Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 with the song "", composed by Thomas Gonzenbach and Remo Kessler, with lyrics by Nella Martinetti, and performed by Mariella Farré. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), selected its entry for the contest 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 1983. The national final was a collaboration between three broadcasters that composed SRG SSR: the Swiss-German and Romansh broadcaster (SF DRS), the Swiss-French broadcaster (TSR), and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster (TSI). Since 1982, unlike previous Swiss national finals, where all composite broadcasters internally selected their entries, said broadcasters could hold their own regional selection methods.

Swiss-Italian broadcaster (TSI) held its preliminary round in the radio program . The event consisted of two semifinals on 5 and 11 December and a final on 18 December with each round airing at 10:30 CET. The voting consisted of a jury of radio and television license holders and the public. The three highest scoring songs would advance to the nationwide final.

It is known that ten songs competed in the event, however little information regarding the show's events and full lineup are known. Among the participants was , who represented , , , and as a member of Peter, Sue & Marc. Mariella Farré would later represent alongside .

Final The final was broadcast on 11 December 1982 at 10:30 CET. The running order and the majority of the songs are currently unknown.

+ (Final) — 18 December 1982 (known songs)Artist(s)SongSongwriter(s)Result Composer Lyricist I Centrocittà "" Ferninando Morandi Qualified "" Nella Martinetti Mariella Farré "" Nella Martinetti Qualified Ray & Corry Knobel "" Corry Knobel Qualified

Swiss-German and Romansh selection Following the successful reception of the 1982 Swiss-German preliminary round, Schweizer Radio DRS (DRS) once again held regional public selection rounds to select the Swiss-German songs in the nationwide national final.

About 18 songs were set to be selected by an internal jury. The submission deadline was on 30 October 1982 and applicants must be at least 17 years old. Singers and songwriters from Switzerland, Liechtenstein, or foreigners with residence from the two countries were allowed to submit their songs. A total of 101 songs were submitted, with 20 ultimately being selected.

The event consisted of two semifinals and a final. It was held in Zurich, was solely broadcast on DRS radio and was hosted by . The songs were accompanied by and the DRS Big Band. The three highest scoring songs in the final advanced to the nationwide Swiss national final. Unlike last year, the entries were prerecorded from the day before the rounds were broadcast to prevent live technical difficulties.

Conflicting reports between Swiss press and the participants claim either 17 or 20 songs performed in two semifinals, with ten songs competing in each. Of the reported 20 entrants, only 12 artists and 17 songs are identified and/or implied to take part. Among the participants was the group , which represented . The songs "" and "" by Rezia Spontana were the first songs in Romansh to compete in a Swiss Eurovision preselection. +List of known participants and entries Artist(s)SongSongwriter(s) Composer Lyricist Anetta & Wolfgang colspan="3" Angela "Mona Lisa" Philipp Martin colspan="3" Bernadette Wälle "" rowspan="2" colspan="2" "" Christian Hunziker "" Christian Hunziker Colette Meury "" colspan="2" Dany Bolla "" Ireen Indra rowspan="2" colspan="3" Katrin Hasler Trio Manuela Felice "Odulidam" Walter Kehl colspan="3" Marco Nomisch "" Marco Nomisch colspan="3" colspan="3" Rezia Spontana "" "" Peter Wydler

Semifinal 1 The first semifinal was broadcast on 4 December 1982 from 19:30 to 21:30 CET. Throughout the event, the voting consisted of a 15-member jury panel of radio and television staff members and radio listeners who called designated phone numbers for each song of their choice. Unlike the previous year, the studio audience did not have voting rights to "ensure a fair selection process." The five best scoring songs in each semifinal advanced to the final. The running order, the majority of the songs, and one artist are unknown. +Semifinal 1 — 4 December 1982 (known songs) Artist(s) Song Result Anetta & Wolfgang rowspan="2" Unknown Angela Unknown Bernadette Wälle Colette Meury "" Unknown Dany Bolla "" Unknown Manuela Felice Unknown Marco Nomisch "" Unknown Unknown Rezia Spontana Qualified

Semifinal 2 The second semifinal was broadcast on 11 December 1982 at 19:30 CET. The running order, the majority of the songs, and two artists are unknown. +Semifinal 2 — 11 December 1982 (known songs) Artist(s) Song Result Angela "Mona Lisa" Qualified Bernadette Wälle Christian Hunziker "" Qualified Ireen Indra rowspan="2" Unknown Katrin Hasler Trio Unknown Manuela Felice Unknown Unknown Rezia Spontana Qualified

Final The final was broadcast on 18 December 1982 from 19:30 CET. About 2,000 telephone calls from radio listeners were received to partly decide the qualifiers. The running order and five remaining qualifiers are unknown. +Final — 18 December 1982 (known songs) Artist(s) Song Place Manuela Felice "Odulidam" 1 Angela "Mona Lisa" 2 Christian Hunziker "" 3 Rezia Spontana "" 4 Rezia Spontana "" 5

1983 SRG SSR received 176 total song submissions (101 in German, 46 in French, and 29 in Italian), and ultimately selected nine to take part in the selection (three per language). Among the participants were Mariella Farré, who would later represent , and Daniela Simons, who would later represent .

Swiss German and Romansh broadcaster (SF DRS) staged the national final on 26 March at 20:00 CET at its studios in Zurich. It was hosted by Marie-Thérèse Gwerder, with and accompanying the performances with Moeckel's Big Band. Nicole, who won Eurovision for , and Vivian Reed made guest appearances. The national final was broadcast on TV DRS and TSR (with commentary by ).

+Participating entriesBroadcasterArtist(s)SongSongwriter(s)Language Composer LyricistRTSI Mariella Farré "" Nella Martinetti Italian I Centrocittà "" Ferninando Morandi Ray & Corry Knobel "" Corry KnobelSF DRS Manuela Felice "Odulidam" Walter Kehl German Angela "Mona Lisa" Philipp Martin Christian Hunziker "" Christian Hunziker Swiss German, EnglishTSR Alexandre Castel "" Alexandre Castel French Claude Lander "" Claude Lander Daniela Simons "" Alexandre Castel

The voting consisted of regional public votes which were sent to the three divisions of SRG SSR (DRS, TSR, TSI: German, French, and Italian speaking, respectively), a press jury, and a jury of music experts. Applications for viewers from Switzerland and Liechtenstein to join the regional juries were sent via postcard until 21 March, and 50 viewers from each canton were randomly selected to cast their votes to their broadcaster divisions via phone call. Additionally, one random voter in the public jury would be drawn to be invited to attend the Eurovision Song Contest as an audience member along with a companion. The selected voter was Yvonne Niederberger. Due to technical difficulties regarding the Swiss-Italian jury, their votes were announced later than scheduled. The winner was the song "", composed by Remo Kessler and Thomas Gonzenbach with lyrics from Nella Martinetti and performed by Mariella Farré.

+Final — 26 March 1983 Artist(s) Song Regional Juries PressJury ExpertJury Total Place DRS TSR TSI 1 Alexandre Castel ""23317168 2 Manuela Felice "Odulidam"810776383 3 Christian Hunziker ""61228196 4Mariella Farré""76101010431 5 I Centrocittà ""54664254 6 Claude Lander ""47442215 7 Ray & Corry Knobel ""35551196 8 Angela "Mona Lisa"108885392 9 Daniela Simons ""12133109

At Eurovision

At the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, held at the in Munich, the Swiss entry was the eighth entry of the night following and preceding . The Swiss conductor at the contest was Robert Weber. At the close of voting, Switzerland had received 28 points, placing Switzerland in fifteenth place out of twenty entries, the country's worst placing and its first time placing outside of the top 10 since .

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