Switzerland has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 65 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 participating broadcaster in the contest is the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR).
| Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest | |
| Participating broadcaster | Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 65 (54 finals) |
| First appearance | 1956 |
| Highest placement | 1st: 1956, 1988, 2024 |
| Host | 1956, 1989, 2025 |
Participation history | |
| External links | |
| |
| Switzerland's page at Eurovision.tv | |
| For the most recent participation see Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 | |
"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 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 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 65 appearances in the contest, it has sent 66 songs, 25 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.
Selection methods
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.
- National selection: 42 (63.6%)
- Internal selection: 23 (34.8%)
- Internal selection among songs from national selection: 1 (1.52%)
| Songs | Selection methods | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 42 | Artist and song with national selections | 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| 23 | Artist and song with internal selections | 1958, 1962, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1980, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2019, |
| 1 | Internally selection among songs from national selection after being held | 1992 |
Participation overview
| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| ◁ | Last place |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
| † | Upcoming event |
| Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Lys Assia | "Das alte Karussell" | German | N/a | N/a | 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 | |
| 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 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 | Zoë Më | "Voyage" | French | 10 | 214 | Host country | |
| 2026 | Confirmed intention to participate † | ||||||
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
| 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 | |
Hostings
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Lugano | Teatro Kursaal | Lohengrin Filipello |
| 1989 | Lausanne | Palais de Beaulieu | Lolita Morena and Jacques Deschenaux |
| 2025 | Basel | St. Jakobshalle | Hazel Brugger, Sandra Studer (all shows) and Michelle Hunziker (final) |
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 | |
| 2025 | Composer Award | "Voyage" | Emily Middlemas, Tom Oehler, & Zoë Anina Kressler (m & l) | Zoë Më | 10 | 214 | Basel |
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.
| Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2016–2021 | Reto Peritz | |
| 2022–2024 | Yves Schifferle | |
| 2025 | Daniel Meister | |
| 2026 | Yves Schifferle |
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.
| 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 | TSR | Raymond Colbert | No television broadcast | No spokesperson | ||
| 1957 | Unknown | Robert Beauvais | Unknown | |||||
| 1958 | TV DRS | Georges Hardy | ||||||
| 1959 | Unknown | TSI | Unknown | |||||
| 1960 | Theodor Haller | |||||||
| 1961 | Unknown | Robert Beauvais | ||||||
| 1962 | Pierre Tchernia | Giovanni Bertini | ||||||
| 1963 | Theodor Haller | Georges Hardy | Renato Tagliani | |||||
| 1964 | Unknown | Robert Burnier | Unknown | |||||
| 1965 | Jean Charles | |||||||
| 1966 | Hans-Joachim Rauschenbach | Unknown | ||||||
| 1967 | Unknown | Robert Burnier | ||||||
| 1968 | Theodor Haller | Georges Hardy | ||||||
| 1969 | Unknown | |||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||
| 1971 | Theodor Haller | No spokesperson | ||||||
| 1972 | ||||||||
| 1973 | ||||||||
| 1974 | Unknown | |||||||
| 1975 | Unknown | |||||||
| 1976 | Theodor Haller | |||||||
| 1977 | ||||||||
| 1978 | ||||||||
| 1979 | Max Rüeger | |||||||
| 1980 | Theodor Haller | |||||||
| 1981 | Giovanni Bertini | |||||||
| 1982 | ||||||||
| 1983 | ||||||||
| 1984 | Bernard Thurnheer | Serge Moisson | Unknown | |||||
| 1985 | ||||||||
| 1986 | ||||||||
| 1987 | SRG Sportkette | SSR Chaîne Sportive | SSR Canale Sportivo | |||||
| 1988 | Giovanni Bertini | |||||||
| 1989 | TV DRS | TSR | Thierry Masselot | TSI | ||||
| 1990 | SRG Sportkette | SSR Chaîne Sportive | Unknown | SSR Canale Sportivo | Unknown | |||
| 1991 | TV DRS | TSR Chaîne nationale | Lolita Morena | TSI Canale nationale | ||||
| 1992 | Mariano Tschuor | Ivan Frésard | ||||||
| 1993 | SF DRS | Bernard Thurnheer | Jean-Marc Richard | Emanuela Gaggini | ||||
| 1994 | Unknown | Sandra Studer | ||||||
| 1995 | Schweiz 4 | Heinz Margot | Suisse 4 | Unknown | Did not participate | |||
| 1996 | TSR | Pierre Grandjean | Yves Ménestrier | |||||
| 1997 | Sandra Studer | TSI | Unknown | Sandy Altermatt | ||||
| 1998 | SF 2 | Unknown | TSR 1 | Jean-Marc Richard | TSI 1 | Jonathan Tedesco | Regula Elsener | |
| 1999 | Sandra Studer | TSI 2 | Unknown | Did not participate | ||||
| 2000 | TSI 1 | Jonathan Tedesco | Astrid von Stockar | |||||
| 2001 | Phil Mundwiller | Unknown | Did not participate | |||||
| 2002 | Jonathan Tedesco | Diana Jörg | ||||||
| 2003 | Roman Kilchsperger | Jean-Marc Richard and Alain Morisod | Daniele Rauseo | Did not participate | ||||
| 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 | |||
| 2005 | Sandra Studer | Jean-Marc Richard and Marie-Thérèse Porchet | TSI 2 (Semi-final) TSI 1 (Final) | Daniela Tami and Claudio Lazzarino | Cécile Bähler | |||
| 2006 | Jean-Marc Richard and Alain Morisod | Unknown | Jubaira Bachmann | |||||
| 2007 | Bernard Thurnheer | TSR 2 | Nicolas Tanner (Semi-final) Henri Dès (Final) Jean-Marc Richard (All shows) | Sven Epiney | ||||
| 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 | Cécile Bähler | |
| 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) | ||||
| 2010 | SF zwei | TSR 2 | Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner | RSI La 1 | Christa Rigozzi | |||
| 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 | ||
| 2012 | RTS Deux (SF1/Final) | Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner | RSI La 2 (SF1) RSI La 1 (Final) | Clarissa Tami and Paolo Meneguzzi | Sara Hildebrand | |||
| 2013 | SF zwei (SF2) SRF 1 (Final) | RTS Deux (SF2/Final) | RSI La 2 (SF2) RSI La 1 (Final) | Alessandro Bertoglio | Mélanie Freymond | |||
| 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 | |||
| 2015 | SF zwei (Semi-finals) SRF 1 (Final) | Peter Schneider and Gabriel Vetter (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 | ||
| 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 | |||
| 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 | |||
| 2018 | RTS Deux (SF2) RTS Un (Final) | Clarissa Tami | Letícia Carvalho | |||||
| 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 | |||
SRF 1 (Final) SRF info (All shows) | Not announced before cancellation | |||||||
| 2021 | SF zwei (Semi-finals) SRF 1 (Final) | Sven Epiney | RTS 2 (Semi-finals) RTS 1 (Final) | Joseph Gorgoni (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 | |
| 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 | |||
| 2023 | SF zwei (Semi-finals) SRF 1 (Final) | Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner and Priscilla Formaz | Ellis Cavallini and Gian-Andrea Costa | Chiara Dubey | ||||
| 2024 | Julie Berthollet (Final) Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner (All shows) | Jennifer Bosshard | ||||||
| 2025 | SRF 1 | RTS 1 | Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner | Mélanie Freymond and Sven Epiney | ||||
| SRF Play | Patti Basler | |||||||
| SRF info | Sign language interpreters | |||||||
Photo gallery
See also
- Switzerland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
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