Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 with the song "", written by Renato Mascetti, and performed by Sandra Simó. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), selected its entry through a national final.
Before Eurovision Regional selections The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) held a national final to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1991. Each division of SRG SSR — Swiss German and Romansh broadcaster (SF DRS), Swiss French broadcaster (TSR), and Swiss Italian broadcaster (TSI) — used its own method to select its entries for the final. Eligible songs were required to have been composed by songwriters from Switzerland or Liechtenstein, and applicants could register their songs in a cassette tape until 27 October 1990.
In total, 143 songs were submitted (with 18 being invalid), of which nine were selected: three each in French, German and Italian. It is unknown how the regional broadcasters selected their songs.
TSR staged the national final on 23 February 1991 at 20:40 (CET) at the Casino du Rivage in Vevey. It was hosted by Lolita Morena, with Benoît Kaufman accompanying the orchestra. The national final was broadcast on TSR, SF, and TSI. The show was also aired on TV5 Europe in 9 April and on TV5 Québec Canada, in 14 May. Egon Egemann, who had represented , made a guest appearance.
Among the participating artists were Daniela Simons, who had represented ; and Carol Rich, who represented .
+Participating entriesBroadcasterArtist(s)SongSongwriter(s)Language Composer LyricistRTSI Marco, Daria & "" Marco ZappaItalian Daniela Simons "" Atilla Şereftuğ Nella Martinetti Sandra Simó "" Renato MascettiSF DRS Christine Nachbauer "" Philipp Martin Christen German R.C.O. "" Willi Rüegsegger Chris Lorens "" Chris LorensTSR Claude Lander "" Claude LanderFrench Suisse Home "Home Home" Carol Rich "" Dom Torche
The voting consisted of regional public votes which were sent to the three divisions of SRG SSR (SF DRS, TSR, TSI: German-Romansh, French, and Italian speaking, respectively), a press jury, and an "expert" jury. The winner was the song "", composed by Renato Mascetti and performed by Sandra Simó, who received the maximum number of points available. + Final – 23 February 1991ArtistSongRegional JuriesPressJuryExpertJuryTotalPlaceDRSTSITSR 1Marco, Daria & ""47218225 2Christine Nachbauer""22432 138 3Claude Lander""13151119 4R.C.O.""64523206 5Daniela Simons""88877382 6Suisse Home"Home Home"31344157 7Sandra Simó""1010101010501 8Chris Lorens""76786343 9Carol Rich""55665274
At Eurovision At the Eurovision Song Contest 1991, held at Studios in Rome, the Swiss entry was the tenth entry of the night following and preceding . The Swiss conductor at the contest was Flaviano Cuffari. At the close of voting, Switzerland had received 118 points in total; finishing in fifth place out of twenty-two countries.
The contest was broadcast on TV DRS (with commentary by ) and through a second audio programme on (with commentary by Lolita Morena) and on .
Voting Each participating broadcaster assembled a jury panel with at least eleven members. The jurors awarded 1-8, 10, and 12 points to their top ten songs.
+ Points awarded to Switzerland Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
+ Points awarded by Switzerland Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
References