Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

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.

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, 86 points)
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2017 • 2018 • 2019►

Background
Main article: Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest

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.

Competing entries

SRG SSR opened a submission period between 1 September 2017 and 22 September 2017 for interested artists and composers to submit their entries. Composers and artists of any nationality were able to submit songs; however, artists that have Swiss citizenship will be given priority.[3] A songwriting camp was also held in Maur, from which 16 entries were submitted to the broadcaster.[4] 670 entries were submitted following the submission deadline, and a 20-member jury panel composed of music and media representatives, Eurovision fans and television viewers evaluated the entry submissions received and selected six songs for the next stage of the selection process. The songs were then tested and matched with various artists, with the finalists being announced on 9 January 2018.[5]

Final

ESC 2018 – Die Entscheidungsshow took place on 4 February 2018 at the SRF Studio 1, hosted by Sven Epiney.[6] The show was televised on SRF zwei, RSI La 2 and RTS Deux. The combination of televoting (50%) and the votes of seven international juries (50%) selected "Stones" performed by Zibbz as the winner.

Draw Artist Song Composer(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 5" (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)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Switzerland

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Swiss jury: [9]

  • Georg Schlunegger – 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
  • Nicola Kneringer (Nickless) – singer
Split voting results from Switzerland (Semi-final 1)
Draw Country Jury Televote
G. Schlunegger A. Oswald M. Kinzer E. Bellomo Nickless Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Azerbaijan9171716171615
02 Iceland109551310116
03 Albania8121291613210
04 Belgium13111511111414
05 Czech Republic1833173883
06 Lithuania5811034712
07 Israel41612146538
08 Belarus16151415151718
09 Estonia12932112101
10 Bulgaria1457658313
11 Macedonia17181818181811
12 Croatia111613881274
13 Austria34102956112
14 Greece15141614121592
15 Finland71047109265
16 Armenia1213111361117
17  Switzerland
18 Ireland2684121056
19 Cyprus6721747447
Split voting results from Switzerland (final)
Draw Country Jury Televote
G. Schlunegger A. Oswald M. Kinzer E. Bellomo Nickless Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Ukraine25202424262625
02 Spain151614141320101
03 Slovenia2222112141226
04 Lithuania372453820
05 Austria5693147474
06 Estonia11242321018
07 Norway2011195161422
08 Portugal93825983210
09 United Kingdom1813216121616
10 Serbia231926132523112
11 Germany21151711256
12 Albania16181715212147
13 France2181311171711
14 Czech Republic2610610191113
15 Denmark17261226182292
16 Australia8212512221817
17 Finland1023516201321
18 Bulgaria141437109224
19 Moldova19252222242519
20 Sweden49161916523
21 Hungary24242023152414
22 Israel1327172310165
23 Netherlands11172318111915
24 Ireland7410825612
25 Cyprus6512064783
26 Italy121518981538

References
  1. "Switzerland Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  2. Granger, Anthony (30 June 2017). "Switzerland: Eurovision 2018 Participation Confirmed". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  3. Ioannou, Dimitris (1 September 2017). "Song submissions open in Switzerland!". escxtra.
  4. "Switzerland 2018". ESCKAZ.
  5. "Which of these songs will represent Switzerland in 2018?". Eurovision.tv. 9 January 2018.
  6. Granger, Anthony. "Switzerland: Six Eurovision 2018 Hopefuls Revealed". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 4 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.
  9. Groot, Evert (30 April 2018). "Exclusive: They are the expert jurors for Eurovision 2018". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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