Switzerland | |
Contest: | ESC |
Broadcaster: | Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) |
Apps: | 64 (53 finals) |
Highest: | 1st:,, |
Host: | ,, |
Current: | 2024 |
Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times since its debut at the first contest in, missing only four contests because of being relegated due to poor results the previous year:,,, and . Switzerland hosted the inaugural contest in 1956 in Lugano, where it also won. The country claimed its second victory in, 32 years after the first, and its third in, 36 years after the second win. The Swiss participant broadcaster in the contest is the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR).
"French: [[Refrain (Lys Assia song)|Refrain]]|i=no" performed by Lys Assia won the inaugural contest in 1956 for Switzerland; she returned to place second in with "Giorgio". The country achieved second place with "French: T'en va pas|i=no" by Esther Ofarim and "French: Pas pour moi|i=no" by Daniela Simmons, and third place with "French: Nous aurons demain|i=no" by Franca di Rienzo and "French: Amour on t'aime|i=no" by Arlette Zola . It won for the second time in 1988 with "French: [[Ne partez pas sans moi]]|i=no" performed by Céline Dion. "French: Moi, tout simplement|i=no" by Annie Cotton secured Switzerland's 15th top-five finish by placing third in .
Since the introduction of the qualifying round in 1993, Switzerland has reached the top ten only four times. Since the semi-final round's inception in 2004, the country has failed to reach the final in 11 of 19 contests, finishing last in the semi-final on four occasions. Switzerland returned to the top five after 26 years when "She Got Me" by Luca Hänni finished fourth in, achieving the country's 16th top-five result. This was followed by "French: [[Tout l'univers]]|i=no" by Gjon's Tears placing third in, marking the 17th top-five finish. Switzerland won the contest for the third time in 2024, with "The Code" by Nemo. The country has also finished last in the semi-finals four times since 2004, with "Celebrate" by Piero and the MusicStars, "French: Il pleut de l'or|i=no" by Michael von der Heide, "Time to Shine" by Mélanie René, and "The Last of Our Kind" by Rykka .
The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. It has participated in the contest representing Switzerland since the in 1956.
Switzerland has four official languages, French, German, Italian, and Romansh. For intermittent periods prior to its abolition in 1999, the rules stated that the song had to be performed in an official language, which gave SRG SSR leeway as it could submit entries in any of the four languages. Out of its 64 appearances in the contest, it has sent 65 songs, 24 of which were in French, 12 in German, 18 in English, 10 in Italian, and one in Romansh. The first two of Switzerland's winning songs were sung in French, with the third being sung in English.
SRG SSR has used a mix of different selection processes to determine its entry in each year's contest. Since 2019, it 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.
+ 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
bgcolor=gold rowspan="2" | Lys Assia | "German: [[Das alte Karussell]]|i=unset" | German | colspan="2" rowspan="38" | |||
"French: [[Refrain (Lys Assia song)|Refrain]]|i=unset" | French | 1 | |||||
Lys Assia | "French: [[L'Enfant que j'étais]]|i=unset" | French | 8 | 5 | |||
Lys Assia | "Giorgio" | German, Italian | 2 | 24 | |||
Christa Williams | "German: [[Irgendwoher]]|i=unset" | German | 4 | 14 | |||
Anita Traversi | "Italian: [[Cielo e terra]]|i=unset" | Italian | 8 | 5 | |||
Franca di Rienzo | "French: [[Nous aurons demain]]|i=unset" | French | 3 | 16 | |||
Jean Philippe | "French: [[Le Retour (song)|Le Retour]]|i=unset" | French | 10 | 2 | |||
Esther Ofarim | "French: [[T'en va pas (Esther Ofarim song)|T'en va pas]]|i=unset" | French | 2 | 40 | |||
Anita Traversi | "Italian: [[I miei pensieri]]|i=unset" | Italian | 13 ◁ | 0 | |||
Yovanna | "French: [[Non, à jamais sans toi]]|i=unset" | French | 8 | 8 | |||
Madeleine Pascal | "French: [[Ne vois-tu pas ?]]|i=unset" | French | 6 | 12 | |||
Géraldine | "French: [[Quel cœur vas-tu briser ?]]|i=unset" | French | 17 ◁ | 0 | |||
Gianni Mascolo | "Italian: [[Guardando il sole]]|i=unset" | Italian | 13 | 2 | |||
Paola | "French: [[Bonjour, bonjour]]|i=unset" | German | 5 | 13 | |||
Henri Dès | "French: [[Retour]]|i=unset" | French | 4 | 8 | |||
Peter, Sue and Marc | "French: [[Les Illusions de nos vingt ans]]|i=unset" | French | 12 | 78 | |||
Véronique Müller | "French: [[C'est la chanson de mon amour]]|i=unset" | French | 8 | 88 | |||
Patrick Juvet | "French: [[Je vais me marier, Marie]]|i=unset" | French | 12 | 79 | |||
Piera Martell | "German: [[Mein Ruf nach dir]]|i=unset" | German | 14 ◁ | 3 | |||
Simone Drexel | "Mikado" | German | 6 | 77 | |||
Peter, Sue and Marc | "Djambo Djambo" | English | 4 | 91 | |||
Pepe Lienhard Band | "Swiss Lady" | German | 6 | 71 | |||
Carole Vinci | "French: [[Vivre (Carole Vinci song)|Vivre]]|i=unset" | French | 9 | 65 | |||
Peter, Sue and Marc, Pfuri, Gorps and Kniri | "German: [[Trödler und Co]].|i=unset" | German | 10 | 60 | |||
Paola | "French: [[Cinéma (song)|Cinéma]]|i=unset" | French | 4 | 104 | |||
Peter, Sue and Marc | "Italian: [[Io senza te]]|i=unset" | Italian | 4 | 121 | |||
Arlette Zola | "French: [[Amour on t'aime]]|i=unset" | French | 3 | 97 | |||
Mariella Farré | "Italian: [[Io così non ci sto]]|i=unset" | Italian | 15 | 28 | |||
Rainy Day | "German: [[Welche Farbe hat der Sonnenschein?|Welche Farbe hat der Sonnenschein]]|i=unset" | German | 16 | 30 | |||
Mariella Farré and Pino Gasparini | "Italian: [[Piano, piano]]|i=unset" | German | 12 | 39 | |||
Daniela Simons | "French: [[Pas pour moi]]|i=unset" | French | 2 | 140 | |||
Carol Rich | "French: [[Moitié, moitié|Moitié moitié]]|i=unset" | French | 17 | 26 | |||
Céline Dion | "French: [[Ne partez pas sans moi]]|i=unset" | French | 1 | 137 | |||
Furbaz | "Romansh: [[Viver senza tei]]|i=unset" | Romansh | 13 | 47 | |||
Egon Egemann | "German: [[Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus]]|i=unset" | German | 11 | 51 | |||
Sandra Simó | "Italian: [[Canzone per te (Sandra Simó song)|Canzone per te]]|i=unset" | Italian | 5 | 118 | |||
Daisy Auvray | "Mister Music Man" | French | 15 | 32 | |||
Annie Cotton | "French: [[Moi, tout simplement]]|i=unset" | French | 3 | 148 | colspan="2" | ||
Duilio | "Italian: [[Sto pregando]]|i=unset" | Italian | 19 | 15 | colspan="2" | ||
Kathy Leander | "French: [[Mon cœur l'aime]]|i=unset" | French | 16 | 22 | 8 | 67 | |
Barbara Berta | "Italian: [[Dentro di me]]|i=unset" | Italian | 22 | 5 | colspan="2" rowspan="4" | ||
Gunvor | "German: [[Lass ihn]]|i=unset" | German | 25 ◁ | 0 | |||
Jane Bogaert | "Italian: [[La vita cos'è?]]|i=unset" | Italian | 20 | 14 | |||
Francine Jordi | "French: [[Dans le jardin de mon âme]]|i=unset" | French | 22 | 15 | |||
Piero and the MusicStars | "Celebrate" | English | 22 ◁ | 0 | |||
Vanilla Ninja | "Cool Vibes" | English | 8 | 128 | 8 | 114 | |
six4one | "If We All Give a Little" | English | 16 | 30 | colspan="2" | ||
DJ BoBo | "Vampires Are Alive" | English | 20 | 40 | |||
Paolo Meneguzzi | "Italian: [[Era stupendo]]|i=unset" | Italian | 13 | 47 | |||
Lovebugs | "The Highest Heights" | English | 14 | 15 | |||
Michael von der Heide | "French: [[Il pleut de l'or]]|i=unset" | French | 17 ◁ | 2 | |||
Anna Rossinelli | "In Love for a While" | English | 25 ◁ | 19 | 10 | 55 | |
Sinplus | "Unbreakable" | English | 11 | 45 | |||
Takasa | "You and Me" | English | 13 | 41 | |||
Sebalter | "Hunter of Stars" | English | 13 | 64 | 4 | 92 | |
Mélanie René | "Time to Shine" | English | 17 ◁ | 4 | |||
Rykka | "The Last of Our Kind" | English | 18 ◁ | 28 | |||
Timebelle | "Apollo" | English | 12 | 97 | |||
Zibbz | "Stones" | English | 13 | 86 | |||
Luca Hänni | "She Got Me" | English | 4 | 364 | 4 | 232 | |
Gjon's Tears | "French: [[Répondez-moi]]|i=unset" | French | colspan="4" X | ||||
Gjon's Tears | "French: [[Tout l'univers]]|i=unset" | French | 3 | 432 | 1 | 291 | |
Marius Bear | "Boys Do Cry" | English | 17 | 78 | 9 | 118 | |
Remo Forrer | "Watergun" | English | 20 | 92 | 7 | 97 | |
Nemo | "The Code" | English | 1 | 591 | 4 | 132 | |
Year | Location | Venue | Presenter(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Lugano | Teatro Kursaal | Lohengrin Filipello | |
Lausanne | Palais de Beaulieu | Lolita Morena and Jacques Deschenaux | |
Year | Category | Song | Composer(s) | Performer | Final | Points | Host city | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Tout l'univers" | Gjon Muharremaj, Xavier Michel, Wouter Hardy & Nina Sampermans (m & l) | Gjon's Tears | 3 | 432 | |||||
Composer Award Artistic Award | "English: [[The Code (Nemo song)|The Code]]|i=no" | Benjamin Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann, Linda Dale, Nemo Mettler (m&l) | 1 | 591 | Malmö |
Year | Conductor | Musical director | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fernando Paggi | [1] | |||
Willy Berking | ||||
Paul Burkhard | ||||
Franck Pourcel | ||||
Cédric Dumont | ||||
Fernando Paggi | ||||
Cédric Dumont | ||||
Eric Robinson | ||||
Fernando Paggi | ||||
Mario Robbiani | ||||
Jean Roderes | ||||
Hans Moeckel | ||||
Mario Robbiani | ||||
Henry Mayer | ||||
Bernard Gérard | [2] | |||
Hardy Schneiders | ||||
Jean-Pierre Festi | ||||
Hervé Roy | ||||
Pepe Ederer | ||||
Peter Jacques | ||||
Mario Robbiani | ||||
Peter Jacques | ||||
Daniel Janin | ||||
Rolf Zuckowski | ||||
Peter Reber | [3] | |||
Rolf Zuckowski | ||||
Joan Amils | ||||
Robert Weber | ||||
Mario Robbiani | ||||
Anita Kerr | ||||
Atilla Şereftuğ | ||||
Atilla Şereftuğ | ||||
Benoît Kaufman | ||||
Bela Balint | ||||
Flaviano Cuffari | ||||
Roby Seidel | ||||
Marc Sorrentino | ||||
Valeriano Chiaravalle | ||||
Rui dos Reis | ||||
Pietro Damiani | ||||
Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others.[4]
Year | Head of delegation | ||
---|---|---|---|
– | Reto Peritz | ||
– | Yves Schifferle | ||
Daniel Meister |
Over the years SRG SSR has broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland on its three television stations: German-language Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF), French-language Radio télévision suisse (RTS), and Italian-language Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana (RSI).
Year | Commentator | Spokesperson | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SRF | RTS | RSI | |||
[5] | [6] | rowspan="6" | |||
rowspan="6" | Mäni Weber | ||||
Theodor Haller | |||||
Boris Acquadro | |||||
rowspan="4" | Alexandre Burger | ||||
Georges Hardy | |||||
Robert Burnier | |||||
Jean Charles | |||||
Georges Hardy | Giovanni Bertini | ||||
Robert Burnier | |||||
Georges Hardy | |||||
rowspan="3" | |||||
Michel Stocker | |||||
Max Rüeger | |||||
Theodor Haller | |||||
Bernard Thurnheer | Serge Moisson | Ezio Guidi | |||
Wilma Gilardi | |||||
Ezio Guidi | |||||
Thierry Masselot | Giovanni Bertini | ||||
Emanuela Gaggini | |||||
Mariano Tschuor | Ivan Frésard | ||||
Bernard Thurnheer | |||||
Wilma Gilardi | |||||
Heinz Margot | Joanne Holder | ||||
Sandra Studer | Pierre Grandjean | Yves Ménestrier | |||
Heinz Margot, Roman Kilchsperger | Jonathan Tedesco | Sandy Altermatt | |||
Jean-Marc Richard | |||||
Sandra Studer | |||||
Astrid Von Stockar | |||||
Phil Mundwiller | |||||
Jonathan Tedesco, Claudio Lazzarino | Diana Jörg | ||||
Roman Kilchsperger | Daniele Rauseo, Claudio Lazzarino | ||||
Marco Fritsche | Daniela Tami, Claudio Lazzarino | ||||
Sandra Studer | Jean-Marc Richard, Marie-Thérèse Porchet | Cécile Bähler | |||
Jean-Marc Richard, Alain Morisod | Sandy Altermatt, Claudio Lazzarino | Jubaira Bachmann | |||
Bernard Thurnheer | Jean-Marc Richard, Henri Dès, Nicolas Tanner | ||||
Sven Epiney | Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner | Sandy Altermatt | Cécile Bähler | ||
Jonathan Tedesco | Cécile Bähler | ||||
Clarissa Tami, Paolo Meneguzzi | Sara Hildebrand | ||||
Alessandro Bertoglio | Mélanie Freymond | ||||
Sven Epiney, Peter Schneider, Gabriel Vetter | Alessandro Bertoglio, Sandy Altermatt | Kurt Aeschbacher | |||
Clarissa Tami, Paolo Meneguzzi | |||||
Clarissa Tami, Michele Carobbio | |||||
Sven Epiney ; Stefan Büsser, Micky Beisenherz | Clarissa Tami ; Sebalter | ||||
Sven Epiney | Clarissa Tami, Sebalter | Letícia Carvalho | |||
Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner ; Joseph Gorgoni | Clarissa Tami ; Sebalter | Angélique Beldner | |||
Clarissa Tami ; Francesca Marigiotta Boris Piffaretti | Julie Berthollet | ||||
Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner, Priscilla Formaz | Ellis Cavallini and Gian-Andrea Costa | Chiara Dubey | |||
Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner, Julie Berthollet | Jennifer Bosshard |