The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio svizzera italiana (RSI) on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR). The contest, originally titled the Gran Premio Eurovisione 1956 della Canzone Europea[1] (English: Grand Prix of the Eurovision Song Competition;[2]French: Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne 1956[3]), was held on Thursday 24 May 1956 at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland, and hosted by Swiss television presenter Lohengrin Filipello, which remains the only time that the contest has been hosted by a solo male presenter.
Inspired principally by the Italian Sanremo Music Festival, held annually since 1951, the concept of a televised European song contest, initially proposed by Italian broadcaster RAI, was formulated by an EBU committee led by Swiss broadcaster and executive Marcel Bezençon. Following approval at the EBU's General Assembly in 1955, the rules and structure of the contest were agreed upon. Several of the rules utilised in this first contest would subsequently be altered for future editions, and it remains the only edition in which each country was represented by two songs, with a voting process which was held in secret and where juries could vote for the entries from their own country.
Seven countries participated in the inaugural edition of the contest, and the first winner was the host country Switzerland, with the song "Refrain" performed by Lys Assia. The result was determined by an assembled jury composed of two jurors from each country, with each juror ranking each song between 1 and 10 points. Only the winning country and song were announced at the conclusion of the event, with the results of the remaining participants unknown. Even though it was broadcast on television and radio via the Eurovision network in ten countries, no video footage of the event is known to exist, with the only video available being of the reprise performance from an independent archiver; the majority of the broadcast is, however, available in audio.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was formed in 1950 among 23 organisations with the aim of facilitating creative cooperation and the exchange of television programmes.[4][5] The word "Eurovision" was first used as a telecommunications term in the United Kingdom in 1951, in reference to a programme by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) being relayed by Dutch television, and was subsequently used as the title for the union's new transmission network upon its creation in 1954.[6][7] Following the formation of the EBU, a number of notable events were transmitted through its networks in several European countries, including Belgium, France, West Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. A series of international exchange programmes were subsequently organised for 1954, with this "European Television Season" relayed live across Europe through the Eurovision network.[4][6][8]
Following this series of transmissions, a "Programme Committee" was set up within the EBU to investigate new initiatives for cooperation between broadcasters each year, with Marcel Bezençon of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) serving as the committee's first president. This committee agreed to study the concept for a new televised European song contest during a meeting in January 1955, a concept initially proposed by the Italian broadcaster RAI and inspired by the broadcaster's Sanremo Music Festival, held annually since 1951.[6][9] The new European contest was subsequently approved at the EBU's annual General Assembly in October 1955, leading to the creation of the European Grand Prix.[6][10][11]
The first Eurovision Song Contest took place in Lugano, Switzerland; the country was awarded the contest in October 1955 at the EBU's General Assembly following an offer by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) to stage the event.[4][11] In addition Switzerland made a logical choice from a technical perspective for the hosting of what was an experiment in live, simultaneous, cross-border transmissions, as its geographically central location in Europe facilitated terrestrial broadcasts across the continent, as well as being the host country for the EBU's headquarters.[4][12]
Taking its inspiration from the Italian Sanremo Music Festival and Venice International Song Festival, a similar EBU-organised song contest held in 1955 and broadcast on radio, Lugano in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino was chosen as the first host city by SRG SSR.[3][10][12] The selected venue for the contest was the Teatro Kursaal, a casino and former theatre situated on Lake Lugano.[3][13] The theatre, used for theatrical and musical performances, ballroom dance and other shows, closed shortly after featuring its last performance in April 1997 before being demolished in 2001 to make room for the extension of the casino.[14][15]
Seven countries participated in this first contest–Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and West Germany (identified simply as "Germany" in the contest). Austria and Denmark are believed to have also been interested in participating; however, broadcasters from those countries reportedly missed the cut-off point for entry.[3][16] These two countries, as well as the United Kingdom, would broadcast the contest along with the participating countries, with the United Kingdom's BBC having chosen to not send an entry for this event in favour of organising their own contest, the Festival of British Popular Songs.[4][11][17]
Two of the performers, Switzerland's Lys Assia and Luxembourg's Michèle Arnaud, performed both entries for their respective countries.[18] Assia, as well as the Netherlands' Corry Brokken and Belgium's Fud Leclerc, would return to compete in the contest in future editions, with Assia and Brokken both returning in 1957 and 1958 and Leclerc in 1958, 1960 and 1962.[19][20][21]
Participants of the Eurovision Song Contest 1956[22][23][24]
Marcel Bezençon(pictured in 1980) was instrumental in the creation of the contest as president of the EBU's Programme Committee.
