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Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participating broadcaster	Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR)
Participation summary
Appearances	64 (53 finals)
First appearance	1956
Highest placement	1st: 1956, 1988, 2024
Host	1956, 1989, 2025
Participation history 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
External links
SRF page RTS page RSI page
Switzerland's page at Eurovision.tv
For the most recent participation see Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

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).

"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

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, 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

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

Hostings

Awards

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	Rotterdam
2024	Composer Award Artistic Award	"The Code"	Benjamin Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann, Linda Dale, Nemo Mettler (m&l)	Nemo	1	591	Malmö

Related involvement

Conductors

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

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.

Commentators and spokespersons

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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).

Photo gallery

• Jean Philippe in Luxembourg (1962)
• Yovanna in Naples (1965)
• Henri Dès in Amsterdam (1970)
• Peter, Sue and Marc in The Hague (1976)
• Piero and the MusicStars in Istanbul (2004)
• Six4one during a press conference in Athens (2006)
• DJ BoBo in Helsinki (2007)
• Paolo Meneguzzi in Belgrade (2008)
• Michael von der Heide in Oslo (2010)
• Anna Rossinelli in Düsseldorf (2011)
• Takasa in Malmö (2013)
• Sebalter in Copenhagen (2014)
• Mélanie René in Vienna (2015)
• Rykka in Stockholm (2016)
• Timebelle in Kyiv (2017)
• Zibbz in Lisbon (2018)
• Luca Hänni in Tel Aviv (2019)
• Gjon's Tears in Rotterdam (2021)
• Marius Bear in Turin (2022)
• Remo Forrer in Liverpool (2023)
• Nemo in Malmö (2024)

See also

• Switzerland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
• Switzerland in the Eurovision Dance Contest – Dance version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
• Switzerland in the Eurovision Young Dancers – A competition organised by the EBU for younger dancers aged between 16 and 21.
• Switzerland in the Eurovision Young Musicians – A competition organised by the EBU for musicians aged 17 years and younger.

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.

References

1. "Eurovision Song Contest 2025: Wer vertritt die Schweiz?" [Who will represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025?] (in Swiss High German). SRF. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
2. "The Marcel Bezençon Award". 22 May 2021.
3. "Eurovision 2024: The winners of Marcel Bezençon Awards 2024! - OGAE Greece".
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. "Heads of Delegation". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
8. Interview mit Reto Peritz, Head of Delegation Switzerland Eurovision Song Contest (in Swiss High German). douzepoints.ch. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2023 – via YouTube.
9. Casellini, Stefano (31 December 2020). "Switzerland: The new song for Gjon's Tears is ready!". ESCToday. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
10. Arth, Rick (27 May 2022). "Host city speculation: Could Eurovision 2023 be held in Switzerland?". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
11. Stephenson, James (22 December 2023). "Switzerland: Eurovision Song Won't Be 'Male Ballad'". Eurovoix. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
12. Estermann, Edi (3 July 2024). "ESC 2025: the core project team is in place" (Press release). SRG SSR. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
13. "Do. 24. Mai". Bild+Funk [de] (in German). No. 21/1956. 20 May 1956. p. 43. OCLC 643528928.
14. "Avec la télévision romande". La Liberté (in French). 2 June 1956. p. 31. OCLC 632871126. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
15. ""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.
16. "Eurovision Song Contest 2017". RSI (in Italian). Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
17. Davies, Megan (1 May 2017). "Switzerland: Luca Hänni Announced As Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
18. Granger, Anthony (16 April 2018). "Switzerland: Sven Epiney Returns to the Commentary Booth". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
19. "Eurosong – TV – Play RTS". RTS (in French). Retrieved 26 February 2020.
20. "Eurovision Song Contest 2018 – RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera". RSI (in Italian). 7 May 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
21. Granger, Anthony (19 April 2018). "Switzerland: Leticia Carvalho Revealed as Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
22. Granger, Anthony (16 April 2019). "Switzerland: Sven Epiney Confirmed as SRF's Eurovision Commentator". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
23. Brown, Alistair (3 May 2019). "Switzerland: Bastian Baker Announced As Commentator For Grand Final". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
24. "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.
25. Herbert, Emily (24 April 2019). "Switzerland: Sinplus Revealed as Eurovision 2019 Spokespersons". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
26. "TV-Programm" (in German). Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
27. "Eurovision 2021: scarica la Guida completa all'evento (anche in versione eBook!)". Eurofestival (in Italian). 10 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
28. "Programme TV" (in French). Radio Télévision Suisse. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
29. Granger, Anthony (12 April 2021). "Switzerland: Sven Epiney Confirmed as SRF's Eurovision 2021 Commentator". Eurovoix. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
30. Granger, Anthony (27 April 2021). "Switzerland: Angélique Beldner Revealed as Spokesperson For Eurovision 2021". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
31. "Switzerland: Eurovision 2022 Commentators for RSI Revealed". 8 May 2022.
32. "Switzerland: Julie Berthollet Spokesperson for Eurovision 2022". 7 May 2022.
33. "Sie war 2018 in der Vorauswahl - Chiara Dubey verteilt die ESC-Punkte für die Schweiz". srf.ch (in German). SRF. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
34. "Remo Forrer mit «Watergun» für die Schweiz am «Eurovision Song Contest» 2023". Medienportal (in German). Retrieved 7 March 2023.
35. "ESC 2023 - Svizra prenda part cun «Watergun»". rtr.ch (in Romansh). Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
36. "TV-Programm – 09.05.2023". Play SRF (in German). Retrieved 5 April 2023.
37. "TV-Programm – 11.05.2023". Play SRF (in German). Retrieved 5 April 2023.
38. "TV-Programm – 13.05.2023". Play SRF (in German). Retrieved 6 April 2023.
39. Granger, Anthony (11 April 2023). "Switzerland: Sven Epiney Confirmed as SRF's Eurovision 2023 Commentator". Eurovoix. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
40. "'Watergun': Remo Forrer fait son entrée dans l'Eurovision avec force". rts.ch (in Swiss French). Radio Télévision Suisse. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
41. "Eurovision Song Contest 2023 - Remo Forrer in gara per la Svizzera con 'Watergun'". rsi.ch (in Italian). Radiotelevisione svizzera. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
42. "11. Mai 2024". Play SRF (in Swiss High German). SRG SSR. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
43. Granger, Anthony (27 March 2024). "Switzerland: Jennifer Bosshard Spokesperson for Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
44. "9. Mai 2024". Play SRF (in Swiss High German). SRF. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
45. "1ère demi-finale internationale". Play RTS (in Swiss French). SRG SSR. Retrieved 9 May 2024.

External links

• Points to and from Switzerland eurovisioncovers.co.uk

• Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest