Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 62 times since making its debut at the first contest in 1956, missing only four contests, in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956 in Lugano, and won it. Switzerland won the contest again in 1988, with the 1989 contest being held in Lausanne.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Vampires Are Alive" written by René Baumann and Axel Breitung. The song was performed by DJ BoBo, which is the artistic name of singer René Baumann who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse in December 2006 to represent the nation at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. "Vampires Are Alive" was presented to the public as the Swiss song on 21 February 2007.
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2004 was the twelfth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians, held at the Culture and Congress Centre in Lucerne, Switzerland on 27 May 2004. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, musicians from seven countries participated in the televised final. Switzerland and broadcaster SRG SSR previously hosted the contest in 1984. A total of seventeen countries took part in the competition therefore a semi-final was held in the same venue on 22 and 23 May 2004. All participants performed a classical piece of their choice accompanied by the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Christian Arming.
Switzerland competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Era stupendo" by Paolo Meneguzzi. Meneguzzi was chosen by the Swiss national broadcaster, SRG SSR idée suisse, to sing for Switzerland in Belgrade, Serbia. For 2008, SRG SSR idée suisse had continued to internally select the song and singer to represent Switzerland at the 2008 contest, with an open call for songs being held by the broadcaster.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "The Highest Heights" written by Adrian Sieber, Thomas Rechberger and Florian Senn. The song was performed by the band Lovebugs, which was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse in January 2009 to represent the nation at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. "The Highest Heights" was presented to the public as the Swiss song on 23 February 2009.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Il pleut de l'or" written by Michael von der Heide, Pele Loriano and Heike Kospach. The song was performed by Michael von der Heide, who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse to represent the nation at the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. "Il pleut de l'or" was announced as the Swiss entry on 18 December 2009, while the song was presented to the public on 9 January 2010.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "In Love for a While" written by David Klein. The song was performed by Anna Rossinelli. The Swiss entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2011, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen (SF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of SRG SSR idée suisse. SF, SF's radio station DRS 3, the Swiss-French broadcaster Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI) each conducted varying selections and a total of twelve entries were selected to advance to the televised national final—seven artists and songs from the SF selection, three from the DRS 3 selection, one from the TSR selection and one from the RSI selection. The twelve finalists performed during the national final on 11 December 2010 where public voting ultimately selected "In Love for a While" performed by Anna Rossinelli as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "You and Me" written by Georg Schlunegger, Roman Camenzind and Fred Herrmann. The song was performed by the band Takasa. The Swiss entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2013, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen (SF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. SF, the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI) each conducted varying selections and a total of nine entries were selected to advance to the televised national final—four artists and songs from the SF selection, three from the RTS selection and two from the RSI selection. The nine finalists performed during the national final on 15 December 2012 where public voting ultimately selected "You and Me" performed by Heilsarmee as the winner. The group was renamed as Takasa for the Eurovision Song Contest in order to prevent violating the rules of the competition.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Hunter of Stars" written and performed by Sebalter, which is the artistic name of singer Sebastiano Paù-Lessi. The Swiss entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2014, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 18 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; nine entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 30 November 2013 and involved three/four experts evaluating the live performances of the 18 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 1 February 2014 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "Hunter of Stars" performed by Sebalter as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Time to Shine" written and performed by Mélanie René. The Swiss entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria was selected through the national final ESC 2015 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 18 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; nine entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 7 December 2014 at SRF Studio 5 in Zürich and involved five experts evaluating the live performances of the 18 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 31 January 2015 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "Time to Shine" performed by Mélanie René as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "The Last of Our Kind" written by Christina Maria Rieder, Mike James, Jeff Dawson and Warne Livesey. The song was performed by Rykka, which is the artistic name of singer Christina Maria Rieder. The Swiss entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final ESC 2016 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 19 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; ten entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 6 December 2015 and involved four experts evaluating the live performances of the 19 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 13 February 2016 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "The Last of Our Kind" performed by Rykka as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Apollo" written by Elias Näslin, Nicolas Günthardt and Alessandra Günthardt. The song was performed by the band Timebelle. The Swiss entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the national final ESC 2017 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply during a submission period organised by SRG SSR. A total of 21 entries were selected to advance to an "Live Check" round held on 4 December 2016 and involved nineteen experts evaluating the live performances of the 21 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final. The six finalists performed during the national final on 5 February 2017 where public voting ultimately selected "Apollo" performed by Timebelle as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Stones" written by Corinne "Coco" Gfeller, Stee Gfeller and Laurell Barker. The song was performed by the duo Zibbz. The Swiss entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal was selected through the national final ESC 2018 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Songwriters that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply during a submission period organised by SRG SSR. Six entries were selected to advance to the televised national final, and the six finalists performed during the national final on 4 February 2018 where a combination of international jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "Stones" performed by Zibbz as the winner.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "She Got Me" written by Laurell Barker, Frazer Mac, Luca Hänni, Jon Hällgren and Lukas Hällgren. The song was performed by Luca Hänni, who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation to represent the nation at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. "She Got Me" was presented to the public as the Swiss entry on 7 March 2019.
Switzerland originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Répondez-moi" written by Gjon Muharremaj, Xavier Michel, Alizé Oswald and Jeroen Swinnen. The song was performed by Gjon's Tears, which is the artistic name of singer Gjon Muharremaj who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation to represent the nation at the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. "Répondez-moi" was presented to the public as the Swiss entry on 4 March 2020.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Tout l'univers" written by Gjon Muharremaj, Wouter Hardy, Nina Sampermans and Xavier Michel. The song was performed by Gjon's Tears, which is the artistic name of singer Gjon Muharremaj who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation to represent the nation at the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after they were due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Répondez-moi" before the 2020 event's cancellation. "Tout l'univers" was presented to the public as the Swiss entry on 10 March 2021.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with "Boys Do Cry" written by Marius Hügli and Martin Gallop. The song was performed by Marius Bear, which is the artistic name of singer Marius Hügli who was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation to represent the nation at the 2022 contest. "Boys Do Cry" was presented to the public as the Swiss entry on 8 March 2022.
Marius Hügli, known professionally as Marius Bear, is a Swiss singer. He represented Switzerland 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 active as a musician for six years. He is originally from Appenzell. He began his career as a street musician in his native Switzerland, as well as in Germany. In 2019 he won a Swiss Music Award in the category "Best Talent".
Switzerland is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, having internally selected Remo Forrer to represent the country with the song "Watergun".
"Watergun" is a song by Swiss singer Remo Forrer, released as a single on 7 March 2023. The song will represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after being internally selected by SRG SSR, Switzerland's broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest.
