Switzerland In The Eurovision Song Contest
Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest every year since it began, except 1995, 1999, 2001, and 2003. Switzerland hosted the first contest in 1956, and won it themselves. Switzerland won the contest again in 1988. A third victory in 1963 could have been possibly had Katie Boyle not recalled the Norwegian for their votes again.
Although most of the Swiss representatives are national acts not known outside of the country, many internationally successful artists have represented the country. In 1988 Céline Dion won the contest for Switzerland, in 1993 Annie Cotton finished third, and in 2005 the girl band Vanilla Ninja finished 8th. Esther Ofarim's 1963 second-place finish helped establish her as an international success.
Despite a fourth consecutive semi-final failure, as well as increasing pressure to withdraw from the Contest SRG SSR has confirmed that they have no current plans to withdraw from the contest, claiming that "the Eurovision Song Contest costs the broadcaster less than some entertainment shows". However, the country eventually qualified again for the final in the 2011 contest, with only one more point than Malta and Armenia.
Read more about Switzerland In The Eurovision Song Contest: Absences, Contestants, Voting History (1975-2012), Hostings, Commentators and Spokespeople, Congratulations: 50 Years of The Eurovision Song Contest
Famous quotes containing the words switzerland, song and/or contest:
“In a war everybody always knows all about Switzerland, in peace times it is just Switzerland but in war time it is the only country that everybody has confidence in, everybody.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“Water. Its sunny track in the plain; its splashing in the garden canal, the sound it makes when in its course it meets the mane of the grass; the diluted reflection of the sky together with the fleeting sight of the reeds; the Negresses fill their dripping gourds and their red clay containers; the song of the washerwomen; the gorged fields the tall crops ripening.”
—Jacques Roumain (1907–1945)
“The contest ends at midnight tonight
But you can submit again, and again.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)