Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

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Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Country  Switzerland
National selection
Selection processESC 2018 –
die Entscheidungsshow
Selection date(s)4 February 2018
Selected entrantZibbz
Selected song"Stones"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Corinne "Co" Gfeller
  • Stee Gfeller
  • Laurell Barker
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (13th)
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2017 2018 2019►

Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) organised a national final in order to select the Swiss entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal.

Background[]

Prior to the 2018 Contest, Switzerland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-eight 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 had managed to participate in the final four times up to this point. In 2005, the internal selection of Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja, performing the song "Cool Vibes", qualified Switzerland to the final where they placed 8th. Due to their successful result in 2005, Switzerland was pre-qualified to compete directly in the final in 2006. Between 2007 and 2010, the nation failed to qualify to the final after a string of internal selections. Since opting to organize a national final from 2011 onwards, Switzerland has managed to qualify to the final twice. In 2017, Switzerland failed to qualify to the final, placing 12th in the semi-final with the song "Apollo" performed by Timebelle. The last time they had qualified was in 2014.

The Swiss national broadcaster, Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), broadcasts the event within Switzerland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. SRG SSR confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest on 30 June 2017.[2] Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster also announced that the Swiss entry for the 2018 contest would be selected through a revamped national final.[2] Switzerland has selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest through both national finals and internal selections in the past. Between 2005 and 2010, the Swiss entry was internally selected for the competition. Since 2011, the broadcaster has opted to organize a national final in order to select their entry.

Before Eurovision[]

ESC 2018 – die Entscheidungsshow[]

ESC 2018 – die Entscheidungsshow was the eighth edition of the Swiss national final format that selected Switzerland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The show took place on 4 February 2018 at the SRF Studio 1 in Zürich, hosted by Sven Epiney. The show was televised on SRF zwei, RSI La 2 and RTS Deux. The competition was also streamed online at the respective official website of each Swiss broadcaster.[3]

Competing entries[]

SRG SSR opened a submission period between 1 September 2017 until 22 September 2017 for interested composers to submit their songs. Composers and lyricists of any nationality were able to submit songs; however those with a Swiss passport or residency were given priority.[4] In addition to the public submissions, a songwriting camp was held in Maur, during which 18 songs were created and 16 of which were submitted for the selection.[5] 670 songs were submitted following the submission deadline. A 20-member jury panel composed of music experts (producers, representatives of the music industry, musicians, journalists, etc.), Eurovision fans and television viewers evaluated the entry submissions received and selected six songs, which were then tested by their music producers with various artists to proceed to the second stage of the competition, the televised national final. The competing artists and songs were announced on 9 January 2018.[6]

Final[]

ESC 2018 – die Entscheidungsshow took place on 4 February 2018. The combination of televoting (50%) and the votes of seven international juries (50%) selected "Stones" performed by Zibbz as the winner. In addition to the performances from the competing artists, Swiss Eurovision Song Contest 2017 entrants Timebelle opened the show with their song "Apollo". Singer Leticia Carvalho and the group Appenzeller Sängerfreunde performed the Portuguese Eurovision Song Contest 2017 winning song "Amar pelos dois" as the interval act.

ESC 2018 – die Entscheidungsshow – 4 February 2018
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Jury Televote Total Place
1 Zibbz "Stones" Corinne "Coco" Gfeller, Stee Gfeller, Laurell Barker 76 77 153 1
2 Angie Ott "A Thousand Times" Jonas Gladnikoff, Sara Ljunggren, Glen Vella 26 39 65 5
3 Naeman "Kiss Me" Kate Northrop, Eric Lumiere, Ken Berglund, Alejandro Reyes 14 19 33 6
4 Chiara Dubey "Secrets and Lies" Chiara Dubey, Janie Price, Jeroen Swinnen, Darcy Proper, Sally Herbert 22 44 66 4
5 Alejandro Reyes "Compass" Alejandro Reyes, Laurell Barker, Lars Christen 72 48 120 2
6 Vanessa Iraci "Redlights" Borislav Milanov, Joacim Bo Persson, Johan Alkenäs, Jessica Ashley Karpov, Jesse Saint John 42 25 67 3

At Eurovision[]

According to Eurovision rules, 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 progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Switzerland was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 8 May 2018, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[7]

Once all the competing songs for the 2018 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Switzerland was set to perform in position 17, following the entry from Armenia and preceding the entry from Ireland.[8]

In Switzerland, three different stations broadcast the contest. Sven Epiney provided German commentary for both semi-finals airing on SRF zwei and the final airing on SRF 1. Clarissa Tami provided Italian commentary for the first semi-final airing on RSI La 2 and the final airing on RSI La 1 joined by 2014 Swiss Eurovision representative Sebalter. Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Taner provided French commentary for the first semi-final airing on RTS Deux and the final airing on RTS Un. The Swiss spokesperson revealing the result of the Swiss vote in the final was Letícia Carvalho.

Voting[]

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

Points awarded to Switzerland[]

Points awarded to Switzerland (Semi-final 1)[9]
Score Televote Jury
12 points
10 points
8 points  Austria
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points  Finland  United Kingdom
3 points  Portugal
2 points  Albania
1 point

Points awarded by Switzerland[]

Detailed voting results[]

The following members comprised the Swiss jury:[11]

  •  [de] (jury chairperson) – producer, songwriter
  • Alizé Oswald – singer
  • Michael Kinzer – boardmember of Swiss Music Export and Fondation pour la Chanson et les Musiques Actuelles
  • Eva Bellomo – singer
  •  [de] (Nickless) – singer
Detailed voting results from Switzerland (Semi-final 1)[9]
Draw Country Jury Televote
G. Schlunegger A. Oswald M. Kinzer E. Bellomo Nickless Average Rank Points Rank Points
01  Azerbaijan 9 17 17 16 17 16 15
02  Iceland 10 9 5 5 13 10 1 16
03  Albania 8 12 12 9 16 13 2 10
04  Belgium 13 11 15 11 11 14 14
05  Czech Republic 18 3 3 1 7 3 8 8 3
06  Lithuania 5 8 1 10 3 4 7 12
07  Israel 4 1 6 12 14 6 5 3 8
08  Belarus 16 15 14 15 15 17 18
09  Estonia 1 2 9 3 2 1 12 10 1
10  Bulgaria 14 5 7 6 5 8 3 13
11  Macedonia 17 18 18 18 18 18 11
12  Croatia 11 16 13 8 8 12 7 4
13  Austria 3 4 10 2 9 5 6 1 12
14  Greece 15 14 16 14 12 15 9 2
15  Finland 7 10 4 7 10 9 2 6 5
16  Armenia 12 13 11 13 6 11 17
17   Switzerland
18  Ireland 2 6 8 4 1 2 10 5 6
19  Cyprus 6 7 2 17 4 7 4 4 7
Detailed voting results from Switzerland (Final)[10]
Draw Country Jury Televote
G. Schlunegger A. Oswald M. Kinzer E. Bellomo Nickless Average Rank Points Rank Points
01  Ukraine 25 20 24 24 26 26 25
02  Spain 15 16 14 14 13 20 10 1
03  Slovenia 22 22 11 21 4 12 26
04  Lithuania 3 7 2 4 5 3 8 20
05  Austria 5 6 9 3 14 7 4 7 4
06  Estonia 1 12 4 2 3 2 10 18
07  Norway 20 11 19 5 16 14 22
08  Portugal 9 3 8 25 9 8 3 2 10
09  United Kingdom 18 13 21 6 12 16 16
10  Serbia 23 19 26 13 25 23 1 12
11  Germany 2 1 15 1 7 1 12 5 6
12  Albania 16 18 17 15 21 21 4 7
13  France 21 8 13 11 17 17 11
14  Czech Republic 26 10 6 10 19 11 13
15  Denmark 17 26 12 26 18 22 9 2
16  Australia 8 21 25 12 22 18 17
17  Finland 10 23 5 16 20 13 21
18  Bulgaria 14 14 3 7 10 9 2 24
19  Moldova 19 25 22 22 24 25 19
20  Sweden 4 9 16 19 1 6 5 23
21  Hungary 24 24 20 23 15 24 14
22  Israel 13 2 7 17 23 10 1 6 5
23  Netherlands 11 17 23 18 11 19 15
24  Ireland 7 4 10 8 2 5 6 12
25  Cyprus 6 5 1 20 6 4 7 8 3
26  Italy 12 15 18 9 8 15 3 8

References[]

  1. ^ "Switzerland Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b Granger, Anthony (30 June 2017). "Switzerland: Eurovision 2018 Participation Confirmed". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  3. ^ Granger, Anthony. "Switzerland: Six Eurovision 2018 Hopefuls Revealed". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  4. ^ Ioannou, Dimitris (1 September 2017). "Song submissions open in Switzerland!". escxtra.
  5. ^ "Switzerland 2018". ESCKAZ.
  6. ^ "Which of these songs will represent Switzerland in 2018?". Eurovision.tv. 9 January 2018.
  7. ^ Jordan, Paul (29 January 2018). "Which countries will perform in which Semi-Final at Eurovision 2018?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Running order for Eurovision 2018 Semi-Finals revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b c "Results of the First Semi-Final of Lisbon 2018". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Lisbon 2018". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  11. ^ Groot, Evert (30 April 2018). "Exclusive: They are the expert jurors for Eurovision 2018". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2018.

External links[]

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