Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest

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Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times since its debut at the first contest in 1956, missing only four contests because of being relegated due to poor results the previous year: 1995, 1999, 2001, and 2003. Switzerland hosted the inaugural contest in 1956 in Lugano, where it also won. The country claimed its second victory in 1988, 32 years after the first, and its third in 2024, 36 years after the second win. The Swiss participant broadcaster in the contest is the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR).

Quick Facts Participating broadcaster, Participation summary ...
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Thumb
Participating broadcasterSwiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR)
Participation summary
Appearances64 (53 finals)
First appearance1956
Highest placement1st: 1956, 1988, 2024
Host1956, 1989, 2025
Participation history
External links
Switzerland's page at Eurovision.tv
For the most recent participation see
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
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"Refrain" performed by Lys Assia won the inaugural contest in 1956 for Switzerland; she returned to place second in 1958 with "Giorgio". The country achieved second place with "T'en va pas" by Esther Ofarim (1963) and "Pas pour moi" by Daniela Simmons (1986), and third place with "Nous aurons demain" by Franca di Rienzo (1961) and "Amour on t'aime" by Arlette Zola (1982). It won for the second time in 1988 with "Ne partez pas sans moi" performed by Céline Dion. "Moi, tout simplement" by Annie Cotton secured Switzerland's 15th top-five finish by placing third in 1993.

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 2019, achieving the country's 16th top-five result. This was followed by "Tout l'univers" by Gjon's Tears placing third in 2021, 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 (2004), "Il pleut de l'or" by Michael von der Heide (2010), "Time to Shine" by Mélanie René (2015), and "The Last of Our Kind" by Rykka (2016).

Participation

Summarize
Perspective

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 first contest 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,[a] 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.

Participation overview

Table key
1 First place
2 Second place
3 Third place
Last place
X Entry selected but did not compete
Upcoming event
More information Year, Artist ...
Year Artist Song Language Final Points Semi Points
1956 Lys Assia "Das alte Karussell" German [b] [b] 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 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[c]
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[d] 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 Nemo "The Code" English 1 591 4 132
2025 Confirmed intention to participate [1] Host country
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Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

More information Artist, Song ...
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
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Hostings

More information Year, Location ...
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Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

More information Year, Category ...
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
2024 Composer Award
Artistic Award[e]
"The Code" Benjamin Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann, Linda Dale, Nemo Mettler (m&l) Nemo 1 591 Sweden Malmö
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Summarize
Perspective

Conductors

More information Year, Conductor ...
Year Conductor[f] Notes Ref.
1956 Fernando Paggi [g] [4]
1957 Germany Willy Berking [h]
1958 Paul Burkhard
1959 France Franck Pourcel [i]
1960 Cédric Dumont
1961 Fernando Paggi
1962 Cédric Dumont
1963 United Kingdom Eric Robinson [j]
1964 Fernando Paggi
1965 Mario Robbiani
1966 Luxembourg Jean Roderes [k]
1967 Hans Moeckel
1968 Mario Robbiani
1969 Germany Henry Mayer
1970 France Bernard Gérard [5]
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 [6]
1981 Germany Rolf Zuckowski
1982 Spain Joan Amils
1983 Robert Weber [l]
1984 Mario Robbiani
1985 Anita Kerr
1986 Turkey Switzerland Atilla Şereftuğ
1987 No conductor
1988 Turkey Switzerland Atilla Şereftuğ
1989 France Benoît Kaufman [m]
1990 Bela Balint
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
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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.[7]

More information Year, Head of delegation ...
Year Head of delegation Ref.
20162021 Reto Peritz
20222024 Yves Schifferle
2025 Daniel Meister
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Commentators and spokespersons

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).

