Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

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Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Country  Switzerland
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)29 February 2024
Selected entrantNemo
Selected song"The Code"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Benjamin Alasu
  • Lasse Midtsian Nymann
  • Linda Dale
  • Nemo Mettler
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2023 2024

Switzerland is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, with "The Code" performed by Nemo. The Swiss broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) internally selected the country's representative for the contest.

Background[edit]

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 its intention to participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 on 7 July 2023,[2] later announcing that it would again use an internal selection to determine its entry for the contest.[3]

Before Eurovision[edit]

SUISA songwriting camp[edit]

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] Dale would later emerge as one the of the authors of the selected entry.[6]

Internal selection[edit]

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.[7] 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 consisted of Swiss and international audience members, while the international jury consisted 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. The panels then proceeded to select the Swiss entry from these studio versions.[3][7][8]

The announcement of the artist and the release of the song took place on 29 February 2024, with Nemo, as several independent sources had unofficially confirmed to Blick a few days earlier,[9] and the song "The Code";[6] SRG SSR had anticipated that the entry would differ from the recent Swiss contributions to the contest (2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023) for not being "a male ballad".[10]

Promotion[edit]

As part of the promotion of their participation in the contest, Nemo attended the PrePartyES in Madrid on 30 March 2024,[11] the Eurovision in Concert event in Amsterdam on 13 April 2024[12] and the Nordic Eurovision Party in Stockholm on 14 April 2024.[13] On 8 April 2024, Nemo was a guest on HRT Radio in Croatia,[14] and shortly after, they performed at the Swedish embassy in Bern.[15]

At Eurovision[edit]

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 was 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) split 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.[16] Switzerland was scheduled for the first half of the second semi-final.[17] The shows' producers then decided the running order for the semi-finals; Switzerland was set to perform in position 4, following the entry from Greece and before the entry from Czechia.[18]

SRG SSR will air the contest through its subsidiaries across the country:

  • French-speaking RTS will broadcast the final on RTS 1;[19]
  • German-speaking SRF will broadcast the semi-finals on SRF zwei and the final on SRF 1, all with commentary by Sven Epiney;[20][21][22] additionally, in a joint meeting held in Munich in September 2023, SRF renewed its plans with German broadcaster ARD and Austrian broadcaster ORF 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;[23][24] the shows will be hosted by Barbara Schöneberger;[25]
  • Italian-speaking RSI will broadcast the semi-finals on RSI La 2 and the final on RSI La 1, all with commentary by Ellis Cavallini and Gian-Andrea Costa.[20][21][22][26]

Performance[edit]

Nemo will take part in technical rehearsals on 29 April and 2 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 8 and 9 May.[27] The staging of their performance of "The Code" at the contest is directed by Fredrik Rydman, who has previously done so for a number of entries, most notably Sweden in 2015 and Finland in 2023.[28]

Voting[edit]

The spokesperson for the Swiss jury at the final will be Jennifer Bosshard [de].[29]

References[edit]

  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 "Nemo will perform 'The Code' in Malmö for Switzerland". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b Kofkelis, Antonios (9 December 2023). "Switzerland: Five Artists To Represent the Country!". Eurovisionfun. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  8. ^ Granger, Anthony (9 December 2023). "Switzerland: Five Artists in Contention for Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  9. ^ Van Waarden, Franciska (26 February 2024). "Switzerland: Nemo to Eurovision 2024?". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  10. ^ Stephenson, James (22 December 2023). "Switzerland: Eurovision Song Won't Be 'Male Ballad'". Eurovoix. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  11. ^ Rico, Vicente (7 March 2024). "Pasajeros al tren: ¡Nemo de Suiza se viene a la gran fiesta de Eurovisión en España!" [Passengers on board: Nemo from Switzerland comes to the big Eurovision party in Spain!]. Eurovision-Spain.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  12. ^ Postma, Angus (8 March 2024). "Nemo to perform at Eurovision in Concert 2024". That Eurovision Site. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  13. ^ Garnett, Georgia (11 March 2024). "Nemo to perform at Nordic Eurovision Party 2024". That Eurovision Site. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  14. ^ Granger, Anthony (9 April 2024). "Switzerland: Nemo Promoting in Croatia". Eurovoix. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  15. ^ Andersson, Rafaell (21 April 2024). "Eurovision 2024: Nemo, Dons and Nebulossa Perform at Swedish Embassies". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  16. ^ Van Dijk, Sem Anne (13 December 2023). "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Allocation Draw on January 30". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Running Orders revealed!". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest". Admeira (in Italian). Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  20. ^ a b "7. Mai 2024". Play SRF (in Swiss High German). SRF. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  21. ^ a b "9. Mai 2024". Play SRF (in Swiss High German). SRF. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  22. ^ a b "11. Mai 2024". Play SRF (in Swiss High German). SRF. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  23. ^ Van Waarden, Franciska (12 September 2023). "Eurovision 2024: ARD, ORF and SRF Are Collaborating On Programming". Eurovoix. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  24. ^ "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.
  25. ^ Granger, Anthony (3 April 2023). "ESC 2024 – The Countdown Live in Austria, Germany & Switzerland". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  26. ^ "The Code di Nemo per la Svizzera all'Eurovision Song Contest 2024 a Malmö" [The Code by Nemo for Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö]. rsi.ch (in Italian). RSI. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Eurovision 2024: Rehearsal Schedule". Eurovisionworld. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  28. ^ Granger, Anthony (10 March 2024). "Switzerland: Nemo's Eurovision Performance to be Staged by Fredrik Rydman". Eurovoix. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  29. ^ Granger, Anthony (27 March 2024). "Switzerland: Jennifer Bosshard Spokesperson for Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 March 2024.

External links[edit]