Switzerland: SRF received 6,100 audience panel applications

On Monday at 10 am was the deadline to apply to be part of the audience panel to help select Switzerland’s 2019 entry. At the closing time, Switzerland received 6,100 applications from fans all over the country.

From 6,100 to 100

Reto Peritz, the Swiss Head of Delegation, was very pleased with the strong interest shown by Swiss fans. In an interview to douzepoints.ch, he revealed that the top 1,000 candidates will be invited for another interview round to select the 100 members. SRF will inform the successful candidates bythe end of September. They will begin to listen to the first round of songs in mid-October. The deadline to submit songs is October 1st and SRF, RSI, RTS and RTR can also add wildcard entries if they wish. The date when SRF will reveal the 2019 entrant(s) is not yet known.

Die Entscheidungsshow no more

For the first time since 2011, Switzerland decided to let go of their televised national final Die Grosse Entscheidungsshowand and use internal selection. Instead a 120 member jury will be used to select their 2019 entry. The jury will consist of 100 selected members of the public and 20 industry experts. The two juries will have equal 50/50 say in the outcome. The 20-member international expert jury will consist of former members of the respective countries’ juries.

Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Switzerland was one of the countries that competed in the very first Eurovision in 1956. They were also the first winners with Lys Assia’s “Refrain”. They also won the contest in 1988 with Celine Dion’s “Ne partez pas sans moi.” Since the introduction of the semi-finals, Switzerland struggled to make the final and only managed to qualify for the grand final on four occasions, most recently in 2014. It also placed last in their semi-final in three occasions. In Lisbon, the sibling duo Zibbz represented Switzerland with their entry “Stones”. Despite their powerful performance, they only placed 13th in semi-final 1, failing to make the final.

Do you think Switzerland can turn their fortunes around and qualify for the grand final in Israel? What is your favorite Swiss entry so far? Who would you like to see win the Swiss ticket for Israel?

Let us know in the comments below or on social media @ESCXTRA.