YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

Switzerland holds a special place in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, as one of the founding members of the competition and the host of the very first contest in Lugano, 1956. Switzerland also made history by winning the first-ever contest with „Refrain“ performed by Lys Assia. Sadly, Lys Assia passed away in 2018, but she had been a guest of honour at almost every Eurovision Song Contest held thereafter. During the first contest, only seven countries participated, and each country had two songs in the race. As there was no established voting system at that time, there was only a winner, with all other songs coming in second place.

Céline Dion is perhaps the most famous name associated with the ESC, alongside ABBA. She represented Switzerland in 1988 with „Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi.“ The Franco-Canadian singer won by just one point, narrowly beating the UK. At the time, Céline was a relative newcomer, but her career took off the following year when she performed „Where Does My Heart Beat Now“ to open the 1989 ESC in Lausanne. Nowadays she has her own show in Las Vegas, sells millions of albums and is one of the biggest stars in the world. She is often being taken as role model for young singers.

YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

Last year’s singer Nemo has been handled as the favourite in Malmö, in the semi-final, he only reached the 4th rank with his song “The Code”. But in the Grand Final he could convince mostly the international juries to vote for him. At the end Nemo has become the third Swiss winner in the ESC history.

Switzerland did not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1999 and 2001, due to their poor performance in previous years. At the time, the rules were slightly different, and countries had to take a break from the competition if they performed poorly.

Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Swiss entries have struggled to qualify for the Grand Finals, having only passed the qualification round eight times. Out of Switzerland’s 64 participations in the Eurovision Song Contest, the country has made it to the Grand Final 54 times, with 30 of those times resulting in a Top 10 placement. Statistically speaking, Switzerland has a 56% chance of reaching the Top 10. It appears that the enthusiasm for the competition in Switzerland is not as high as in other countries, and recent national finals have not brought the desired success. In recent years, Switzerland has abandoned the national final format in favour of other methods, which have proven to be more successful.

YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

Céline Dion is perhaps the most famous name associated with the ESC, alongside ABBA. She represented Switzerland in 1988 with „Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi.“ The Franco-Canadian singer won by just one point, narrowly beating the UK. At the time, Céline was a relative newcomer, but her career took off the following year when she performed „Where Does My Heart Beat Now“ to open the 1989 ESC in Lausanne.

Swiss entries have historically been sung in French and German, with Italian and Romansch being less common, but in recent years English has also been used. In 2019, Switzerland was able to break its losing streak with Luca Hänni’s „She Got Me,“ which earned a wonderful 4th place in the Grand Final in Tel Aviv. This success was surpassed by Gjon’s Tears with „Tout l’Univers,“ which achieved a remarkable and well-deserved 3rd place in the Grand Final in Rotterdam.

Switzerland and also Luxembourg have often taken singers from other countries. Other famous singers for Switzerland were Esther Ofarim, Paola and DJ Bobo. Not to forget the trio Peter, Sue and Marc, who have represented Switzerland three times: 1971, 1976 and 1979, in the meanwhile they have their own musical.

YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

Biggest successes

YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

1st place, Lys Assia with “Refrain” (Lugano 1956)

YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

1st place, Céline Dion with “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi” (Dublin 1988)

YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

2nd place, Daniela Simons “Pas Pour Moi” (Bergen 1986)

