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 66 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.
Thalwil is a municipality and town in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. In addition to the town of Thalwil, the municipality includes the village of Gattikon.
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung is a Swiss, German-language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zürich. The paper was founded in 1780. It was described as having a reputation as a high-quality newspaper, as the Swiss-German newspaper of record, and for objective and detailed reports on international affairs.
Urs Ernst Schwarzenbach, CStJ is a Swiss billionaire, financier and art collector. He is the founder of Interexchange, the largest foreign exchange agency, in Switzerland. His fortune is estimated between 1.5 to 2 billion Swiss Francs as of 2022 by Handelszeitung.
Erika Forster-Vannini is a Swiss businesswoman and former politician. She served as a member on the Council of States (Switzerland) for The Liberals from 1995 to 2011, which she presided from 2009 to 2010. Between 1988 and 1996 she served on the Grand Council of St. Gallen, which she presided in 1994/1995.
Testex, stylized as TESTEX, is a globally operating, independent Swiss testing and certification organisation that focuses on textile testing. The Testex corporate group is headquartered in Zürich and consists of the Testex AG, ÖTI GmbH (Austria), PT Testex (Indonesia), Swiss Textile-Testing Ltd. Hong Kong, and Testex Testing Co. Ltd. Beijing.
Shawne Fielding is an American-Swiss actress and model who has appeared in US, German, and Swiss television series and movies. Notably, Fielding had been married to Thomas Borer, former Swiss Ambassador to Germany, and twice to American billionaire Charles Addison Williams of Sammons Enterprises, her current husband again.
Regine Martina Sauter is a Swiss businesswoman and politician. She currently serves as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) for The Liberals since 2015.
Christoph Mörgeli is a Swiss medical historian, journalist and former politician. He served as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) from 1999 to 2015 for the Swiss People's Party. He previously also served as a member of the Cantonal Council of Zürich between 1997 and 1999. Mörgeli announced to run for office again in the 2019 Swiss federal election but was not elected again.
Ulrich Niklaus Willi Forster known as Ueli Forster is a Swiss businessman, textile manufacturer and majority owner of Forster Rohner AG, the worldwide leader of embroidery manufacturing, founded in 1904. He was a member of the Banking Council of the Swiss National Bank from 2002 to 2007 as well as the president of Economiesuisse from 2001 to 2006.
Antoine Charles Kiefer-Hablitzel was a Swiss businessman, industrialist and patron. He was known for founding the Kiefer-Hablitzel Foundation in Lucerne, Switzerland together with his wife Mathilde. Kiefer-Hablitzel formerly was the principal shareholder and board member of Banco do Brasil and held various interests, primarily in the steel and textile industry in Brazil.
Stehli Silks was a Swiss textile manufacturing company. Founded in 1837, Stehli Silks was among the largest silk fabric producers in the world, with a workforce exceeding 4,000 people (1920) at its peak. More than half of its workforce was employed at the subsidiary Stehli Silks Corporation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which opened in 1897.
The Stehli family is a Swiss industrial and political family that has been prominent in silk manufacturing and politics since the early 19th century. In 1897, the family built one of the largest textile concerns in the world, primarily active in the United States, more specifically in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The concern was known as Stehli Silk Corporation. A daughter of Emil Stehli-Hirt (1868–1945), Margaretha Emerentia Frölicher-Stehli, has been a first class passenger and survivor of the Titanic.
Alfred Marius 'Fredi' Heer is a Swiss businessman and politician. He currently serves as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) for the Swiss People's Party since 2007. He is also a member of Parliamentary Assembly to the Council of Europe. He previously served on the Cantonal Council of Zürich from 1995 to 2008.
Villiger Sons is a Swiss multinational concern which manufactures and sells cigars and cigarillos and other tobacco products. Founded in 1888, the company is family owned and managed in the third, respectively fourth generation, and employs over 1,500 people worldwide. Villiger produces over 16 brands and has a revenue of approximately $220 million (2017). Besides owning several factories as subsidiaries in countries such as the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Indonesia.Villiger is also present on the U.S. market and has opened a new subsidiary of Villiger North America, Inc. in Doral, Florida in 2016.
Hans Jakob Vontobel was a Swiss private banker and philanthropist. He was the former president of Vontobel between 1984 and 1994 and honorary president until his death. He held approximately 20% of controlling shares of the private bank. He was the patriarch of the Vontobel banking family.
Werner L. Oswald was a Swiss industrialist and businessman who was most prominently known for founding the EMS-Chemie conglomerate in 1936 which was taken over by the Blocher family after his death.
Elco AG is a Swiss stationery and paper company. Headquartered in Brugg, Switzerland it is among the leading of its industry in the DACH region.
Alexis Schwarzenbach is a Swiss historian, curator and author. He is a member of the prominent Schwarzenbach family.
