Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000

Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "La vita cos'è?" written by Bernie Staub and Thomas Marin. The song was performed by Jane Bogaert. The Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their relegation from 1999 as one of the six countries with the least average points over the preceding five contests. The Swiss entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final Concours Eurovision 2000, organised by SRG SSR idée suisse. Six entries performed during the national final on 29 January 2000 where a combination of jury voting and public voting selected "La vita cos'è?" performed by Jane Bogaert as the winner.

Eurovision Song Contest 2000
Country  Switzerland
National selection
Selection processConcours Eurovision 2000
Selection date(s)29 January 2000
Selected entrantJane Bogaert
Selected song"La vita cos'è?"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Bernie Staub
  • Thomas Marin
Finals performance
Final result20th, 14 points
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1998 2000 2002►

Switzerland competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 13 May 2000. Performing during the show in position 16, Switzerland placed twentieth out of the 24 participating countries, scoring 14 points.

Background edit

Prior to the 2000 Contest, Switzerland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-two times since its first entry in 1956.[1] Switzerland is noted for having won the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Refrain" performed by Lys Assia. Their second and, to this point, most recent victory was achieved in 1988 when Canadian singer Céline Dion won the contest with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". In 1998, Switzerland placed last failing to earn any points with the song "Lass ihn" performed by Gunvor.

The Swiss national broadcaster, SRG SSR idée suisse, broadcasts the event within Switzerland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Switzerland has selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest through both national finals and internal selections in the past. Between 1994 and 1997, the Swiss entry was internally selected for the competition. In 1998, the broadcaster opted to organize a national final in order to select the Swiss entry, a selection procedure that continued for their 2000 entry.[2]

Before Eurovision edit

Concours Eurovision 2000 edit

Concours Eurovision 2000 was the Swiss national final that selected Switzerland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. The national final was a collaboration between three broadcasters in Switzerland: the Swiss-German/Romansh broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen der deutschen und rätoromanischen Schweiz (SF DRS), the Swiss-French broadcaster Télévision Suisse Romande(TSR) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Televisione svizzera di lingua italiana (TSI). The show took place on 29 January 2000 at the Discoteca Prince of the Lugano Casino, hosted by Matteo Pelli and was televised on SF 2 with German commentary by Sandra Studer, TSI and TSR with French commentary by Jean-Marc Richard.[3][4][5]

Competing entries edit

SF DRS, TSR and TSI each opened a submission period in late 1999 for interested artists and composers to submit their entries. Eligible composers and lyricists for all selections were those that have a Swiss passport or are a resident in Switzerland, while artists could be of any nationality. Over 100 entries were submitted following the submission deadline. Each broadcaster evaluated their received submissions and together selected a total of 30 candidates for the second stage of the selection, which took place in November 1999 and involved a jury panel consisting of music and media experts selecting the six artists and songs to proceed to the national final.[6][7]

Artist Song Songwriter(s)
Autseid "Glückstränä" Brigitte Schöb, Bernie Staub
Charlotte Mahoney "Generation" Benoît Kaufmann
Elisabeth White "Thank You for the Flowers" Leo Leoni, Elisabeth White
Jane Bogaert "La vita cos'è?" Bernie Staub, Thomas Marin
Lauranne "Vous" Bernard Jacquir
Nubya and Al Walser "Just 4 You" Al Walser

Final edit

The final took place on 29 January 2000. The six candidate songs in contention to represent Switzerland were performed and the combination of regional televoting (2/3) and the votes of an expert jury (1/3) selected "La vita cos'è?" performed by Jane Bogaert as the winner. The televoting results of Italian-speaking Switzerland were not announced due to a collapse of the voting lines.[8][9] Among the members of the jury were Jacques Huwiler (journalist TSR) and Carol Rich (singer, Swiss Eurovision contestant in 1987).[5][10]

Final – 29 January 2000
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
DRS TSR
1 Jane Bogaert "La vita cos'è?" 8 4 3 15 1
2 Nubya and Al Walser "Just 4 You" 6 6 2 14 2
3 Autseid "Glückstränä" 2 8 1 11 3
4 Charlotte Mahoney "Generation" 3 2 6 11 3
5 Elisabeth White "Thank You for the Flowers" 4 3 4 11 3
6 Lauranne "Vous" 1 1 8 10 6

At Eurovision edit

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the bottom six countries in the 1999 contest competed in the final on 13 May 2000.[11] On 21 November 1999, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Switzerland was set to perform in position 16, following the entry from Germany and before the entry from Croatia.[12][13] Among the backing vocalists that joined Jane Bogaert on stage for her performance was Al Bano who previously represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 and 1985 performing in a duet with Romina Power on both occasions,[14] and Switzerland finished in twentieth place with 14 points.[15][16]

In Switzerland, the contest was aired on the three broadcasters that form SRG SSR idée suisse. 1991 Swiss Eurovision Song Contest entrant Sandra Studer provided German commentary on SF 2, Jean-Marc Richard provided French commentary on TSR 1, while Jonathan Tedesco provided Italian commentary on TSI 1.[17][18] The Swiss spokesperson, who announced the Swiss votes during the show, was Astrid Von Stockar.

Voting edit

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Switzerland and awarded by Switzerland in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Germany in the contest.

References edit

  1. ^ "Switzerland Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  2. ^ "Swiss sounds on line". ESCOL. Archived from the original on 2 February 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Swiss National Final 2000". 4lyrics.
  4. ^ "Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 2000 Schweizer Voraussscheidung". OGAE Switzerland (in German). 18 November 2000. Archived from the original on 18 November 2000. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Eurovision: Une finale plaine de couacs suisse". Le Matin (in French). Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Das Leben ist für Jane". Freiburger Nachrichten (in German). 31 January 2000. p. 20. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Après un an d'absence, la Suisse tente d'incarner le style Eurovision". Le Temps (in French). 29 January 2000. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Eurosong Special 2000 (1)" (PDF). OGAE Austria. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Switzerland 2000". mylittleworld.nfshost.com. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  10. ^ "SWISS NATIONAL FINAL 2000".
  11. ^ "Rules of the 45th Eurovision Song Contest, 2000" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Rules of the 45th Eurovision Song Contest, 2000" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2000 Details". Myledbury.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Switzerland". Six on Stage. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Final of Stockholm 2000". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest : Switzerland 2000 Jane Bogaert La Vita Cos'è". esc-history.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007.
  17. ^ "Radio TV Samstag". Freiburger Nachrichten (in German). 13 May 2000. p. 10. Retrieved 28 June 2022 – via e-newspaperarchives.ch.
  18. ^ "Samedi 29 mai". TV8 (in French). Zofingen, Switzerland: Ringier. 11 May 2000. pp. 16–21. Retrieved 29 November 2022 – via Scriptorium Digital Library.
  19. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Stockholm 2000". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.