History

  • Debut: 1956
  • Participations: 65
  • Victories: 3
  • Finals: 54 (9 since 2004)
  • Chances to reach the final: 83% (45% since 2004)
  • Top 10: 30 (4 since 2004)
  • Chances to reach the Top 10: 56% (20% since 2004)
  • Best place: 1 (3x)
  • Last places: 5x finals, (4 in the semi-finals)
# location year performer song points rank show
1 Lugano 1956 Lys Assia Refrain 1 final
2 Lugano 1956 Lys Assia Das Alte Karussell 2 final
3 Frankfurt 1957 Lys Assia L’enfant Que J’étais 5 8 final
4 Hilversum 1958 Lys Assia Giorgio 24 2 final
5 Cannes 1959 Christa Williams Irgendwoher 14 4 final
6 London 1960 Anita Traversi Cielo E Terra 5 8 final
7 Cannes 1961 Franca di Rienzo Nous Aurons Demain 16 3 final
8 Luxembourg 1962 Jean Philippe Le Retour 2 10 final
9 London 1963 Esther Ofarim T’en Va Pas 40 2 final
10 Copenhagen 1964 Anita Traversi I Miei Pensieri 0 13 final
11 Naples 1965 Yovanna Non à Jamais Sans Toi 8 8 final
12 Luxembourg 1966 Madeleine Pascal Ne Vois-tu Pas? 12 6 final
13 Vienna 1967 Géraldine Gaulier Quel Coeur Vas-tu Briser? 0 17 final
14 London 1968 Gianni Mascolo Guardando Il Sole 2 13 final
15 Madrid 1969 Paola del Medico Bonjour, Bonjour 13 5 final
16 Amsterdam 1970 Henri Dès Retour 8 4 final
17 Dublin 1971 Peter, Sue and Marc Les Illusions De Nos Vingt Ans 78 12 final
18 Edinburgh 1972 Véronique Müller C’est La Chanson De Mon Amour 88 8 final
19 Luxembourg 1973 Patrick Juvet Je Me Vais Marier, Marie 79 12 final
20 Brighton 1974 Piera Martell Mein Ruf Nach Dir 3 14 final
21 Stockholm 1975 Simone Drexel Mikado 77 6 final
22 The Hague 1976 Peter, Sue and Marc Djambo, Djambo 91 4 final
23 London 1977 Pepe Lienhard Band Swiss Lady 71 6 final
24 Paris 1978 Carole Vinci Vivre 65 9 final
25 Jerusalem 1979 Peter, Sue and Marc and Pfuri, Gorps and Kniri Trödler Und Co. 60 10 final
26 The Hague 1980 Paola Cinéma 104 4 final
27 Dublin 1981 Peter, Sue and Marc Io Senza Tei 121 4 final
28 Harrogate 1982 Arlette Zola Amour On T’aime 97 3 final
29 München 1983 Mariella Farré Io Così Non Ci Sto 28 15 final
30 Luxembourg 1984 Rainy Day Welche Farbe Hat Der Sonnenschein 30 16 final
31 Göteborg 1985 Mariella Farré & Pino Gasparini Piano Piano 39 12 final
32 Bergen 1986 Daniela Simons Pas Pour Moi 140 2 final
33 Brussels 1987 Carole Rich Moitié Moitié 26 17 final
34 Dublin 1988 Céline Dion Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi 137 1 final
35 Lausanne 1989 Furbaz Viver Senza Tei 47 13 final
36 Zagreb 1990 Egon Egemann Musik Klingt In Die Welt Hinaus 51 11 final
37 Rome 1991 Sandra Simò Canzone Per Te 118 5 final
38 Malmö 1992 Daisy Auvray Mister Music Man 32 15 final
39 Millstreet 1993 Annie Cotton Moi, Tout Simplement 148 3 final
40 Dublin 1994 Duilio Sto Pregando 15 19 final
41 Oslo 1996 Cathy Leander Mon Coeur L’aime 22 16 final
42 Dublin 1997 Barbara Berta Dentro Di Me 5 22 final
43 Birmingham 1998 Gunvor Lass Ihn 0 25 final
44 Stockholm 2000 Jane Bogaert La Vita Cos’è? 14 20 final
45 Tallinn 2002 Francine Jordi Dans Le Jardin De Mon Âme 15 22 final
46 Istanbul 2004 Piero Esteriore & the MusicStars Celebrate 0 22 semi-final
47 Kyiv 2005 Vanilla Ninja Cool Vibes 124 8 final
48 Athens 2006 Six4One If We All Give A Little 30 16 final
49 Helsinki 2007 DJ BoBo Vampires Are Alive 40 20 semi-final
50 Belgrade 2008 Paolo Meneguzzi Era Stupendo 47 13 semi-final
51 Moscow 2009 Lovebugs The Highest Heights 15 14 semi-final
52 Oslo 2010 Michael von der Heide Il Pleut de L’Or 2 17 semi-final
53 Düsseldorf 2011 Anna Rossinelli In Love For A While 19 25 final
54 Baku 2012 Sinplus Unbreakable 45 11 semi-final
55 Malmö 2013 Takasa You And Me 41 13 semi-final
56 Copenhagen 2014 Sebalter Hunter Of Stars 64 13 final
57 Vienna 2015 Mélanie René Time To Shine 4 17 semi-final
58 Stockholm 2016 Rykka The Last Of Our Kind 28 18 semi-final
59 Kyiv 2017 Timebelle Apollo 97 12 semi-final
60 Lisbon 2018 ZiBBZ Stones 86 13 semi-final
61 Tel Aviv 2019 Luca Hänni She Got Me 364 4 final
62 Rotterdam 2021 Gjon’s Tears Tout l’Univers 432 3 final
63 Turin 2022 Marius Baer Boys Do Cry 78 17 final
64 Liverpool 2023 Remo Forrer Watergun 92 20 final
65 Malmö 2024 Nemo The Code 591 1 final
66 Basel 2025 Zoë Më Voyage final

Video Nostalgia

YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

Pepe Lienhard Band with “Swiss Lady”, Rank 6 (London 1977)

YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

Egon Egemann with “Musik Klingt In Die Welt Hinaus”, Rank 11 (Zagreb 1990)

YouTube

By loading the video, you accept YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

Lovebugs with “The Highest Heights”, Rank 14 (Semi Final) (Moscow 2009)