Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Country   Switzerland
National selection
Selection process Internal Selection
Selected entrant Lovebugs
Selected song "The Highest Heights"
Finals performance
Semi-final result 15 points(14th)
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2008 • 2009 • 2010►

Switzerland competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The Swiss broadcaster, SRG SSR idée suisse, internally selected Lovebugs to represent the country with the song "The Highest Heights".[1][2][3] The song did not progress from the first semi-final of the competition.

Background

Switzerland debuted at Eurovision at the first contest in 1956,[4] and will send its 50th entry to the 2009 contest. The country has won the contest twice: their first win occurred at the very first contest, when Lys Assia won for Switzerland with "Refrain" when the contest was held in Switzerland, in the town of Lugano; their second and latest win to date came in 1988, when Canadian singer Céline Dion won with "Ne partez pas sans moi". The country, however, has also come last in the contest on five occasions: in 1964, 1967, 1974, 1998 and in the semi-final of the 2004 Contest.[5]

The Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse has been in charge of the Swiss Eurovision entry since its interception. In the past the organisation has held a national final to select the Swiss entry to Eurovision, with each regional broadcaster entering songs to the contest. Since 2005, however, the organisation has held an internal selection for the Swiss Eurovision entry, which was continued for the 2009 selection.

Selection

Schweizer Fernsehen (SF), the German-language sector of SRG SSR, began its selection for Eurovision 2009 in July 2008. From July to 20 October 2008 SF held an open call for artists interested in Eurovision. Artists and authors wishing to enter were not obliged to be Swiss citizens, however SF stressed that the experience of possible candidates was vital. An internal jury selected the final entry for Switzerland for the contest.[6][7]

After months of deliberation, Swiss newspaper Blick claimed in January 2009 that SF had selected the popular Swiss band the Lovebugs to represent Switzerland at the 2009 Contest in Moscow, Russia.[8][9][10] SF confirmed on 19 January that the Lovebugs had been selected by the five-person jury appointed by the broadcaster to represent Switzerland at Eurovision.[11] No information had yet been disclosed on the song the band would sing in Moscow, however a poll held by Swiss radio station DRS, part of SF, on their website showed that readers preferred "The Highest Heights" over other songs on their new album of the same name.[12]

On 23 February, it was finally announced that the Lovebugs would compete at the contest with "The Highest Heights". The group competed in the first semi-final on 12 May 2009.[1][2][3] They failed to qualify for the finals of the contest.

At Eurovision

Since Switzerland is not one of the "Big Four" and is not the host of the 2009 contest, it had to compete in one of the two semi-finals. The song competed in the first semi-final but failed to reach the final.

Points Awarded by Switzerland[13]

Points Awarded to Switzerland (Semi-Final 1)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Siim, Jarmo (2009-02-23). "Lovebugs go to 'highest heights'". EBU. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  2. 1 2 Costa, Nelson (2009-03-01). "‘The Highest Heights’ by Lovebugs in Moscow". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  3. 1 2 Jiandani, Sanjay (2009-02-23). "Switzerland: Lovebugs to sing The highest heights". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  4. ↑ Staff. "Eurovision Song Contest 1956 – Year page – Eurovision Song Contest - Moscow 2009". EBU. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  5. ↑ Staff. "History by Country: Switzerland". EBU. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  6. ↑ Hondal, Víctor (2008-07-16). "Switzerland: SF call for songs". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  7. ↑ Konstantopoulos, Fotis (2008-07-15). "SF engages Eurovision quest for 2009 entry". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  8. ↑ van Tongeren, Mario (2009-01-18). "Local newspaper claims: Lovebugs to Moscow!". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  9. ↑ Grillhofer, Florian (2009-01-18). "Switzerland sends Lovebugs to Eurovision?". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  10. ↑ Schlup, Claudia (2009-01-18). "Lovebugs am Eurovision Song Contest!" (in German). Blick. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  11. ↑ Schacht, Andreas (2009-01-19). "Lovebugs for Switzerland!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  12. ↑ "Eure Meinung: Lovebugs sollen mit "The Highest Heights" ins Eurovision-Rennen" (in German). DRS1. 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  13. ↑ Eurovision Song Contest 2008
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