Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 62 times since making its debut at the first contest in , missing only four contests, in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, 2001 and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956 in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

, and won it. Switzerland won the contest again in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, with the contest being held in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

Lys Assia Lys Assia (born Rosa Mina Schärer; 3 March 1924 – 24 March 2018) was a Swiss singer who won the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Assia was born in Rupperswil, Aargau, and began her stage career as a dancer, but changed to singing in 1940 ...

won the first contest in 1956 with the song " Refrain". She returned to place second in . Switzerland would go on to finish second with

Esther Ofarim Esther Zaied, better known by her married name Esther Ofarim ( he, אסתר עופרים; born June 13, 1941), is an Israeli singer. She came second in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the song " T'en va pas", representing Switzerland. Aft ...

() and

Daniela Simmons Daniela Borruso-Sereftug (born 9 December 1959), better known by the stage name Daniela Simmons (sometimes written Simons), is a singer/songwriter/musician who represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 in Bergen Bergen (), ...

() and third with Franca Di Rienzo () and Arlette Zola (), before winning the contest for the second time in with

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

and the song "

Ne partez pas sans moi "Ne partez pas sans moi" (; "Don't Leave Without Me") is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion. The song was written by Atilla Şereftuğ and Nella Martinetti. It is best known as the Swiss winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contes ...

". Annie Cotton gave the country its 15th top five result in , when she placed third. Since the introduction of the qualifying round in 1993, Switzerland has entered the top ten only four times. Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Switzerland have failed to reach the final in 11 of 19 contests. Switzerland returned to the top five for the first time in 26 years when

Luca Hänni Luca Hänni (born 8 October 1994) is a Swiss pop singer and television personality. He rose to fame in 2012 after winning the ninth season of ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German version of the ''Idol'' franchise. He was the first n ...

gave the country its 16th top five result by finishing fourth in , followed by their 17th top five finish, when

Gjon's Tears Gjon Muharremaj (; born 29 June 1998), known professionally as Gjon's Tears, is a Swiss singer and songwriter. He was scheduled to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song " Répondez-moi" prior to the event's ca ...

placed third in .

Absences

Switzerland had been absent from Eurovision four times since their participation began in the first contest. These absences, in

, 2001 and 2003 were caused by poor results in previous contests that led to relegation.

National selections

A mix of different selection processes have been used to determine Switzerland's entry in each year's contest. Since 2019, SRG SSR 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

Switzerland has four official languages, French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, 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 60 appearances in the contest, Switzerland has sent 61 songs, 24 of which were in French, 12 in German, 15 in English, 10 in Italian and 1 in Romansh. Both of Switzerland's winning songs have been sung in French.

''Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest''

Hostings

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

Related involvement

Conductors

Commentators and spokespersons

Over the years Switzerland has broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest on three television stations, SRF (

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

RTS RTS may refer to: Medicine * Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim * Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma * Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...

( French language) and RSI (

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...

Gallery

File:Eurovisie Songfestival 1962 te Luxemburg, voor Zwitserland Jean Philippe, Bestanddeelnr 913-6591.jpg,

Jean Philippe Jean Philippe Gargantiel (, 27 November 1930 – 7 January 2022) was a French singer who represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. He returned to the contest in 1962 representing Switzerland. He was the first artist to compete fo ...

in Luxembourg () File:Eurovision Song Contest 1965 - Yovanna.jpg,

Yovanna Ioanna Fassou Kalpaxi (Greek: Ιωάννα Φάσσου Καλπαξή; born 14 November 1938), known professionally as Yovanna, is a Greek singer, novelist and poet known for her participation in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest representing Sw ...

in Naples () File:Henri Des (Zwitserland), Bestanddeelnr 923-3707.jpg,

Henri Dès Henri Dès (born 14 December 1940 in Renens, Vaud, Switzerland as Henri Destraz) is a Swiss French-language children's singer and songwriter immensely popular in European Francophone countries. In 1970, he released his first album, ''Retour''. D ...

in Amsterdam () File:Eurovisie Songfestival 76 Den Haag Peter, Sue and Marc (Zwitserland), Bestanddeelnr 928-5029.jpg,

