Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020
Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | ||||
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Country | Switzerland | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | Internal selection | |||
Selection date(s) | 4 March 2020 | |||
Selected entrant | Gjon's Tears | |||
Selected song | "Répondez-moi" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Final result | Contest cancelled | |||
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Switzerland originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Répondez-moi" written by Gjon Muharremaj, Xavier Michel, Alizé Oswald and Jeroen Swinnen. The song was performed by Gjon's Tears, which is the artistic name of singer Gjon Muharremaj who 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 as the Swiss entry 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.
Background
Prior to the 2020 contest, Switzerland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty times since its first entry in 1956.
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.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
SRG SSR opened a submission period between 2 September 2019 and 16 September 2019 for interested artists and composers to submit their entries. Artists and songwriters of any nationality were able to submit songs; however those with a Swiss passport or residency were given priority.[2][3] Multiple songwriting camps were also held in order to create potential songs to be submitted for the selection process.[4] 515 entries were submitted following the submission deadline.[5] Songs shortlisted from the received submissions were then tested by their music producers with various artists and the combination of a 100-member public panel (50%) and the votes of a 21-member international expert jury (50%) selected the Swiss entry. The members of the public panel were Swiss residents put together according to selected criteria in cooperation with Digame, while the international jury consisted of members who had been national juries for their respective countries at the Eurovision Song Contest.[6][7]
Name | Country | Profession |
---|---|---|
Argyro Christodoulidou | Cyprus | Composer, songwriter |
Maria Marcus | Sweden | Music producer, songwriter |
Florent Luyckx | Netherlands | Radio executive |
Pete Watsons | United Kingdom | Keyboardist |
Jennifer O'Brien | Ireland | Music and entertainment journalist |
Leonid Shirin | Belarus | Composer |
Sasha Saedi | Austria | Music manager |
Alexey Gross | Belarus | Singer |
Adrienn Zsédenyi | Hungary | Singer, actress, author, producer, mentor, social worker |
Anders Øhrstrøm | Denmark | Singer, composer, music producer, sound designer, vocal coach |
Deivydas Zvonkus | Lithuania | Composer, producer |
Tinkara Kovač | Slovenia | Singer, flautist, represented Slovenia in the 2014 contest |
Grzegorz Urban | Poland | Composer, arranger, pianist |
Ovidiu Jacobsen | Romania | Songwriter, musician, producer, represented Romania in the 2010 and 2014 contests |
Helga Möller | Iceland | Singer, represented Iceland in the 1986 contest as member of ICY |
Gore Melian | Armenia | Singer, songwriter, producer |
Rafailas Karpis | Lithuania | Opera singer |
Ruth Lorenzo | Spain | Singer, songwriter, represented Spain in the 2014 contest |
Gordon Groothedde | Netherlands | Composer, producer |
Einar Bardarson | Iceland | Composer, music producer, concertist, artist agent |
Henrik Johnsson | Sweden | Television presenter and producer |
On 4 March 2020, "
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
Prior to the Eurovision Song Celebration YouTube broadcast in place of the semi-finals, it was revealed that Switzerland was set to perform in position 10, following the entry from Iceland and before the entry from Denmark.[15]
References
- ^ "Switzerland Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- ^ a b Jumawan, Tim (July 11, 2019). "Switzerland confirms participation and reveals submissions process for Eurovision 2020". escxtra.
- ^ "2020 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST SWISS REGULATIONS" (PDF). srf.ch. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Eurovision 2020 - Gjon's Tears (Switzerland)". ESCKAZ. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ Jumawan, Tim (September 16, 2019). "Switzerland receives 515 submissions for Eurovision 2020". escxtra.
- ^ Bayer, Calvin (18 December 2019). "Switzerland: Ruth Lorenzo and Tinkara Kovac among international jury experts". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ Lewis, Oliver (11 December 2019). "🇨🇭 Swiss artist and song to be revealed in March 2020". escxtra.
- ^ "Switzerland picks Gjon's Tears with French 'Repondez-moi' for Rotterdam". eurovision.tv. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Gjon's Tears - Répondez-moi - Switzerland 🇨🇭 - Official Music Video - Eurovision 2020". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "In the spotlight: Gjon's Tears". eurovision.tv. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest–Rotterdam 2020". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ "Rules–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Eurovision Song Contest (14 May 2020). "Part two of Eurovision Song Celebration". Retrieved 3 June 2020.