More information Year, Swiss German (SRF) ...
Television broadcasts, commentators and spokespersons
Year Swiss German (SRF) Swiss French (RTS) Swiss Italian (RSI) Spokesperson Ref.
Channel Commentator(s) Channel Commentator(s) Channel Commentator(s)
1956 SRG Fritz Schäuffele [de] TSR Raymond Colbert [fr] No television broadcast No spokesperson [13][14][15][16]
1957 Unknown Robert Beauvais[n] Unknown [17][18]
1958 TV DRS Georges Hardy [fr] [19][20]
1959 Unknown TSI Unknown [21][22][23]
1960 Theodor Haller [de; fr] [24][25][26]
1961 Unknown Robert Beauvais[n] [27][28][29]
1962 Pierre Tchernia[n] [30][31][32][33]
1963 Theodor Haller Georges Hardy Renato Tagliani [it][o] [34][35][36][37]
1964 Unknown Robert Burnier Unknown [38][39][40]
1965 Jean Charles [fr] [41][42][43]
1966 Hans-Joachim Rauschenbach [de][p] Unknown [44][45][46][47]
1967 Unknown Robert Burnier [48][49][50]
1968 Theodor Haller Georges Hardy [51][52][53]
1969 Unknown [54][55][56]
1970 [57][58][59]
1971 Theodor Haller No spokesperson [60][61][62]
1972 [63][64][65]
1973 [66][67][68]
1974 Unknown [69][70][71]
1975 Unknown [72][73][74]
1976 Theodor Haller [75][76][77]
1977 [78][79][80]
1978 [81][82][83]
1979 Max Rüeger [de] [84][85][86]
1980 Theodor Haller [87][88][89]
1981 Giovanni Bertini [90][91][92][93]
1982 [94][95][96][97]
1983 [98][99][100][101]
1984 Bernard Thurnheer [de] Serge Moisson [fr] Unknown [102][103][104]
1985 [105][106][107]
1986 [108][109][110]
1987 SRG Sportkette [de] SSR Chaîne Sportive [de] SSR Canale Sportivo [de] [111][112][113]
1988 [114][115][116]
1989 TV DRS TSR Thierry Masselot TSI Giovanni Bertini [117][118][119][120]
1990 SRG Sportkette SSR Chaîne Sportive Unknown SSR Canale Sportivo Unknown [121][122][123]
1991 TV DRS TSR Chaîne nationale Lolita Morena TSI Canale nationale [124][125][126]
1992 Mariano Tschuor [rm] Ivan Frésard [fr] [127][128]
1993 SF DRS Bernard Thurnheer Jean-Marc Richard Emanuela Gaggini [129][130][131]
1994 Unknown Sandra Studer [132][133][134]
1995 Schweiz 4 Heinz Margot Suisse 4 Unknown Did not participate [135][136]
1996 TSR Pierre Grandjean Yves Ménestrier [137][138][139]
1997 Sandra Studer TSI Unknown Sandy Altermatt [it] [140][141][142]
1998 SF 2 Unknown TSR 1 Jean-Marc Richard TSI 1 Jonathan Tedesco Regula Elsener [143][144][145][146][147]
1999 Sandra Studer TSI 2 Unknown Did not participate [148][149][150][151]
2000 TSI 1 Jonathan Tedesco Astrid von Stockar [152][153][154][155]
2001 Phil Mundwiller Unknown Did not participate [156][157]
2002 Jonathan Tedesco Diana Jörg [158][159][160]
2003 Roman Kilchsperger [de] Jean-Marc Richard and Alain Morisod Daniele Rauseo Did not participate [161][162]
2004 SF 2 (Semi-final)
SF 1 (Final)
Marco Fritsche (Semi-final)
Sandra Studer (Final)
TSR 2 (Semi-final)
TSR 1 (Final)
Unknown Emel Aykanat [163][164][165][166][167][168]
2005 Sandra Studer Jean-Marc Richard and Marie-Thérèse Porchet TSI 2 (Semi-final)
TSI 1 (Final)
Daniela Tami and Claudio Lazzarino Cécile Bähler [de] [169][170][171][172][173][174][175][176]
2006 Jean-Marc Richard and Alain Morisod Unknown Jubaira Bachmann [de] [177][178][179][180][181][182]
2007 Bernard Thurnheer TSR 2 Nicolas Tanner (Semi-final)
Henri Dès (Final)
Jean-Marc Richard (All shows)
Sven Epiney [183][184][185][186][187]
2008 SF zwei (SF2/Final)
HD suisse (Final)
Sven Epiney TSR 2 (SF2/Final) Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner TSI 2 (SF2)
TSI 1 (Final)
Sandy Altermatt [it] Cécile Bähler [de] [188][189][190][191][192][193][194]
2009 SF zwei (SF1/Final) TSR 2 (SF1/Final) Jean-Marc Richard (SF1/Final)
Nicolas Tanner (Final)
RSI La 2 (SF1)
RSI La 1 (Final)
[195][196][197][198][199][200]
2010 SF zwei TSR 2 Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner RSI La 1 Christa Rigozzi [201]
