Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Switzerland competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Era stupendo" by Paolo Meneguzzi. Meneguzzi was chosen by the Swiss national broadcaster, SRG SSR idée suisse, to sing for Switzerland in Belgrade, Serbia. For 2008, SRG SSR idée suisse had continued to internally select the song and singer to represent Switzerland at the 2008 contest, with an open call for songs being held by the broadcaster. Many artists announced their intention to submit songs to the Swiss broadcaster in the hope of representing Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Paolo  Meneguzzi was selected by the broadcaster to perform for Switzerland with his Italian ballad "Era stupendo". Background. Prior to the 2008 contest, Switzerland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-eight times since their first entry in . The nation is noted for having won the first contest in 1956 with the song "Refrain" performed by Lys Assia. Their second and, to this point, most recent victory was achieved at the , when Céline Dion won with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". Following the introduction of semi-finals for the , Switzerland managed to participate in the grand final twice . In , the internal selection of Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja, performing the song "Cool Vibes", qualified Switzerland to the grand final where they placed 8th. Due to their successful result in 2005, Switzerland was pre-qualified to compete directly in the grand final in . Switzerland did not manage to make it to the final in 2007. The Swiss national broadcaster, SRG SSR idée suisse, broadcasts the event within Switzerland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Before Eurovision. Internal selection. SRG SSR idée suisse opened a submission period for interested artists and songwriters to submit their entries  until 22 October 2007. Composers and artists of any nationality were able to submit songs; however, only artists that have had television and stage experience (live performances), have made at least one video and have released at least one CD which placed in an official chart were eligible. A jury panel composed of members from the three Swiss broadcasters SF, TSR and RSI, Swiss music channel VIVA and SF's German radio channel DRS evaluated the entry submissions received and selected the winner. SF later revealed that it was most likely that a Swiss artist would be selected, with the  media naming comedian Peach Weber, Jürgen Drews and Swiss German rapper Gimma as possible Swiss entrants. In November 2007, Swiss newspapers claimed that Italian Swiss singer Paolo Meneguzzi had been selected as the Swiss entrant at the 2008 contest with the song "Era stupendo", which was later confirmed by SRG SSR on 25 November 2007. After the selection announcement, Meneguzzi stated that he was "very happy and honoured to represent [his] homeland at Eurovision 2008". The song was premiered on 12 January 2008 during the sixth annual Swiss Music Awards show, broadcast on all channels in SRG SSR. Controversy. After  the release of the song, there was speculation that "Era stupendo" was a plagiarism of "It Can Only Get Better" by Swedish singer Amy Diamond who was competing in the 2008 Swedish national final Melodifestivalen 2008. Accusations arose that the beginnings of both songs were too similar to be a coincidence, however the song was not disqualified by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organiser of the contest. Promotion. Promoting his song, Meneguzzi appeared on a Eurovision TV special on Maltese television in April 2008. A CD single featuring the song was published, which peaked at number 11 on the  Swiss Singles Chart in June 2008. At Eurovision. The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 took place at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. It consisted of two semi-finals held on 20 and 22 May, respectively, and the grand final on 24 May 2008. According to the Eurovision rules at the time, all participating countries, except the host nation and the "Big Four", consisting of , , and the , were required to qualify from one of the two semi-finals to compete for the grand final; the top 10 countries from the respective semi-finals would proceed to the grand final. On 28  January 2008, an allocation draw was held that placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, with Switzerland being placed into the second semi-final. The 2008 contest was the first to feature two semi-finals, a change intended to reduce the problems of neighbourly and diaspora voting that occurred in years past. Countries that normally would vote for each other were placed into separate semi-finals. Once all of the competing songs for the Eurovision Song Contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the delegation heads of the 43 participating  countries of the contest rather than through another draw; the nation was assigned position seven, following and preceding the . The commentators at the event were Sven Epiney for SF, Sandy Altermatt for RTSI, and Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner for TSR. The spokesperson for Switzerland, announcing the results of the Swiss televote for the contest, was Cécile Bähler. Semi-final. Meneguzzi sang in the second semi-final on 22 May 2008, performing 7th on the night. His performance included him wearing a black suit with a black shirt, and included two male and two female backing dancers and singers ; the women dressed in black dresses with silver gloves, and the men in black shirts and black trousers. A pianist was also present on stage, dressed in a white shirt and black tie. The song began with Meneguzzi singing solo in the centre of the stage, with the back-up dancers surrounding the piano. As the song sped up, the dancers moved to behind Meneguzzi and began to sing. The performance included the use of pyrotechnics when the song sped up, as well as during the bridge. Despite being a fan favourite the song only managed to receive 47 points , placing 13th in a field of 19 and failing to qualify for the final. Voting. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Switzerland in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, as well as by the country in the semi-final and grand final. Meneguzzi's performance received 47 points, placing the nation 13th of the 19 entries and not qualifying for the grand final.