Kathy Leander

Switzerland has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 65 times since its debut at the first contest in , missing only four contests because of being relegated due to poor results the previous year: , , , and . Switzerland hosted the inaugural contest in 1956 in Lugano, where it also won. The country claimed its second victory in , 32 years after the first, and its third in , 36 years after the second win. The Swiss participating broadcaster in the contest is the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR).

"" performed by Lys Assia won the inaugural contest in 1956 for Switzerland; she returned to place second in with "Giorgio". The country achieved second place with "" by Esther Ofarim () and "" by Daniela Simmons (), and third place with "" by Franca di Rienzo () and "" by Arlette Zola (). It won for the second time in 1988 with "" performed by Céline Dion. "" by Annie Cotton secured Switzerland's 15th top-five finish by placing third in .

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 , achieving the country's 16th top-five result. This was followed by "" by Gjon's Tears placing third in , 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 (), "" by Michael von der Heide (), "Time to Shine" by Mélanie René (), and "The Last of Our Kind" by Rykka ().

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 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.

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.

Participation overview

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

Hostings

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

Related involvement

Conductors

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

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

File:Eurovisie Songfestival 1962 te Luxemburg, voor Zwitserland Jean Philippe, Bestanddeelnr 913-6591.jpg, Jean Philippe in Luxembourg ()
File:Eurovision Song Contest 1965 - Yovanna.jpg, Yovanna in Naples ()
File:Henri Des (Zwitserland), Bestanddeelnr 923-3707.jpg, Henri Dès in Amsterdam ()
File:Eurovisie Songfestival 76 Den Haag Peter, Sue and Marc (Zwitserland), Bestanddeelnr 928-5029.jpg, Peter, Sue and Marc in The Hague ()
File:Piero Esteriore - Switzerland 2004.jpg, Piero and the MusicStars in Istanbul ()
File:2006ch Press Conference.jpg, Six4one during a press conference in Athens ()
File:ESC 2007 Switzerland - DJ Bobo - Vampires are alive.jpg, DJ BoBo 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 in Oslo ()
File:Switzerland at ESC 2011 (cropped).jpg, Anna Rossinelli in Düsseldorf ()
File:ESC2013 - Switzerland 06.jpg, Takasa in Malmö ()
File:ESC2014 - Switzerland 01.jpg, Sebalter in Copenhagen ()
File:20150516 ESC 2015 Mélanie René 0212.jpg, Mélanie René in Vienna ()
File:ESC2016 - Switzerland 06.jpg, Rykka in Stockholm ()
File:Eurovision Song Contest 2017, Semi Final 2 Rehearsals. Photo 247.jpg, Timebelle in Kyiv ()
File:Zibbz (Switzerland 2018).jpg, Zibbz in Lisbon ()
File:ESC2019-Switzerland (cropped).jpg, Luca Hänni in Tel Aviv ()
File:Gjons tears-1621721556.JPG, Gjon's Tears in Rotterdam ()
File:Eurovision 2022 - Semi-final 1 - Switzerland - Marius Bear.jpg, Marius Bear in Turin ()
File:Eurovision 2023 - Jury Final - Switzerland - Remo Forrer (03).jpg, Remo Forrer in Liverpool ()
File:Nemo Eurovision Song Contest 2024 Final Malmö dress rehearsal semi 2 02.jpg, Nemo in Malmö ()
File:Zoë Më at ESC2025 for Switzerland 12 (cropped).jpeg, Zoë Më in Basel ()

See also

* Switzerland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Notes

References

{{Authority control

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest