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. The contest, originally titled the Gran Premio Eurovisione 1956 della Canzone Europea, was held on 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.
Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 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 participant broadcaster in the contest is the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.
Stefanie Fabienne Heinzmann is a Swiss pop singer and television personality. She gained public interest in early 2008 when she won SSDSDSSWEMUGABRTLAD, a talent contest hosted in Stefan Raab's late-night-show TV total on the German ProSieben network. Following her win, Heinzmann released her debut single "My Man Is a Mean Man," which debuted straight atop the Swiss Singles Chart and became a top ten hit in Austria and Germany. Her pop soul-influenced album Masterplan was released in March 2008 and made it to the top ten in Austria and Germany, also reaching number one in Switzerland, where it was certified platinum by the IFPI for more than 30,000 copies sold.
Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 with the song "Io così non ci sto", composed by Thomas Gonzenbach and Remo Kessler, with lyrics by Nella Martinetti, and performed by Mariella Farré. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, selected its entry for the contest through a national final.
Luca Hänni is a Swiss singer and television personality. He rose to fame in 2012 after winning the ninth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of the Idol franchise. He was the first non-German to do so and also the youngest ever winner of the show. Hänni's debut single, "Don't Think About Me", topped the singles charts in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. It was followed by the release of his debut album, My Name Is Luca (2012), which debuted atop the Austrian and Swiss Albums Charts and became a gold-seller in both countries. His second studio album, Living the Dream, released in 2013, became his second consecutive number-one album in Switzerland.
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.
"Hunter of Stars" is a song by Swiss singer Sebalter. It represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Denmark. The song was released in Switzerland as a digital download on December 2, 2013, as the lead single from his debut studio album Day of Glory (2015).
Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "La vita cos'è?", written by Bernie Staub and Thomas Marin, and performed by Jane Bogaert. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, selected its entry through a national final. Six entries performed during the national final. The broadcaster returned to the contest after a one-year absence following its relegation from 1999 as one of the six entrants with the least average points over the preceding five contests. 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.
Destiny Chukunyere, known mononymously as Destiny, is a Maltese singer. She won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where she represented Malta with the song "Not My Soul".
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.
Jamie-Lee Kriewitz, better known as Jamie-Lee, is a German pop singer. Born and raised in Bennigsen, Hanover, she performed as a member of the children choir Joyful Noise before auditioning for the fifth season of The Voice of Germany in 2015. She competed as one of the seventeen composing members of Team Michi & Smudo and later emerged as the winner after garnering 38% of the public vote. Kriewitz's debut and winner's single, "Ghost", peaked at number 11 on the GfK Entertainment Charts, number 65 in the Ö3 Austria Top 40 and number 26 on the Swiss Hitparade. She subsequently signed a recording contract with Universal Music Group; her debut studio album Berlin was released on 29 April 2016 and peaked at number 18 on the GfK Entertainment Charts.
Zibbz is a Swiss duo made of siblings Corinne and Stefan Gfeller. They represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Stones". They are from Zürich, but are based in Los Angeles.
Switzerland originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Répondez-moi" performed by Gjon's Tears and written by Gjon's Tears along with Xavier Michel, Alizé Oswald and Jeroen Swinnen. The song 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.
Gjon Muharremaj, known professionally as Gjon's Tears, is a Swiss singer and songwriter. He was scheduled to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Répondez-moi" prior to the event's cancellation. He was internally selected again as the country's representative for the 2021 contest with "Tout l'univers". He finished in third place with 432 points, at the time the best placing for Switzerland since 1993.
Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with "Boys Do Cry" performed by Marius Bear and written by Marius Bear along with Martin Gallop. Marius Bear 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".
Switzerland participated 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 represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after being internally selected by SRG SSR, Switzerland's broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest. The song reached number two in Switzerland.
Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "The Code", written by Benjamin Alasu, Lasse Midtsian Nymann, Linda Dale, and Nemo Mettler, and performed by Nemo. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, internally selected its entry, which ultimately won the contest.
Nemo Mettler, known mononymously as Nemo, is a Swiss musician and singer-rapper who plays the violin, piano and drums. They were the first openly non-binary act to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest, and later won the 2024 contest with the song "The Code". They were the first openly non-binary musician to win the contest, and the third winner representing Switzerland.
