Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Before Eurovision

{{lang|fr|Finale Suisse}}

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) held a national final to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1981. The broadcaster received 67 total song submissions, and initially selected four to take part in the selection (three in Italian and one in German). Due to the lack of songs selected by the juries, the broadcaster commissioned popular Swiss artists to submit two more songs— "San Gottardo" by Swiss Union and "Comme l'eau de la mer" by .

In total, six songs were set to compete, with three being in Italian, two in German, and one in French. Among the participants were Peter, Sue and Marc, who represented , and , and Piera Martell, who represented , who was a member of Swiss Union. Mariella Farré would later represent and , and Franz Müller, one of the members of Swiss Union, would represent .

Swiss French broadcaster Télévision suisse romande (TSR) staged the national final on 21 February 1981 at 21:20 CET at the Palladium in Geneva. It was presented by . The Ken Warwick Ballet, the Le Feuillu Orchestra, and Jean Madd made guest appearances.

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 an "expert" jury. Applications for viewers to join the regional juries were sent via postcard until 14 February, and 50 viewers from each canton were randomly selected to cast their votes to their broadcaster divisions via phone call. The winner was the song "Io senza te", composed by Nella Martinetti and and performed by Peter, Sue and Marc, marking the fourth and last time the trio entered the Eurovision Song Contest.

At Eurovision

At the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, held at the RDS Simmonscourt in Dublin, the Swiss entry was the nineteenth entry of the night following and preceding . The Swiss conductor at the contest was Rolf Zuckowski, who previously conducted the . At the close of voting, Switzerland had received 121 points in total; finishing in fourth place out of twenty countries.

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.

References

References

1. (19 February 1981). "Am Samstag findet in Genf die Ausscheidung für den Concours Eurovision de la Chanson statt: — Concours: Wer reist nach Dublin?". [[Berner Zeitung.
2. (10 February 1981). "Concours Eurovision de la chanson — Pascal Auberson en finale".
3. (21 February 1979). "Finale Suisse du Concours Eurovision de la Chanson".
4. (21 February 1981). "{{lang".
5. Vallette, Mireille. (19 February 1981). "Finale suisse du Concours Eurovision de la chanson — Un Tremplin pour Dublin".
6. "Results of the Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union.