Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020

Switzerland was scheduled to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with the song "Répondez-moi" performed by Gjon's Tears. Its selected entry was internally choosed by Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) in March 2020. To this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty times since its first entry in 1956. In March 2020, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced the contest's cancellation due to the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its rapid spread across Europe.

Eurovision Song Contest 2020
Country  Switzerland
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)4 March 2020
Selected entrantGjon's Tears
Selected song"Répondez-moi"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Gjon Muharremaj
  • Xavier Michel
  • Alizé Oswald
  • Jeroen Swinnen
Finals performance
Semi-final resultCancelled
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2019 • 2020 • 2021►

Background
Main article: Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2020 contest, Switzerland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty times since its first entry in 1956.[1] The nation is noted for having won the 1956 contest with the song "Refrain" performed by Lys Assia.[1] Their second and, to this point, most recent victory was achieved in 1988, when Céline Dion won the contest with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi".[1]

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 2019, Switzerland qualified for the final for the first time since 2014, placing 4th in the final with the song "She Got Me" performed by Luca Hänni.

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 2020 Eurovision Song Contest on 11 July 2019.[2]

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

SRG SSR opened a submission period for interested artists and songwriters to submit their entries from 2 September 2019 until 16 September 2019.[2] 515 entries were received, and the winner was then determined by a 100-member public panel and a 20-member International Expert Jury formed of former members of the respective country juries at Eurovision.[3] Both juries each had a 50% say in the final decision on the Swiss entry, with the winner being revealed on 4 March 2020 by the Swiss broadcasters.[3][4]

On 4 March 2020, Gjon's Tears was announced as the Swiss entrant at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Répondez-moi".

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was initially scheduled to take place at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and consist of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and the grand final on 16 May 2020.[5] According to the Eurovision rules, each participating country, except the host nation and the "Big 5", consisting of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, would have been required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final, although the top ten countries from each semi-final would have progressed to the grand final.[6] In January, it was announced that Switzerland would be performing in the second half of the second semi-final of the contest.[7] However, in March, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced the contest's cancellation due to the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Europe.[8]

References
  1. "Eurovision Song Contest Country Profile: Switzerland". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  2. Jumawan, Tim (July 11, 2019). "Switzerland confirms participation and reveals submissions process for Eurovision 2020". escxtra.
  3. Jumawan, Tim (September 16, 2019). "Switzerland receives 515 submissions for Eurovision 2020". escxtra.
  4. Lewis, Oliver (11 December 2019). "🇨🇭 Swiss artist and song to be revealed in March 2020". escxtra.
  5. "Eurovision Song Contest–Rotterdam 2020". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  6. "Rules–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  7. Groot, Evert (28 January 2020). "Which country performs in which Eurovision 2020 Semi-Final?". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  8. "Eurovision 2020 in Rotterdam is cancelled". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
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