Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
| Switzerland | |
|---|---|
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| Member station | SRG SSR |
| National selection events |
National Final
Internal Selection
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| Appearances | |
| Appearances | 56 (48 finals) |
| First appearance | 1956 |
| Best result | 1st: 1956, 1988 |
| Worst result |
Last: 1964, 1967, 1974, 1998, 2004 SF, 2010 SF, 2011, 2015 SF Nul points: 1964, 1967, 1998, 2004 SF |
| External links | |
| SF page | |
| Switzerland's page at Eurovision.tv | |
Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 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, and won it themselves. Switzerland won the contest again in 1988.
Lys Assia won the very first contest in Lugano in 1956 with the song "Refrain". She returned to place second in 1958. Switzerland would go on to finish third in 1961 with Franca Di Rienzo and 1982 with Arlette Zola, and place second with Esther Ofarim in 1963 and Daniela Simons in 1986, before winning the contest for the second time in 1988 with Celine Dion and the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". In 1993, Annie Cotton gave the country its eighth top three result, when she placed third.
In the 21st century, Switzerland has only once reached the top ten, in 2005 with the girl band Vanilla Ninja finishing eighth. Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Switzerland has failed to qualify for the final eight times. At the 2014 contest, Sebalter gave the country its second best result of the century, finishing 13th.
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 relegated Switzerland from the contest.[1][2][3][4]
Contestants
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 55 appearances in the Contest, Switzerland has sent 52 songs, 24 of which were in French, 12 in German, nine in Italian, nine in English, and one in Romansh. Both of Switzerland's winning songs have been sung in French.
- Table key
- NOTES:
- a. ^ The full results for the first contest in 1956 are unknown, only the winner was announced. The official Eurovision site lists all the other songs as being placed second.
- b. If a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. In addition from 2004-2007, the top ten countries who were not members of the big four did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year. If, for example, Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the countries who placed 11th and 12th were advanced to the following year's grand final along with the rest of the top ten countries.
Voting history
As of 2015, Switzerland's voting history is as follows:
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Hostings
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Lugano | Teatro Kursaal | Lohengrin Filipello |
| 1989 | Lausanne | Palais de Beaulieu | Lolita Morena and Jacques Deschenaux |
Commentators and Spokespeople
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(s) | Swiss German Commentator | Swiss French Commentator | Swiss Italian Commentator | Spokesperson | Dual Swiss German Commentator | Dual Swiss French Commentator | Dual Swiss Italian Commentator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | No broadcast | Georges Hardy | No broadcast | N/A | No Dual Commentator | No Dual Commentator | No Dual Commentator |
| 1957 | Mäni Weber | ||||||
| 1958 | Theodor Haller | ||||||
| 1959 | Boris Acquadro | ||||||
| 1960 | |||||||
| 1961 | |||||||
| 1962 | Giovanni Bertini | ||||||
| 1963 | |||||||
| 1964 | Alexandre Burger | ||||||
| 1965 | |||||||
| 1966 | |||||||
| 1967 | |||||||
| 1968 | |||||||
| 1969 | |||||||
| 1970 | |||||||
| 1971 | No Spokesperson | ||||||
| 1972 | |||||||
| 1973 | |||||||
| 1974 | Michel Stocker | ||||||
| 1975 | |||||||
| 1976 | |||||||
| 1977 | |||||||
| 1978 | |||||||
| 1979 | |||||||
| 1980 | |||||||
| 1981 | |||||||
| 1982 | |||||||
| 1983 | |||||||
| 1984 | Bernard Thurnheer | Serge Moisson | Ezio Guidi | ||||
| 1985 | |||||||
| 1986 | |||||||
| 1987 | |||||||
| 1988 | |||||||
| 1989 | Unknown | ||||||
| 1990 | Emanuela Gaggini | ||||||
| 1991 | Lolita Morena | ||||||
| 1992 | Mariano Tschuor | Ivan Frésard | |||||
| 1993 | Bernard Thurnheer | Jean-Marc Richard | |||||
| 1994 | Wilma Gilardi | Sandra Simo | |||||
| 1995 | Heinz Margot | Joanne Holder | Did not participate | ||||
| 1996 | Sandra Studer | Pierre Grandjean | Yves Ménestrier | ||||
| 1997 | Heinz Margot | Jonathan Tedesco | Sandy Altermatt | Roman Kilchsperger | |||
| 1998 | Jean-Marc Richard | Regula Elsener | |||||
| 1999 | Sandra Studer | Did not participate | No Dual Commentator | ||||
| 2000 | Astrid Von Stockar | ||||||
| 2001 | Did not participate | ||||||
| 2002 | Phil Mundwiller | Diana Jörg | Claudio Lazzarino | ||||
| 2003 | Roman Kilchsperger | Jean-Marc Richard | Daniele Rauseo | Did not participate | Alain Morisod | No Dual Commentator | |
| 2004 | Sandra Studer | Daniela Tami | Emel Aykanat | Claudio Lazzarino | |||
| 2005 | Cécile Bähler | Marie-Thérèse Porchet | |||||
| 2006 | Sandy Altermatt | Jubaira Bachmann | Alain Morisod | ||||
| 2007 | Bernard Thurnheer | Sven Epiney | Henri Dès (final) + Nicolas Tanner (semi-final) | ||||
| 2008 | Sven Epiney | Cécile Bähler | Nicolas Tanner | No Dual Commentator | |||
| 2009 | |||||||
| 2010 | Christa Rigozzi | ||||||
| 2011 | Jonathan Tedesco | Cécile Bähler | |||||
| 2012 | Clarissa Tami | Sara Hildebrand | Paolo Meneguzzi | ||||
| 2013 | Alessandro Bertoglio | Mélanie Freymond | No Dual Commentator | ||||
| 2014 | Kurt Aeschbacher | Nicolas Tanner | Sandy Altermatt | ||||
| 2015 | Clarissa Tami | Laetitia Guarino | Nicolas Tanner | Paolo Meneguzzi | |||
| 2016 | Clarissa Tami | Sebalter | Peter Schneider + Gabriel Vetter (final) | Nicolas Tanner | Clarissa Tami + Michele Carobbio |
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
- Table key
| Year | Artist | Language | Title | Final | Points | Semi | Points | Place (1988) | Points (1988) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Celine Dion | French | "Ne partez pas sans moi" | Failed to qualify | 10 | 98 | 1 | 137 | |
Photogallery
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Jean Philippe at Luxembourg (1962)
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Peter, Sue and Marc at The Hague (1976)
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Piero and the MusicStars at Istanbul (2004)
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Paolo Meneguzzi at Belgrade (2008)
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Anna Rossinelli at Düsseldorf (2011)
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Mélanie René at Vienna (2015)
References
- ↑ "History by Year: Eurovision Song Contest 1995". EBU. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ↑ "History by Year: Eurovision Song Contest 1999". EBU. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ↑ "History by Year: Eurovision Song Contest 2001". EBU. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ↑ "History by Year: Eurovision Song Contest 2003". EBU. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ↑ Barclay, Simon (June 17, 2010). The Complete and Independent Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Silverthorn Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-4457-8415-1.
External links
- Points to and from Switzerland eurovisioncovers.co.uk
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