Germany has officially participated in every Eurovision Song Contest since its inaugural edition in 1956, except in 1996 when its entry did not qualify past the audio-only pre-selection round, and consequently was not seen in the broadcast final and does not count as one of Germany's 67 appearances. No other country has been represented as many times. Along with France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, Germany is one of the "Big Five" countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final is broadcast in Germany on ARD's flagship channel, Das Erste.
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.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "If We All Give a Little" written by Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger. The song was performed by the group six4one, which was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse in November 2005 to represent the nation at the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. "If We All Give a Little" was presented to the public as the Swiss song on 18 March 2006.
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.
Luca Hänni is a Swiss pop 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.
"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 participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Lass ihn" written by Egon Egemann and Gunvor Guggisberg. The song was performed by Gunvor. Songwriter Egon Egemann represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 with the song "Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus" where he placed eleventh in the competition. The Swiss entry for the 1998 contest in Birmingham, United Kingdom was selected through a national final organised by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Six entries performed during the national final on 18 December 1997 where regional televoting selected "Lass ihn" performed by Gunvor 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.
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.
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.
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.
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" 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-Australian 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 participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, with "The Code" performed by Nemo. The Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation internally selected the country's representative for 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.