A planning sub-group, headed by Eduard Hass of SRG SSR, was formed following the sign-off on the organisation of the event to build out the rules of the competition. Taking inspiration from the Sanremo Music Festival and the Venice International Song Festival as a basis in planning the new contest, the group made several amendments and additions to these rules to suit its international nature.[4][13][12] Ideas suggested but ultimately rejected during this planning phase included featuring each song a second time with a piano accompaniment instead of orchestral backing, as well as technical initiatives such as a separate producer from each participating country involved in the contest's organisation. Prize money for the winners was also ruled out at this stage.[4][11] The rules of the contest were finalised and distributed to EBU members in early 1956. The rules set out in detail the criteria for the participating songs and performers; production details and requirements; timelines for the submission of materials by the participating broadcasters; the method by which the winning song would be determined; details related to the financing of the event; and the responsibilities which lay with the host broadcaster and the participating broadcasters.[29][30]
Per the rules of the contest, each participating country, represented by one EBU member organisation, submitted into the contest a maximum of two songs not exceeding three to three-and-a-half minutes in duration, which must have been solely original compositions.[4][30] Each participating organisation had sole discretion on how to select their entries for the contest but were strongly encouraged by the EBU to hold their own national contests to determine their representatives.[30] Following the performance of all songs, the winner was determined by an assembled jury composed of two individuals from each country, with each individual member rating secretly each song between one and ten points, including those representing their own country, with higher scores given to more appreciated songs.[30] The jury followed the contest in a separate room in the same venue in Lugano through a small television screen, replicating the conditions as close as possible to how viewers at home would watch the contest. The winning song was thus that which gained the highest score from the votes of all jury members.[4][30] In the event of a tie between two or more entries all songs with the highest score would have been declared winners.[30]
In news reports at the time, according to one Dutch juror, the jury members were removed from the jury room once they had cast their votes and were therefore unable to follow the tabulation of the final results.[35] The jury members from Luxembourg were unable to attend the contest in Lugano, and subsequently the EBU allowed two Swiss nationals to vote in their place.[3][36] This would remain the only contest in which many of these rules would be utilised, and several changes were made ahead of the 1957 contest. These included restricting each country to only one song, expanding the number of performers allowed to participate for each country, introducing a more visible voting system, and restricting each country from voting for their own entry.[37]
Each song was accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra, with members of the Radiosa Orchestra supplemented by strings of the Italian Swiss Radio Symphony Orchestra, presided over by the contest's musical director, Fernando Paggi.[4][30] Each participating country was allowed to supplement the orchestra with their own musical director for the performances of their country, with the host musical director also conducting for those countries which did not nominate their own conductor.[4][30] Participating broadcasters were required to submit to the EBU by 10 May 1956 scores for the participating songs for use by the orchestra, audio recordings for each participating song, and copies of the song lyrics for each song in the original language, as well as translations into French or English to aid the jury members and commentators.[4][11][30] The confirmed selection of each country's musical director (if separate to that of the host) was required to be communicated between 21 and 24 May.[30] Rehearsals in the contest venue with the competing artists and the orchestra began on 21 May 1956.[4]
According to the rules, the order in which the countries and songs were performed was to be determined artistically by the Swiss broadcasters, with input and support by the musical directors from each country.[4][30] However, a draw determining the order of countries seems to have taken place in Gardone a few days prior to the contest.[lower-alpha 5][39][40]
Contest overview
Switzerland's Lys Assia(pictured in 1957) was the first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, and would represent her country in the contest again in 1957 and 1958.
The contest was held on 24 May 1956, beginning at 21:00 CET (20:00 UTC) with an approximate duration of 1 hour 40 minutes.[3][4] The event was hosted in Italian by Lohengrin Filipello.[3] This remains the only time in which the contest was hosted by a solo male presenter, and one of only two contests not to feature a female presenter, alongside the 2017 contest held 61 years later.[11][41] Additionally this would remain the only contest to feature a male presenter for 22 years, until the 1978 contest featured a male and female presenting duo.[42]
During the interval between the final competing act and the announcement of the winner, performances by Les Joyeux Rossignols and Les Trois Ménestrels[fr] were featured to entertain the audience, with the latter performing "Guerre de Troie" along with other works.[43][44][45] Upon the announcement of the results, the winning artist returned to the stage for a reprise performance of the winning song to end the broadcast.[30][23]
The winning song was "Refrain", composed by Géo Voumard, written by Émile Gardaz, performed by Lys Assia and representing the host country Switzerland.[46] During the reprise performance of the winning song, Assia became emotional and suffered a lapse in memory of the song's lyrics, subsequently requesting a restart by the orchestra.[23] After the show, a reception for the participating delegations was held in the upper hall of Teatro Kursaal on behalf of both the host city Lugano and canton Ticino.[47][48]
The full results of the contest were not revealed at the time, with only the winning song named at the end of the show by the jury president Rolf Liebermann; the full breakdown of each juror's votes has not been retained by the EBU, and is presumed lost.[3][26] Attempts to reconstruct the voting through interviews with jury members have also failed to reveal a reliable result.[3] An article in Italian newspaper La Stampa published on 25 May 1956, the day after the contest, reported that Switzerland's winning entry received 102 points in total, while in a post-contest interview with Stelio Molo, the Director General of SRG SSR, published in the Italian magazine Settimana Radio TV in the weeks following the contest, the gap between the first- and second-placed songs was revealed by Molo to be two points, and that the remaining entries also finished close to the winner.[49][50] These claims have however failed to be corroborated by the contest organisers in the years since.[3]
Winner
Results of the Eurovision Song Contest 1956[18][23]
Each participating broadcaster was required to relay the contest via its networks. Non-participating EBU member broadcasters were also able to relay the contest as "passive participants".[30] In addition to the television channels of the seven participating broadcasters and three non-participating passive broadcasters, the contest was also broadcast live on seven radio networks and recorded for later transmission by another 13.[4][13] The United Kingdom's BBC took only partial live transmission of the event, joining 45 minutes into the contest and only showing the second set of entries from each country.[2][4] Due to a technical fault, the transmission of images was interrupted for a few minutes on German and Danish television.[16][51]
Broadcasters were able to send commentators to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language and to relay information about the artists and songs to their television viewers. Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators, are shown in the tables below.
No video footage of the whole contest is known to exist, with the only known footage being clips of the reprise performance of the winning song via newsreel and other recordings. As such, this is one of only two editions of the contest, along with the 1964 contest, to not have video recordings of the full event retained.[52] Audio of most of the contest has, however, survived, with only the majority of the contest's interval acts currently lost. Attempts to find audiovisual materials related to the contest have yielded some results in recent years, including a large cache of photographs and some video footage taken by Swiss photographer Vincenzo Vicari from inside the venue.[53][54][55]
Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries
↑ Seven countries competed each represented by two songs
↑ On behalf of the German public broadcasting consortium ARD[25]
1 2 Credited as "Das Lied vom großen Glück"[26][27]
↑ Dolf van der Linden, who was originally selected to lead the orchestra for the Dutch entries, was unable to attend the contest and was replaced by the host musical director Paggi.[28]
↑ A meeting of EBU's working group GTV/2 (Eurovision) took place from 21 to 25 May in Gardone.[38]
Related Research Articles
The Eurovision Song Contest 1957 was the second edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) on behalf of ARD, the contest, originally known as the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne 1957 was held on Sunday 3 March 1957 and was hosted at the Großer Sendesaal des hessischen Rundfunks in Frankfurt, West Germany by German actress Anaid Iplicjian.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1958 was the third edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS), the contest, originally known as the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne 1958 was held on Wednesday 12 March 1958 at the AVRO Studios in Hilversum, the Netherlands and hosted by Dutch television presenter Hannie Lips. This marked the first time that the contest was hosted in the country of the preceding year's winner, a tradition that has been continued ever since.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 6 April 1974 in the Dome in Brighton, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and presented by Katie Boyle, this was the fifth time that the United Kingdom had staged the contest.
Germany debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956, held on 24 May 1956 at the Teatro Cursaal in Lugano, Switzerland. Nord- und Westdeutscher Rundfunkverband (NWRV), on behalf of ARD, organised a national final held on 1 May 1956 to determine two German entries for the contest. The results were determined by a jury panel. The songs "Das Lied vom großen Glück" by Walter Andreas Schwarz, later known as "Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück", and "So geht das jede Nacht" by Freddy Quinn were selected to represent the nation. German entries performed fourth and eleventh, respectively, out of the 14 entries competing in the contest.
Switzerland held a national pre-selection to choose the two songs that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1956. It was held on 28 April 1956.
Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 63 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.
Eurovision is a pan-European television telecommunications network owned and operated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was founded in 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland, and its first official transmission took place on 6 June 1954. However, a year before the official launch, on 2 June 1953 the coronation of Elizabeth II was one of the first events to be broadcast across Europe.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Dans le jardin de mon âme" written and performed by Francine Jordi. The Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their relegation from 2001 as one of the bottom six countries in the 2000 contest. The Swiss entry for the 2002 contest in Tallinn, Estonia was selected through the national final Eurosong 2002, organised by SRG SSR idée suisse. Eight entries performed during the national final on 2 February 2002 where two rounds of public voting ultimately selected "Dans le jardin" performed by Francine Jordi as the winner. The song was later retitled as "Dans le jardin de mon âme".
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.
Belgium debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956, held on 24 May 1956 at the Teatro Cursaal in Lugano, Switzerland. The Walloon broadcaster INR organised a national final to determine two Belgian entries for the contest. Held on 15 April 1956, the event saw ten songs compete to be the Belgian entries; the results were determined by the jury panel and postcard voting. The songs "Messieurs les noyés de la Seine" by Fud Leclerc and "Le plus beau jour de ma vie" by Mony Marc were selected to represent the nation. Belgian entries performed 3rd and 10th, respectively, out of the 14 entries competing in the contest.
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) and radio station DRS 3 in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of SRG SSR idée suisse. SF, 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 were public voting ultimately selected "In Love for a While" performed by Anna Rossinelli as the winner.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Unbreakable" written by Gabriel Broggini and Ivan Broggini. The song was performed by the duo Sinplus. The Swiss entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2012, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen (SF) and radio station DRS 3 in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. SF, DRS 3, the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI) each conducted varying selections and a total of fourteen entries were selected to advance to the televised national final—six artists and songs from the SF selection, three from the DRS 3 selection, three from the RTS selection and two from the RSI selection. The fourteen finalists performed during the national final on 10 December 2011 where public voting ultimately selected "Unbreakable" performed by Sinplus 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 2000 with the song "La vita cos'è?" written by Bernie Staub and Thomas Marin. The song was performed by Jane Bogaert. The Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their relegation from 1999 as one of the six countries with the least average points over the preceding five contests. The Swiss entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through a national final organised by SRG SSR idée suisse. Six entries performed during the national final on 29 January 2000 where a combination of jury voting and public voting selected "La vita cos'è?" performed by Jane Bogaert 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 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 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.
References
↑ Thorsson, Leif; Verhage, Martin (2006). Melodifestivalen genom tiderna: de svenska uttagningarna och internationella finalerna[Melodifestivalen through the ages: the Swedish selections and international finals] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Premium Publishing. pp.8–9. ISBN91-89136-29-2.
