Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox song contest country
Switzerland has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 65 times since its debut at the first contest in Template:Escyr, missing only four contests because of being relegated due to poor results the previous year: Template:Escyr, Template:Escyr, Template:Escyr, and Template:Escyr. Switzerland hosted the inaugural contest in 1956 in Lugano, where it also won. The country claimed its second victory in Template:Escyr, 32 years after the first, and its third in Template:Escyr, 36 years after the second win. The Swiss participating broadcaster in the contest is the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR).
"Template:Lang" performed by Lys Assia won the inaugural contest in 1956 for Switzerland; she returned to place second in Template:Escyr with "Giorgio". The country achieved second place with "Template:Lang" by Esther Ofarim (Template:Escyr) and "Template:Lang" by Daniela Simmons (Template:Escyr), and third place with "Template:Lang" by Franca di Rienzo (Template:Escyr) and "Template:Lang" by Arlette Zola (Template:Escyr). It won for the second time in 1988 with "Template:Lang" performed by Céline Dion. "Template:Lang" by Annie Cotton secured Switzerland's 15th top-five finish by placing third in Template:Escyr.
Since the introduction of the qualifying round in 1993, Switzerland has reached the top ten six 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 Template:Escyr, achieving the country's 16th top-five result. This was followed by "Template:Lang" by Gjon's Tears placing third in Template:Escyr, 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 (Template:Escyr), "Template:Lang" by Michael von der Heide (Template:Escyr), "Time to Shine" by Mélanie René (Template:Escyr), and "The Last of Our Kind" by Rykka (Template:Escyr).
Participation
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 Template:Escyr 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 65 appearances in the contest, it has sent 66 songs, 25 of which were in French,Template:Efn 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.
Selection methods
Template:Unsourced section 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. Starting in 1986, 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
| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| ◁ | Last place |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
| † | Upcoming event |
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
| Artist | Song | Language | At Congratulations | At Eurovision | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final | Points | Semi | Points | Year | Place | Points | |||
| Céline Dion | "Template:Lang" | French | colspan="2" Template:N/A | 10 | 98 | Template:Escyr | 1 | 137 | |
Hostings
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Escyr | Lugano | Teatro Kursaal | Lohengrin Filipello |
| Template:Escyr | Lausanne | Palais de Beaulieu | Lolita Morena and Jacques Deschenaux |
| Template:Escyr | Basel | St. Jakobshalle | Hazel Brugger, Sandra Studer Template:Small and Michelle Hunziker Template:Small |
Awards
Marcel Bezençon Awards
| Year | Category | Song | Composer(s) Template:Small |
Performer | Final | Points | Host city | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Escyr | Template:Nowrap | "Tout l'univers" | Gjon Muharremaj, Xavier Michel, Wouter Hardy & Nina Sampermans (m & l) | Gjon's Tears | 3 | 432 | Template:Nowrap | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
|
| Template:Escyr | Composer Award Artistic AwardTemplate:Efn |
"Template:Lang" | Benjamin Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann, Linda Dale, & Nemo Mettler (m & l) | Template:Nowrap | 1 | 591 | Template:Flagicon Malmö | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
|
| Template:Escyr | Composer Award | "Voyage" | Emily Middlemas, Tom Oehler, & Zoë Anina Kressler (m & l) | Zoë Më | 10 | 214 | Template:Flagicon Basel | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
|
Related involvement
Conductors
Heads of delegation
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
| Year | Head of delegation | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Escyr–Template:Escyr | Reto Peritz | <ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
|
| Template:Escyr–Template:Escyr | Yves Schifferle | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
|
| Template:Escyr | Daniel Meister | <ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
|
| Template:Escyr | Yves Schifferle | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}
|
Commentators and spokespersons
SRG SSR has broadcast the 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). Additionally, the final of the 2025 contest was broadcast on Romansh-language Radio RTR.
Photo gallery
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Jean Philippe in Luxembourg (Template:Escyr)
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Yovanna in Naples (Template:Escyr)
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Henri Dès in Amsterdam (Template:Escyr)
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Peter, Sue and Marc in The Hague (Template:Escyr)
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Piero and the MusicStars in Istanbul (Template:Escyr)
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DJ BoBo in Helsinki (Template:Escyr)
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Paolo Meneguzzi in Belgrade (Template:Escyr)
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Michael von der Heide in Oslo (Template:Escyr)
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Anna Rossinelli in Düsseldorf (Template:Escyr)
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Takasa in Malmö (Template:Escyr)
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Sebalter in Copenhagen (Template:Escyr)
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Mélanie René in Vienna (Template:Escyr)
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Rykka in Stockholm (Template:Escyr)
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Timebelle in Kyiv (Template:Escyr)
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Zibbz in Lisbon (Template:Escyr)
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Luca Hänni in Tel Aviv (Template:Escyr)
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Gjon's Tears in Rotterdam (Template:Escyr)
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Marius Bear in Turin (Template:Escyr)
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Remo Forrer in Liverpool (Template:Escyr)
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Nemo in Malmö (Template:Escyr)
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Zoë Më in Basel (Template:Escyr)
See also
- Switzerland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Notes
References
Template:Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest Template:Eurovision Song Contest Template:Authority control