2011 SF zwei (SF1/Final) TSR 2 (SF1/Final) Nicolas Tanner (Semi-final)
Henri Dès (Final)
Jean-Marc Richard (All shows)
RSI La 2 (Semi-finals)
RSI La 1 (Final)
Jonathan Tedesco Cécile Bähler [202][203][204]
2012 RTS Deux (SF1/Final) Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner RSI La 2 (SF1)
RSI La 1 (Final)
Clarissa Tami [it] and Paolo Meneguzzi Sara Hildebrand [205][206][207][208]
2013 SF zwei (SF2)
SRF 1 (Final)
RTS Deux (SF2/Final) RSI La 2 (SF2)
RSI La 1 (Final)
Alessandro Bertoglio [it] Mélanie Freymond [fr] [209][210][211][212]
2014 SF zwei (Semi-finals)
SRF 1 (Final)
RTS Deux (SF2)
RTS Un (Final)
Jean-Marc Richard and Valérie Ogier Sandy Altermatt and Alessandro Bertoglio Kurt Aeschbacher [de] [213][214][215][216][217]
2015 SF zwei (Semi-finals)
SRF 1 (Final)
Peter Schneider and Gabriel Vetter [de] (Final)
Sven Epiney (All shows)
rts.ch (SF1)
RTS Deux (SF2)
RTS Un (Final)
Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner Clarissa Tami and Paolo Meneguzzi Laetitia Guarino [218][219][220][221]
srf.ch Sign language interpreters
2016 SF zwei (Semi-finals)
SRF 1 (Final)
Peter Schneider and Gabriel Vetter (Final)
Sven Epiney (All shows)
RTS Deux (SF2/Final) Michele "Cerno" Carobbio (Final)
Clarissa Tami (All shows)
Sebalter [222][223][224][225][226]
2017 Sven Epiney RTS Deux (Semi-finals)
RTS Un (Final)
RSI La 2 (Semi-finals)
RSI La 1 (Final)
Clarissa Tami and Sebalter Luca Hänni [227][228]
2018 RTS Deux (SF2)
RTS Un (Final)
Clarissa Tami Letícia Carvalho [229][230][231][232][233]
2019 RTS Deux (Semi-finals)
RTS Un (Final)
Bastian Baker (Final)
Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner (All shows)
RSI La 2 (SF2)
RSI La 1 (Final)
Clarissa Tami and Sebalter Sinplus [234][235][236][237]
2020 SF zwei (SF2)
SRF 1 (Final)
SRF info (All shows)
Sven Epiney Not announced before cancellation [238][239]
2021 SF zwei (Semi-finals)
SRF 1 (Final)
Sven Epiney RTS 2 (Semi-finals)
RTS 1 (Final)
Joseph Gorgoni [fr] (Final)
Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner (All shows)
RSI La 2 (SF2)
RSI La 1 (Final)
Sebalter (Final)
Clarissa Tami (All shows)
Angélique Beldner [240][241][242][243][244]
2022 SF zwei (Semi-finals)
SRF info (SF2)
SRF 1 (Final)
Nicolas Tanner (Semi-finals)
Gjon's Tears (Final)
Jean-Marc Richard (All shows)
RSI La 2 (Semi-finals)
RSI La 1 (Final)
Francesca Margiotta (SF1/Final)
Boris Piffaretti (SF2/Final)
Clarissa Tami (All shows)
Julie Berthollet [245][246][247][248]
2023 SF zwei (Semi-finals)
SRF 1 (Final)
Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner and Priscilla Formaz Ellis Cavallini and Gian-Andrea Costa Chiara Dubey [249][250][251][252]
2024 Julie Berthollet (Final)
Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner (All shows)
Jennifer Bosshard [253][254][255][256][257][258]
2025 TBA TBA [259]
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See also

Notes

  1. The selected Swiss entry for the cancelled 2020 contest was also sung in French.
  2. The 1956 contest had secret voting and, apart from the winner, no results were released.
  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. Voted by the national commentators.
  6. All conductors are of Swiss nationality unless otherwise noted.
  7. Also conducted the Dutch and German entries.
  8. Host conductor
  9. Host conductor
  10. Host conductor
  11. Host conductor
  12. Conducted at the national final by Hans Moeckel
  13. Also conducted the Luxembourgish entry and half of the Danish entry.
  14. Commentary provided by France's RTF
  15. Commentary provided by Italy's RAI
  16. Commentary provided by Germany's ARD

References

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