Peter, Sue and Marc Peter, Sue and Marc were a Swiss music group from Bern. The members were Peter Reber (born 1949, vocals / piano / guitar), Sue Schell (born 1950 in New York, vocals), and Marc Dietrich (born 1948, vocals / guitar). They represented Switzerland at ...

in The Hague () File:Piero Esteriore - Switzerland 2004.jpg, Piero and the MusicStars in Istanbul () File:2006ch Press Conference.jpg,

Six4one six4one was a six-piece supergroup formed in November 2005 for the sole purpose of representing Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The group was made up of six people who were chosen at a casting session that took place November ...

during a press conference in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

() File:ESC 2007 Switzerland - DJ Bobo - Vampires are alive.jpg,

DJ BoBo Peter René Baumann (born 5 January 1968), better known under his stage name DJ BoBo, is a Swiss singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, and music producer. He has sold 14 million records worldwide and has released 12 studio albums as well as several ...

in Helsinki () File:Paolo Meneguzzi, Switzerland, Eurovision 2008, 2nd semifinal.jpg, Paolo Meneguzzi in Belgrade () File:Michael von der Heide in Oslo (cropped).jpg,

Michael von der Heide Michael von der Heide (born 16 October 1971 in Amden, Switzerland) is a Swiss musician, singer, and actor. Early life Von der Heide was born the son of a German father and a Swiss mother. Eurovision Song Contest Eurovision Song Contest 1999 In ...

in Oslo () File:Switzerland at ESC 2011 (cropped).jpg,

Anna Rossinelli Anna Rossinelli (born 20 April 1987 in Basel) is a Swiss singer-songwriter. Rossinelli sings as a part of a pop-soul trio band, which performs under her name. Music career ''Eurovision Song Contest'' On 11 December 2010, Rossinelli won the Sw ...

in Düsseldorf () File:ESC2013 - Switzerland 06.jpg,

Takasa Takasa was a Swiss musical group that represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The group consisted of six Salvation Army soldiers. Career Eurovision Song Contest 2013 The band, originally named "Heil ...

in Malmö () File:ESC2014 - Switzerland 01.jpg,

Sebalter Sebastiano Paù-Lessi, (born 1 July 1985) better known by his stage name, Sebalter (stylised SEBalter) is a Swiss singer, fiddler, and attorney who represented his country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He performe ...

in Copenhagen () File:20150516 ESC 2015 Mélanie René 0212.jpg,

Mélanie René Mélanie René (born 1 September 1990), also known as Meylz, is a Swiss singer and songwriter. She represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song " Time to Shine". René is of Mauritian origin. Singles See also ...

in Vienna () File:ESC2016 - Switzerland 06.jpg,

Rykka Christina Maria Rieder (born 13 March 1986), better known by their stage name Rykka (), is a Swiss-Canadian singer and songwriter from Vancouver, British Columbia. Their songs have been featured on TV, and they have been nominated for several musi ...

in Stockholm () File:Eurovision Song Contest 2017, Semi Final 2 Rehearsals. Photo 247.jpg,

Timebelle Timebelle is a Swiss-Romanian band from Bern, currently consisting of lead vocalist Miruna Mănescu, drummer Samuel Forster, and multi-instrumentalist Emanuel Daniel Andriescu. Past members include accordionist Rade Mijatović, guitarist Christop ...

in Kyiv () File:Zibbz (Switzerland 2018).jpg,

Zibbz Zibbz (sometimes stylized as ZiBBZ) is a Swiss duo made of siblings Corinne and Stefan Gfeller. They represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song " Stones". They are from Zürich, but are based in Los Angeles. B ...

in Lisbon () File:ESC2019-Switzerland (cropped).jpg,

in Tel Aviv () File:Gjons tears-1621721556.JPG,

in Rotterdam () File:Eurovision 2022 - Semi-final 1 - Switzerland - Marius Bear.jpg,

Marius Bear Marius Hügli (born 21 April 1993), known professionally as Marius Bear, is a Swiss singer. He represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with the song "Boys Do Cry". He studied to be a construction mechanic and has been a ...

in Turin ()

Notes

References

External links

Points to and from Switzerland
''eurovisioncovers.co.uk'' {{Authority control Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest