Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020
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Switzerland| Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) | |||
| Country | Switzerland | |||
| Selection process | Internal selection | |||
| Announcement date | 4 March 2020 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Répondez-moi" | |||
| Artist | Gjon's Tears | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Placement | ||||
| Final result | Contest cancelled | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
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Switzerland was set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Répondez-moi", written by Gjon Muharremaj, Xavier Michel, Alizé Oswald, and Jeroen Swinnen, and performed by Muharremaj himself under his stage name Gjon's Tears. The song was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) to represent the nation at the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. "Répondez-moi" was presented to the public on 4 March 2020.
Switzerland was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2020. However, the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to the 2020 contest, Switzerland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty 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 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. Opting to organize a national final between 2011 and 2018, Switzerland has managed to qualify to the final twice out of the last eight years. In 2019, Switzerland returned to an internal selection and earned their highest result in the contest since 2014, qualifying to the final and placing 4th 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. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster also announced that the Swiss entry for the 2020 contest would be selected internally.[2] Switzerland has selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest through both national finals and internal selections in the past. Between 2011 and 2018, the broadcaster has opted to organize a national final in order to select their entry. In 2019, the Swiss entry was internally selected for the competition.
