Sandra StuderPierre GrandjeanYves Ménestrier
1997 Heinz Margot, Roman KilchspergerJonathan TedescoSandy Altermatt
1998 Jean-Marc RichardRegula Elsener
1999 Sandra StuderDid not participate
2000 Astrid Von Stockar
2001 Phil MundwillerDid not participate
2002 Jonathan Tedesco, Claudio LazzarinoDiana Jörg
2003 Roman KilchspergerJean-Marc Richard, Alain MorisodDaniele Rauseo, Claudio LazzarinoDid not participate
2004 Marco FritscheDaniela Tami, Claudio LazzarinoEmel Aykanat
2005 Sandra Studer Jean-Marc Richard, Marie-Thérèse PorchetCécile Bähler
2006 Jean-Marc Richard, Alain MorisodSandy Altermatt, Claudio LazzarinoJubaira Bachmann
2007 Bernard Thurnheer Jean-Marc Richard (all), Henri Dès (final),
Nicolas Tanner (semi-final)		Sven Epiney
2008 Sven Epiney Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner Sandy AltermattCécile Bähler
2009
2010 Christa Rigozzi
2011 Jonathan TedescoCécile Bähler
2012 Clarissa Tami, Paolo MeneguzziSara Hildebrand
2013 Alessandro BertoglioMélanie Freymond
2014 Sven Epiney, Peter Schneider, Gabriel Vetter Alessandro Bertoglio, Sandy AltermattKurt Aeschbacher
2015 Clarissa Tami, Paolo MeneguzziLaetitia Guarino
2016 Clarissa Tami, Michele CarobbioSebalter
2017 Sven Epiney (all); Stefan Büsser, Micky Beisenherz (final)Clarissa Tami (all); Sebalter (final)Luca Hänni
[11][12][13]
2018 Sven EpineyClarissa Tami, SebalterLetícia Carvalho
[14][15][16][17]
2019 Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner (all);
Bastian Baker (final)		Sinplus
[18][19][20][21]
2021 Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner (all);
Joseph Gorgoni (final)		Clarissa Tami (2nd semi-final and final);
Sebalter (final)		Angélique Beldner
[22][23][24][25][26]
2022 Jean-Marc Richard (all);
Nicolas Tanner (semi-finals)
Gjon's Tears (final)		Clarissa Tami (all);
Francesca Marigiotta (1st semi-final and final)
Boris Piffaretti (2nd semi-final and final)		Julie Berthollet
[27][28]
2023 Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner, Priscilla FormazEllis Cavallini and Gian-Andrea CostaChiara Dubey
[29][30][31]
[32][33][34][35][36][37]


See also

Notes
  1. The 1956 contest had secret voting and, apart from the winner, no results were released.
  2. Contains some words in French
  3. According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the grand final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to the next year's grand final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
  4. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  5. All conductors are of Swiss nationality unless otherwise noted.
  6. Also conducted the Dutch and German entries.
  7. Host conductor
  8. Host conductor
  9. Host conductor
  10. Host conductor
  11. Conducted at the national final by Hans Moeckel
  12. Also conducted the Luxembourgish entry and half of the Danish entry.

References
  1. "History by Year: Eurovision Song Contest 1995". EBU. Archived from the original on 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  2. "History by Year: Eurovision Song Contest 1999". EBU. Archived from the original on 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  3. "History by Year: Eurovision Song Contest 2001". EBU. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  4. "History by Year: Eurovision Song Contest 2003". EBU. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  5. Gannon, Rory (7 July 2023). "Switzerland confirms Eurovision 2024 participation". That Eurovision Site. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  6. "The Marcel Bezençon Award". 22 May 2021.
  7. Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 93–101. ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
  8. Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 142–168. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
  9. Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
  10. "Do. 24. Mai". Bild + Funk (in German). No. 21/1956. 20 May 1956. p. 43. OCLC 643528928.
  11. ""ESC" 2017: Satirischer Kommentar mit Stefan Büsser und "Aeschbacher Spezial – aus Kiew"" [«ESC» 2017: Satirical commentary with Stefan Büsser and «Aeschbacher Special – from Kyiv»]. SRF (in German). Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  12. "Eurovision Song Contest 2017". RSI (in Italian). Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  13. Davies, Megan (1 May 2017). "Switzerland: Luca Hänni Announced As Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  14. Granger, Anthony (16 April 2018). "Switzerland: Sven Epiney Returns to the Commentary Booth". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  15. "Eurosong – TV – Play RTS". RTS (in French). Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  16. "Eurovision Song Contest 2018 – RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera". RSI (in Italian). 7 May 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  17. Granger, Anthony (19 April 2018). "Switzerland: Leticia Carvalho Revealed as Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  18. Granger, Anthony (16 April 2019). "Switzerland: Sven Epiney Confirmed as SRF's Eurovision Commentator". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  19. Brown, Alistair (3 May 2019). "Switzerland: Bastian Baker Announced As Commentator For Grand Final". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  20. "Dal 3 giugno addio al Digitale Terrestre in Svizzera, niente più Eurovision sulla RSI per gli italiani" [Farewell to DTT in Switzerland from 3 June, no more Eurovision on CSR for Italians]. eurofestivalnews.com (in Italian). 6 May 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  21. Herbert, Emily (24 April 2019). "Switzerland: Sinplus Revealed as Eurovision 2019 Spokespersons". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  22. "TV-Programm" (in German). Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  23. "Eurovision 2021: scarica la Guida completa all'evento (anche in versione eBook!)". Eurofestival (in Italian). 10 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
  24. "Programme TV" (in French). Radio Télévision Suisse. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  25. Granger, Anthony (2021-04-12). "Switzerland: Sven Epiney Confirmed as SRF's Eurovision 2021 Commentator". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  26. Granger, Anthony (2021-04-27). "Switzerland: Angélique Beldner Revealed as Spokesperson For Eurovision 2021". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  27. "🇨🇭 Switzerland: Eurovision 2022 Commentators for RSI Revealed". 8 May 2022.
  28. "🇨🇭 Switzerland: Julie Berthollet Spokesperson for Eurovision 2022". 7 May 2022.
  29. "Sie war 2018 in der Vorauswahl - Chiara Dubey verteilt die ESC-Punkte für die Schweiz". srf.ch (in German). SRF. 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  30. "Remo Forrer mit «Watergun» für die Schweiz am «Eurovision Song Contest» 2023". Medienportal (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  31. "ESC 2023 - Svizra prenda part cun «Watergun»". rtr.ch (in Romansh). Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  32. "TV-Programm – 09.05.2023". Play SRF (in German). Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  33. "TV-Programm – 11.05.2023". Play SRF (in German). Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  34. "TV-Programm – 13.05.2023". Play SRF (in German). Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  35. Granger, Anthony (2023-04-11). "Switzerland: Sven Epiney Confirmed as SRF's Eurovision 2023 Commentator". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  36. "'Watergun': Remo Forrer fait son entrée dans l'Eurovision avec force". rts.ch (in Swiss French). Radio Télévision Suisse. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  37. "Eurovision Song Contest 2023 - Remo Forrer in gara per la Svizzera con 'Watergun'". rsi.ch (in Italian). Radiotelevisione svizzera. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
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