# Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956

Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1956 with two songs: "Das alte Karussell" written by Georg Betz-Stahl, and "Refrain" composed by Géo Voumard, with lyrics by Émile Gardaz. Both songs were performed by Lys Assia. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), selected its entries through a national final. In addition, Radio svizzera italiana (RSI), on behalf of SRG SSR, was the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano. "Das alte Karussell" was the first-ever entry from Switzerland performed in the Eurovision Song Contest, and the first-ever entry in German in the contest; while "Refrain", that eventually won the contest, was the first-ever winner in its history.

## Before Eurovision

For their national selection, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) opened a public submission period between January and 20 February 1956 for interested songwriters to submit their compositions. Only songwriters with Swiss citizenship or having been residing in Switzerland for at least ten years were allowed to participate. 402 songs were submitted, with half of them with German lyrics, a third in French and the rest in Italian. A jury assembled in Lugano chose eleven of them for the national final.

### Grand Prix Européen de la Chanson: Finale suisse

The national final called Grand Prix Européen de la Chanson: Finale suisse was held at the Radio Lausanne Studio de la Sallaz in Lausanne on 28 April 1956 at 20:45 CET (19:45 UTC). It was broadcast on TSR and SRG as well as on the radio stations Beromünster, Sottens and Monte Ceneri. Fritz Schäufele [de] commented the final for the German-speaking radio and television. The final was directed by Jean-Jacques Lagrange [fr], and presented by Raymond Colbert [fr]. The studio audience consisted of invited guests and journalists.
Eleven songs were sung by Jo Roland, Anita Traversi and Lys Assia. They were accompanied by the Orchestra Radiosa under the direction of Fernando Paggi. Seven songs were sung in French, three in German, one in Italian. Four entries had been written by Radio Lausanne's own Émile Gardaz and Géo Voumard. The accordeonist duo Les Frères Domergue and the harmonica group Trio Hill Billy's were interval acts. The puppet group Compagnie des marottes and André Robert seem to have also participated in the show.
A professional jury of nine members watched the songs from inside the studio, and then decided the winning songs in a secret vote, with three members each representing each of the languages German, French and Italian. One of the jury members was Father Kaelin.
One of the winning songs, "Refrains", was co-written by Émile Gardaz and Géo Voumard, and the other, "Das alte Karussell", was written and composed by Georg Betz-Stahl.
National final – 28 April 1956 :
| R/O | Artist | Song | Language | Composer | Lyricist |
| 1 | Jo Roland | "Vendredi" | French | Géo Voumard | Émile Gardaz |
| 2 | Lys Assia | "Sei doch nicht so eifersüchtig" | German | Ernst Lüthold [de] | Fredy Schulz |
| 3 | Lys Assia | "Das alte Karussell" | German | Georg Betz-Stahl | Georg Betz-Stahl |
| 4 | Jo Roland | "L'Allée aux ormeaux" | French | Géo Voumard | Émile Gardaz |
| 5 | Anita Traversi | "Bandella ticinese" | Italian | Guido Zanzi | Luciano Bonato |
| 6 | Jo Roland | "La Ballade des bonnes années" | French | Géo Voumard | Émile Gardaz |
| 7 | Lys Assia | "Le Bohémien" | French | Roger Pittet | Guy Loran [fr] |
| 8 | Jo Roland | "Les Deux Coquins" | French | René de Pascale | Gilby Caillet |
| 9 | Jo Roland | "J'ai triché" | French | Pierre Gisin | Jean Destoy |
| 10 | Lys Assia | "Addio Bella Napoli" | German | Georg Betz | Georg Betz |
| 11 | Lys Assia | "Refrains" | French | Géo Voumard | Émile Gardaz |

## At Eurovision

"Das alte Karussell" was performed second in the contest, following the Netherlands and preceding Belgium. "Refrain" performed ninth at the second round with the same order of countries. Both of the Swiss entries were conducted at the contest by the musical director Fernando Paggi.
Each participating broadcaster appointed two jury members who voted by giving between one and ten points to each song, including those representing their own country. All jury members were colocated in a separate room in the venue in Lugano and followed the contest via a television set. The Swiss jury members were Father Pierre Kaelin and Rolf Liebermann who also acted as president of the jury.
After the jury had held its vote, "Refrain" was announced as the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1956. The placements of all other participating entries are not known.
The final in Lugano was broadcast in Switzerland on TSR (with commentary by Raymond Colbert [fr]) and SRG (with commentary by Fritz Schäufele [de]) as well as on the radio stations Beromünster, Sottens and Monte Ceneri. Excerpts from the final were rebroadcast on Radio Monte Ceneri on 10 June 1956 at 21:45 CET.