Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 with the song "", composed by Alain Morisod, with lyrics by Pierre Alain, and performed by Arlette Zola. 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 1982. The national final was a collaboration between three broadcasters that comprised SRG SSR: the Swiss-German and Romansh broadcaster (SF DRS), the Swiss-French broadcaster (TSR), and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster (TSI). Starting in 1982, unlike previous Swiss national finals, where all composite broadcasters internally selected their entries, said broadcasters could hold their own regional selection methods.

According to SRG SSR spokesperson Joe Wolf, the Swiss-German and Romansh broadcaster (SF DRS) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster (TSI) selected their songs via public regional finals, whereas the Swiss-French broadcaster (TSR) internally selected its songs. However, it is unknown if a Swiss-Italian selection ultimately occurred, as there are no known mentions of such event in broadcast guides.

Swiss-German selection As a result of criticism by the public and industry professionals of selecting the Swiss-German entrants internally, Schweizer Radio DRS (DRS) decided to hold regional public selection rounds for the first time since . DRS also claimed this new selection method would promote new Swiss musicians.

Around 15 to 21 songs were set to be selected by an internal jury, which were chosen based on lyrics and composition. Any songs, which would be sent via cassette tape in whatever quality, were able to be submitted until 16 October 1981. Applicants were also allowed to choose how many performers would be used for their performance. Ultimately, 90 songs were submitted, with the 18 selected songs being revealed in a radio broadcast on 27 October.

The event was held in Zurich, solely broadcast on DRS radio, and 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 and were provided professional backing tracks of their songs.

The 18 songs performed in two semifinals, with nine songs competing in each. Of the 18 entrants, only 15 artists are identified. Among the participants were Rose Brown and Franz Müller, who were also members of the group , which represented . +List of known participants and entries Artist(s) Song Songwriter(s) Angelique Moore colspan="2" Ba'rock "Ba'rock" Daniela Mühleis & Cargo "" Danyla Dalmont rowspan="5" colspan="2" Dave Hard Band Double U Franz Müller Ireen Indra "" Peter Horton Lavendel rowspan="2" colspan="2" Mario Ursprung & the Matterhorn Company "Radio Matterhorn" "" Rose Brown rowspan="3" colspan="2" Sono

Semifinal 1 The first semifinal was held on 5 December 1981 at 19:30 CET. Throughout the show, the results were decided by the live audience, an "expert" jury, and radio listeners. The four highest scoring songs in each semifinal advanced to the final. The running order, the majority of the songs, and one artist are unknown. +Semifinal 1 — 5 December 1981 (known songs) Artist(s) Song Result Danyla Dalmont rowspan="2" Unknown Dave Hard Band Unknown Ireen Indra "" Qualified Lavendel rowspan="2" Unknown Mario Ursprung Unknown & the Matterhorn Company "Radio Matterhorn" Rose Brown rowspan="2" Unknown Sono Unknown

Semifinal 2 The second semifinal was held on 12 December 1981 at 19:30 CET. The running order, the majority of the songs, and two artists are unknown. +Semifinal 2 — 12 December 1981 (known songs) Artist(s) Song Result Angelique Moore Unknown Ba'rock "Ba'rock" Qualified Daniela Mühleis & Cargo "" Qualified rowspan="3" Unknown Double U Unknown Franz Müller Unknown "" Qualified

Final The regional final was held on 19 December 1981 at 19:30 CET. The running order and four of the remaining qualifiers are unknown. +Final — 19 December 1981 (known songs) Artist(s) Song Result Ba'rock "Ba'rock" Qualified Daniela Mühleis & Cargo "" Ireen Indra "" Qualified "" Qualified

1982 SRG SSR received 155 total song submissions (90 in German, 36 in French, and 29 in Italian), and ultimately selected nine to take part in the selection (three per language). Among the participants were , who would later represent . "" by Arlette Zola was previously submitted in the and was set to be sung by Alain Morisod and his group, but was withdrawn due to the group's disbandment. Because the song was not published until the national final, the song was eligible for the contest.

Swiss French broadcaster (TSR) staged the national final on 28 January 1982 at 21:15 CET in Geneva. It was presented by , and the and made guest appearances. The national final was broadcast on TV DRS (with German commentary), TSR, and TSI (with Italian commentary).

+Participating entriesBroadcasterArtist(s)SongSongwriter(s)Language Composer LyricistRTSI Sandro Caroli "" Massimiliano Pani Italian Corry & Ray Knobel "Johnny " "" SF DRS "" German Ireen Indra "" Peter Müller Ba'rock "Ba'rock" TSR Marc Olivier "" Jean-Marie Rolle French Leana "" Robert Rudin Arlette Zola "" Alain Morisod Pierre Alain

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 from Bern. Applications for viewers to join the regional juries were sent via postcard until 21 January, 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 Daniel Mauser from Geneva. The winner was the song "", composed by Alain Morisod with lyrics from Pierre Alain and performed by Arlette Zola. +Final — 28 January 1982 R/O Artist(s) Song Regional Juries PressJury ExpertJury Total Place DRS TSR TSI 1Marc Olivier""22218157 2Sandro Caroli""11324 119 3""88872333 4Ireen Indra""64131157 5Ray & Corry Knobel"Johnny "335510264 6""66463256 7Leana""77687352 8Ba'rock"Ba'rock"45746264 9Arlette Zola""101010105451

At Eurovision

At the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, held at the Harrogate International Centre in Harrogate, the Swiss entry was the seventh entry of the night following and preceding . The Swiss conductor at the contest was Joan Amils. At the close of voting, Switzerland had received 97 points in total; finishing in third place out of eighteen countries, making this the first time Switzerland reached the top 3 since , where they finished second.

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