Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961
| Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 1961 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) | |||
| Country |  Switzerland | |||
| Selection process | Gran Premio Eurovisione della canzone | |||
| Selection date | 6 February 1961 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Nous aurons demain" | |||
| Artist | Franca di Rienzo | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Placement | ||||
| Final result | 3rd, 16 points | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
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Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 with the song "Nous aurons demain", composed by Géo Voumard, with lyrics by Émile Gardaz, and performed by Franca di Rienzo. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), selected its entry through a national final.
Before Eurovision
Gran Premio Eurovisione della canzone
The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) held a national final to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1961. The broadcaster received 157 submitted songs, nine of which were chosen by juries to participate in the selection.[1] Four of these songs were in Italian, three were in French, and two were in German.[2] Five artists competed to represent Switzerland, among whom was Anita Traversi— who previously represented Switzerland in 1960, and would repeat this in 1964.[3][4] Gino Latilla was supposed to participate,[5] but was replaced by Carla Boni shortly before the final.[6]
Swiss Italian broadcaster Televisione svizzera di lingua italiana (TSI) staged the national final on 6 February 1961 at 21:00 CET (19:00 UTC) in the Conza Pavillion in Lugano.[2][5] It was presented by Heidi Abel and Dario Bertoni.[5] Fernando Paggi served as the musical director and accompanied the orchestra.[3]
The winning song was chosen by a ten-member "expert" jury, whose members each gave one vote to their desired song. The winner was the song "Nous aurons demain", written by Émile Gardaz, composed by Géo Voumard, and performed by Franca di Rienzo.[3][4] From 25-27 August, Jo Roland participated in the Sopot International Song Festival with the song, "Nous deux," and won the inaugural edition of that contest.[7]
| R/O | Artist | Song | Language | Songwriters | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Lyricist | ||||||
| 1 | Carla Boni | "Voglio baciarti ancora" | Italian | Giovanni Pelli | 0 | 3 | |
| 2 | Jo Roland | "Nous deux" | French | Géo Voumard | Émile Gardaz | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Jo Roland | "Stop" | German | George Benz-Stahl | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Anita Traversi | "Finalmente" | Italian | Giovanni Pelli | Velio Bargellini | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Franca di Rienzo | "Fermé pour la vie" | French | Géo Voumard | Émile Gardaz | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Anita Traversi | "L'ingresso nei sogni" | Italian | Mario Robbiani | 0 | 3 | |
| 7 | Ines Taddio | "Eine kleine melodie" | German | Renato Bui | Fritz Körner | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Carla Boni | "Addio parole d'amore" | Italian | Mario Robbiani | Louis Rey | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | Franca di Rienzo | "Nous aurons demain" | French | Géo Voumard | Émile Gardaz | 7 | 1 |
At Eurovision
At the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 in Cannes, the Swiss entry was the tenth song of the night following France and preceding Belgium. The Swiss entry was conducted by Fernando Paggi, who previously conducted multiple songs in the 1956 contest, where he served as the musical director. At the close of voting, Switzerland had received sixteen points in total; the country finished third among the sixteen participants.
Voting
Each participating broadcaster assembled a ten-member jury panel. Every jury member could give one point to their favourite song.
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References
- ^ Cevey, J.-J. (9 February 1961). "Musique de Géo Voumard, texte d'Emile Gardaz..." [Music by Géo Voumard, lyrics by Emile Gardaz...]. Journal de Montreux (in French). Montreux, Switzerland. p. 2. Retrieved 20 January 2025 – via Scriptorium.
- ^ a b "Stasera al Conza una canzone per Cannes" [Tonight at the Conza a song for Cannes]. Giornale del Popolo (in Italian). Lugano, Switzerland. 6 February 1961. p. 2. Retrieved 20 January 2025 – via Sistema bibliotecario ticinese.
- ^ a b c d Ranznici, Renato (18 March 1961). "Gèo Voumard al primo e secondo posto" [Gèo Voumard in first and second place]. Libera Stampa (in Italian). Lugano, Switzerland. p. 2. Retrieved 20 January 2025 – via Sistema bibliotecario ticinese.
- ^ a b c "Géo Voumard et Emile Gardaz" [Géo Voumard and Emile Gardaz]. Feuille d'avis de Lausanne (in French). Lausanne, Switzerland. 7 February 1961. p. 28. Retrieved 20 January 2025 – via Scriptorium.
- ^ a b c "TV suisse romande" [Swiss Romandie TV]. Radio TV – Je vois tout (in French). No. 5. Lausanne, Switzerland. 2 February 1961. p. 22. Retrieved 20 January 2025 – via Scriptorium.
- ^ "L'autore di «Refrain» trionfa al Padiglione Conzo — Nous aurons demain- di Géo Voumard scelia per Cannes" [The author of "Refrain" triumphs at the Conzo Pavilion — Nous aurons demain- by Géo Voumard selected for Cannes]. Gazzetta Ticinese (in Italian). Lugano, Switzerland. 8 February 1961. p. 2. Retrieved 13 April 2025 – via Sistema bibliotecario ticinese.
- ^ "Après «Refrain» et «Nous aurons demain» — Deux Lausannois remportent un nouveau succès européen de la chanson avec «Nous deux»" [After "Refrain" and "Nous aurons demain" — Two Lausanne residents achieve a new European hit with "Nous deux"]. Nouvelle revue de Lausanne (in French). 8 September 1961. p. 16. Retrieved 9 April 2025 – via Scriptorium.
- ^ "Scelta la canzone svizzera per il Festival di Cannes" [Swiss song chosen for Cannes Film Festival]. Libera Stampa (in Italian). Lugano, Switzerland. 8 February 1961. p. 2. Retrieved 24 January 2025 – via Sistema bibliotecario ticinese.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Cannes 1961". Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
