# Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998

Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Lass ihn", written by Egon Egemann and Gunvor Guggisberg, and performed by Gunvor himself. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), selected its entry through a national final. Six entries performed during the national final on 18 December 1997 where regional televoting selected "Lass ihn" performed by Gunvor as the winner. Songwriter Egemann had represented Switzerland in 1990 with the song "Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus".
Switzerland competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 1998. Performing during the show in position 5, Switzerland placed twenty-fifth (last) out of the 25 participating countries and failed to score any points, making it the fourth time the nation had placed last in the history of the competition and the third time the nation received nul points.

## Background

Prior to the 1998 Contest, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Switzerland forty-one times since its first entry at the inaugural contest in 1956. It won that first edition of the contest with the song "Refrain" performed by Lys Assia. Its second victory was achieved in 1988 with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi" performed by Canadian singer Céline Dion. In 1997, it placed 22nd earning 5 points with the song "Dentro di me" performed by Barbara Berta.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, SRG SSR organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster has selected their entry for the contest through both national finals and internal selections in the past. Between 1994 and 1997, it internally selected its entry for the competition. For its 1998 entry, the broadcaster opted to organize a national final.

## Before Eurovision
### National final

Swiss German and Romansh broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen der deutschen und rätoromanischen Schweiz (SF DRS) held the national final on 18 December 1997 at its television studios in Zürich, hosted by Sandra Studer and was televised on SF 1, TSI 2 with Italian commentary and TSR 2 with French commentary. Six candidate songs, selected by a jury panel consisting of music and media experts as well as representatives of the three broadcasters in Switzerland: SF DRS, the Swiss-French broadcaster Télévision Suisse Romande (TSR) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana (RSI) following an open submission for entries, were performed and regional televoting selected "Lass ihn" performed by Gunvor as the winner.
In addition to the performances from the competing artists, the interval acts featured a medley of Eurovision winning songs: Sandra Studer performed "Nel blu, dipinto di blu", British 1997 contest winner Katrina Leskanich performed "Ding-a-dong", and Irish 1980 and 1987 contests winner Johnny Logan performed "Merci, Chérie". Studer, Leskanich and Logan together performed "Waterloo" and "Save Your Kisses for Me", while Leskanich also performed her song "Walk on Water" with her band The Waves.
Final – 18 December 1997 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Points | Place |
| 1 | Susan Orús | "L'enfant des étoiles" | Rébecca Jonckheere, Benoît Kaufmann | 19 | 3 |
| 2 | Filippo Trojani | "Amerò di più" | Filippo Trojani | 17 | 5 |
| 3 | Anne Francoeur | "Le rêve d'Alice" | Régis Mounir | 5 | 6 |
| 4 | Gunvor | "Lass ihn" | Egon Egemann, Gunvor Guggisberg | 34 | 1 |
| 5 | Talk About Girls | "Qualcosa di te" | Nella Martinetti, Thomas Marin, Berni Staub | 26 | 2 |
| 6 | Vanessa Jüdt | "Trouver ma place" | Rébecca Jonckheere, Benoît Kaufmann | 19 | 3 |
Detailed Regional Televoting Results :
| Draw | Song | Bern | Zürich | Chur and Mobiles | Geneva | Lugano | Total |
| 1 | "L'enfant des étoiles" | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| 2 | "Amerò di più" | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 17 |
| 3 | "Le rêve d'Alice" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | "Lass ihn" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 34 |
| 5 | "Qualcosa di te" | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 26 |
| 6 | "Trouver ma place" | 4 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 19 |

## At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the eight countries which had obtained the lowest average number of points over the last five contests competed in the final on 9 May 1998. On 13 November 1997, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Switzerland was set to perform in position 5, following the entry from Spain and before the entry from Slovakia. The day before the contest, Switzerland was considered by bookmakers to be the eleventh most likely country to win the competition. Switzerland finished in twenty-fifth (last) place failing to score any points. This was the fourth time Switzerland finished in last place and the third time the nation received nul points after 1964 and 1967.
In Switzerland, the contest was aired on the three broadcasters that form SRG SSR: Heinz Margot and Roman Kilchsperger provided German commentary on SF 2, Jean-Marc Richard provided French commentary on TSR 1, while Jonathan Tedesco provided Italian commentary on TSI 1. SRG SSR appointed Regula Elsener as its spokesperson to announce the Swiss votes during the show.

### Voting

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.

#### Points awarded to and by Switzerland

Switzerland did not receive any points at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest.