Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Country  Switzerland
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)March 2024
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2023 • 2024

Switzerland is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden. The national broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) organised an internal selection for the Swiss representative in the 2024 contest.

Background

Main article: Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2024 contest, Switzerland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty-three times since its first entry in 1956.[1] Switzerland is noted for having won the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Refrain" performed by Lys Assia. Their second and, to this point, most recent victory was achieved in 1988 when Canadian singer Céline Dion won the contest with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Switzerland has managed to participate in the final nine times, four of them being all the contests they participated in since 2019, which included two top five results. In 2023, "Watergun" performed by Remo Forrer qualified for the final and finished 20th.[1]

The Swiss national broadcaster, Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), broadcasts the event within Switzerland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The country has opted for both national finals and internal selections to select their entries throughout the years, sticking to the internal selection method since 2019. SRG SSR confirmed their intentions to participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 on 7 July 2023,[2] later announcing they would again use an internal selection to determine their entry for the contest.[3]

Before Eurovision

SUISA songwriting camp

Between 30 May and 1 June 2023, the annual SUISA songwriting camp took place in Maur, Zürich; the songs composed in the event are usually submitted to SRG SSR as potential Eurovision entries.[4] Participants in the camp included Teya (one of the 2023 representatives for Austria), Elsie Bay (a three-time entrant to the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix, once as a songwriter) and Linda Dale (one of the songwriters of "Queen of Kings", the Norwegian entry in 2023).[5]

Internal selection

SRG SSR opened a submission period between 10 and 24 August 2023 for interested artists and composers to submit their entries. Artists and songwriters of any nationality were able to submit songs, with priority given to Swiss nationals or residents.[3] At the closing of the window, nearly 420 entries had been submitted.[6]

Submissions were assessed in various rounds by a Swiss public panel, an international public panel, and a 25-member international expert jury; the public panels consist of Swiss and international audience members, while the international jury consists of former national jurors for their respective countries at the Eurovision Song Contest.[3] The last round was held before 5 December 2023, when the five contendants left in the running recorded their songs at the SRF studios in Zürich.[6][7] The panels then proceeded to select the Swiss entry from these studio versions, with the final announcement set for March 2024;[3][6][7] it has been anticipated that the selected entry differs from the recent Swiss contributions to the contest (2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023) for not being "a male ballad".[8]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final will progress to the final. On 30 January 2024, an allocation draw will be held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country will perform in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) splits up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[9]

In a joint meeting held in Munich in September 2023, the German-language Swiss broadcaster SRF, German broadcaster ARD and Austrian broadcaster ORF renewed their plans to cooperate on the broadcast of Eurovision-themed programmes ESC – Der Countdown and ESC – Die Aftershow in 2024, as they did for the 2023 contest.[10][11]

References

  1. ^ a b "Switzerland". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  2. ^ Gannon, Rory (7 July 2023). "Switzerland confirms Eurovision 2024 participation". That Eurovision Site. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Wir suchen den Schweizer ESC-Song 2024" [We are looking for the Swiss ESC 2024 entry]. srf.ch (in Swiss High German). SRG SSR. 28 July 2023. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Apply for the 2023 SUISA Songwriting Camp". suisa.ch. SUISA. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  5. ^ "SWITZERLAND: Is the song for Eurovision 2024 ready?". ogaegreece.com. OGAE Greece. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Kofkelis, Antonios (9 December 2023). "Switzerland: Five Artists To Represent the Country!". Eurovisionfun. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b Granger, Anthony (9 December 2023). "Switzerland: Five Artists in Contention for Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  8. ^ Stephenson, James (22 December 2023). "Switzerland: Eurovision Song Won't Be 'Male Ballad'". Eurovoix. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  9. ^ Van Dijk, Sem Anne (13 December 2023). "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Allocation Draw on January 30". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  10. ^ Van Waarden, Franciska (12 September 2023). "Eurovision 2024: ARD, ORF and SRF Are Collaborating On Programming". Eurovoix. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  11. ^ "ARD, ORF und SRF erneut mit gemeinsamen Shows beim ESC" [ARD, ORF and SRF again with joint shows at the ESC]. Eurovision.de (in German). ARD. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.

External links