Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 with the song "Djambo Djambo", written by Peter Reber [de], and performed by Peter, Sue and Marc. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), selected its entry for the contest through a national final.

Before Eurovision

Concorso eurovisione della canzone 1976

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) held a national final on 14 January 1976 at 21:00 CET at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Lugano.[1][2] The national final was presented by Mascia Cantoni [it] and Ezio Guidi [it], with Mario Robbiani conducting the orchestra.[2] The Swingles and Lys Assia— who won Eurovision for Switzerland in 1956 and also represented the country in 1957 and 1958 — made guest appearances.[1][3]

The broadcaster received 90 total song submissions (48 in French, 27 in German, and 15 in Italian), and ultimately selected ten to take part in the selection, with five being performed in French, three in Italian, and two in German.[3][4][5] Among the participants were Anita Traversi— who represented Switzerland in 1960 and 1964 —, Henri Dès— who represented Switzerland in 1970 —, and Peter, Sue and Marc— who represented Switzerland in 1971, and would repeat this in 1979 and 1981. Shortly before the final, "Sing mit mir" by Any Spirig was disqualified due to the artist refusing to attend the dress rehearsals as a result of constant technical errors regarding the sound quality.[6]

Participating entries[1][3]
R/O Artist(s) Song Songwriter(s) Language
Composer Lyricist
1 Georgia Gibson "Oui, c'est bien fait pour moi" Maurice Tézé [fr] French
2 Groupe Osmose "Polo" Denis Favrichon French
3 Michel Guex "Musique dans les cours" Michel Geux Alain Portmann French
4 Anita Traversi "Arrivederci" Charles Chambertin Anita Traversi Italian
5 Henri Dès "C'est pour la vie" Henri Dès French
6 Peter, Sue & Marc "Djambo Djambo" Peter Reber [de] German
7 Any Spirig "Sing mit mir" Hans Moeckel [de] Hans Gmür German
8 Anita Traversi "La giostra gira" Charles Chambertin Anita Traversi Italian
9 Georgia Gibson "Des lendemains" Maurice Tézé [fr] French
10 Marisa Frigerio "Con un sorriso" Marisa Frigerio Italian

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 45-member press jury, and a 14-member "expert" jury from Bern.[1][7] Applications for viewers to join the regional juries were sent via postcard until 10 January, and 50 viewers from each canton cast their votes to their broadcaster divisions via phone call.[1] The winner was the song "Djambo Djambo", written by Peter Reber [de], and performed by Peter, Sue and Marc, marking the trio's second appearance (of four) in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Final — 14 January 1976[5]
R/O Artist(s) Song Regional Juries Press
Jury 		Expert
Jury 		Total Place
DRS TSR TSI
1 Georgia Gibson "Oui, c'est bien fait pour moi" 7 7 3 5 4 26 6
2 Groupe Osmose "Polo" 4 6 3 3 7 23 8
3 Michel Guex "Musique dans les cours" 6 9 6 3 7 31 3
4 Anita Traversi "Arrivederci" 2 1 1 1 2 7 9
5 Henri Dès "C'est pour la vie" 3 5 4 7 9 28 4
6 Peter, Sue and Marc "Djambo Djambo" 9 6 8 9 8 40 1
7 Anita Traversi "La giostra gira" 5 4 5 4 1 19 7
8 Georgia Gibson "Des lendemains" 4 8 7 8 6 33 2
9 Marisa Frigerio "Con un sorriso" 8 2 9 6 3 28 4

Controversy

Following the national final, it was reported that Peter, Sue and Marc had used playback in their entry in a way that did not appear to comply with the rules regarding playback; more instruments audible than the instruments shown onstage. The use of playback was also speculated to have played a role towards their victory, as there were technical issues regarding the sound quality which hindered the audio of the songs that were performed with the orchestra.[8] Georgia Gibson and Henri Dès— who both participated in the national final — filed complaints to Michel Stocker (spokesperson for Swiss participation in the Eurovision Song Contest at the time) regarding the audio issues and requesting Peter, Sue and Marc to be disqualified.[8][9] Gibson— who placed second in the selection —, was speculated to be the considered replacement if the trio were disqualified.[8]

On 6 March, it was confirmed that Peter, Sue and Marc would not be disqualified from the contest, as the complaints against their participation only applied to the national final and were found to be untrue, as the trio did not breach said rule regarding playback.[10]

At Eurovision

At the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, held at Nederlands Congresgebouw in The Hague, the Swiss entry was the second entry of the night following the United Kingdom and preceding Germany. The Swiss conductor at the contest was Mario Robbiani, who accompanied the orchestra in the Swiss national final, as well as writing and conducting many previous Swiss entries in the contest. The Swiss entry was performed solely in English, marking the first time Switzerland performed in a non-native language in the contest. At the close of voting, Switzerland had received 91 points in total; finishing in fourth place out of eighteen 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. Until 1980, the votes were given in the order the awarded songs were performed in, rather than in ascending numerical order.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "10 janvier – TV Samedi" [10 January – TV Saturday]. Radio TV – Je vois tout (in French). 8 January 1976. p. 11. Retrieved 18 February 2025 – via Scriptorium.
  2. ^ a b "14 janvier – TV Mercredi" [14 January – TV Wednesday]. Radio TV – Je vois tout (in French). 8 January 1976. p. 23. Retrieved 18 February 2025 – via Scriptorium.
  3. ^ a b c "Stasera al Palazzo dei Congressi — In diretta la finale svizzera del Gran premio Eurovisione della canzone" [Tonight at the Palazzo dei Congressi — Live broadcast of the Swiss final of the Eurovision Song Contest]. Gazzetta Ticinese [it] (in Italian). 14 January 1976. p. 11. Retrieved 18 February 2025 – via Sistema bibliotecario ticinese [it].
  4. ^ "A voir — Chansons pour Eurovision" [Must see — Songs for Eurovision]. L'impartial (in French). 14 January 1976. p. 16. Retrieved 18 February 2025 – via E-newspaperarchives.ch.
  5. ^ a b "Schweizer Ausscheidung - Finale Suisse - Finale Svizzera 1976". Vorstadt Music & Records. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  6. ^ "Wir Greifen Heraus" [We Reach Out]. Die Tat (in German). 15 January 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 18 February 2025 – via E-newspaperarchives.ch.
  7. ^ "Grand prix Eurovision de la chanson — A nouveau Peter, Sue and Marc" [Eurovision Song Contest – Peter, Sue and Marc Again]. Le nouvelliste (in French). Vol. 9, no. 11. 15 January 1976. p. 14. Retrieved 19 February 2025 – via E-newspaperarchives.ch.
  8. ^ a b c "Grand Prix Eurovision — La Suisse disqualifiée?" [Eurovision Grand Prix — Switzerland disqualified?]. Le Nouvel illustré (in French). 18 February 1976. pp. 19–20. Retrieved 19 February 2025 – via Scriptorium.
  9. ^ "Eurovision — scandales à la chaîne" [Eurovision — scandals in a row]. Le Nouvel illustré (in French). 18 February 1976. pp. 90–91. Retrieved 19 February 2025 – via Scriptorium.
  10. ^ "Peter, Sue et Marc ne sont pas disqualifiés" [Peter, Sue and Marc are not disqualified]. Le nouvelliste (in French). Vol. 9, no. 55. Bern, Switzerland. 15 March 1976. p. 31. Retrieved 19 February 2025 – via E-newspaperarchives.ch.
  11. ^ a b "Results of the Final of The Hague 1976". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 19 February 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest_1976
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