↑ Staff (17 May 2005). "Singing out loud and proud". Bristol Evening Post. Daily Mail and General Trust. In the mid-1950s, the members of the European Broadcasting Union set up an ad hoc committee to investigate ways of rallying the countries of Europe round a light entertainment programme. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was formed on 12 February 1950 by 23 broadcasting organisations from Europe and the Mediterranean at a conference in Devon, United Kingdom. It was on 6 June 1954, that Montreux became the venue for the first transmission by the EBU's Eurovision Network of the Narcissus Festival and its flower-bedecked procession floats. At Monaco, in late January 1955, this committee, chaired by Marcel Bezençon, director general of Swiss Television, came up with the idea of creating a song contest, inspired by the very popular San Remo Festival. The idea was approved by the EBU General Assembly in Rome on 19 October 1955, and it was decided that the first "Eurovision Grand Prix" – so baptised, incidentally, by a British journalist – would take place in spring 1956 at Lugano, Switzerland.
↑ Carniel, Jessica (2022). "High, Low and Participatory: The Eurovision Song Contest and Cultural Studies". In Dubin, Adam; Vuletic, Dean; Obregón, Antonio (eds.). The Eurovision Song Contest as a cultural phenomenon: from concert halls to the halls of academia. Routledge. ISBN978-1-003-18893-3.
1 2 "Radio og Fjernsyn: Velkommen Eurovision" [Radio and TV: Welcome, Eurovision]. Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). 25 May 1956. p.6. OCLC1367883859. Udsendelsen [...] bød paa international Sangkonkurrence med Deltagelse af Eurovisionens Lande med Undtagelse af Danmark, Storbritannien og Østrig, som havde meldt sig for sent.[The show [...] offered an international song contest with the participation of the countries of Eurovision, with the exception of Denmark, Great Britain and Austria, which had registered too late.]
1 2 3 4 5 Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol.One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp.96–100. ISBN978-1-84583-065-6.
1 2 Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne 1956[Eurovision Grand Prix of European Song 1956] (Television programme) (in French and Italian). Lugano, Switzerland: Radio svizzera italiana. 24 May 1956.
↑ "Wir sahen und hörten". Fernseh-Informationen (in German). No.14/1956. 1956. p.311. ISSN0015-0134. OCLC643533986.
↑ "Une série d'émissions du Tessin"[A series of broadcasts from Ticino]. Journal et feuille d’avis du Valais (in French). 9 May 1956. p.6. Retrieved 31 December 2023– via e-newspaperarchives.ch.
↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol.One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. p.100. ISBN978-1-84583-065-6.
↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol.One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. p.99. ISBN978-1-84583-065-6.
↑ "Nouvelles internationales: Calendrier des conférences et réunions internationales intéressant à quelque titre la radiodiffusion". Bulletin de l'U.E.R. (in French). 7 (36). Union européenne de radiodiffusion: 211. March–April 1956.
↑ Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne 1956[Eurovision Grand Prix of European Song 1956] (Television programme) (in Italian). Lugano, Switzerland: Radio svizzera italiana. 24 May 1956. Event occurs at 07:30 min. [Lohengrin Filipello introducing the second entry:] Seconda sorteggiata a Gardone la Svizzera[Drawn in second place in Gardone: Switzerland]
↑ "Il premio Eurovisione 1956 per la canzone europea a Lugano: ha vinto il Refrain di marca elvetica" [The 1956 Eurovision prize for European song in Lugano: the Refrain of the Helvetic brand won]. Settimana Radio TV (in Italian). No.23. 3–9 June 1956.
↑ Becker, Rolf (26 May 1956). "Im Fernsehen: Solche und solche Gesichter" [On television: All kinds of faces]. Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (in German). p.36. OCLC724431472.
↑ Hendrickx, Jonathan; van Biesen, Jasper (2021). 65 jaar België op het Songfestival[65 years of Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest] (in Dutch). Mechelen: Baeckens Books. pp.15–16. ISBN978-90-5924-939-4. OCLC1256401439.
↑ "Programoversigt – 24-05-1956"[Program overview – 24-05-1956](PDF) (in Danish). Dansk Kulturarv. 24 May 1956. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
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