Eurovision 2008 - Switzerland

Era stupendo
Paolo Meneguzzi

History (1956 to 2007):

Switzerland's previous appearances: 48 year(s) out of 52
Years participated: 1956-1994; 1996-1998; 2000; 2002; 2004-
Best result: 1st (1956, 1988)

The Swiss got off to a good start by winning the first ever contest in 1956, though with only 7 countries taking part it was a bit easier in those days. They then had to wait another 32 years, before the French Canadian Celine Dion, inexplicably singing for Switzerland, won it again in 1988 with 'Ne partez pas sans moi'. Celine's Eurovision performance, wearing a startlingly frilly white dress, is one of those moments that gets repeated on the various 'look at those ridiculous Eurovision outfits' programmes, though I doubt Celine minds too much - after all, she is probably the biggest international star to emerge from Eurovision since ABBA. Unhappily for Switzerland, subsequent efforts were less successful, Annie Cotton's 3rd place in 1993 representing the highlight in a string of dismal results. During the 90s and early 00s, Switzerland's record was nearly as bad as Finland's, participating in 94, 96, 97, 98 (nul points), 00 and 02, but missing 95, 99, 01 and 03 through relegation. As if this record of despair was inadequate humiliation, the Swiss plumbed new depths in 2004 by managing to score 'nul points' in the inagural Eurovision Semi Final, thus finishing 36th out of 36 entries. With so many countries taking part and voting in the Contest (including 33 voting in the 2004 Semi Final), finding a song that is so bad it gets no votes from any country is quite an impressive feat. However, that doesn't take into account the Swiss managing to find a singer as cheesy as Piero, or a song as horrific as 'Celebrate'.

Looking on the bright side, at least the Swiss could only improve in 2005, and improve they certainly did. Enlisting the talents of Estonian band Vanilla Ninja to perform the song 'Cool vibes', Switzerland gained 114 points and 8th place in the Semi Final, going on to secure 128 points and another 8th place in the Final; needless to say, Switzerland was the beneficiary of Estonia's 'douze points' on both occasions.

Thanks to its first top 10 placing in over a decade, Switzerland found itself directly qualified for the Final in 2006, where it adopted the seemingly clever ploy of creating Six4One, an act formed especially for Eurovision with singers from six different countries: 16-year-old Israeli star Liel; Alcazar member Andreas Lundstedt, from Sweden; Tinka Milinovic, runner-up to Feminnem in the 2005 Bosnian Eurovision heats; Keith Camilleri, performer of 'Tango 4 Two' at Maltasong 2004; Portuguese-born Marco Matias, runner-up (with Nicole Süßmilch) to Gracia in 2005's 'Germany 12 Points!' contest; and Claudia D'Addio, from the Swiss 'MusicStar' show. The idea worked to an extent, with Malta duly lavishing its 12 points on the Swiss entry; unfortunately, while the song picked up a total of 21 points from Israel, Bosnia, Malta and Portugal, it could only muster 9 from everyone else put together. The resulting 30 points and 17th place means that the Swiss find themselves back in the Semi Final in 2007.

Switzerland was represented by DJ BoBo in 2007, performing the song 'Vampires are alive'. A cheesy but fabulous Eurodance anthem, it was Aqua with a Swiss twist.

This year's entry:





My opinion & prediction:

This year Switzerland, finally understood that the voice counts not the name. When I first heard this song I thought at Eros Ramazzoti. This year Switzerland will be represented by the 30 years old Paolo Meneguzzi singing ,,Era stupendo”, a beautiful song, definitely on of my favorites. Even If it was accused of plagiarism nothing was proved.

My prediction for the Semi Final: 1st to 3th
My prediction for the Final: Definite qualifier; 1st to 3th, possible winner