Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song "", composed by Anita Kerr, with lyrics by , and performed by Mariella Farré and . The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), selected its entry for the contest through a national final.

Before Eurovision Regional selections The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) held a national final to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1985. The national final was a collaboration between three broadcasters that comprised SRG SSR: the Swiss-German and Romansh broadcaster (SF DRS), the Swiss-French broadcaster (TSR), and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster (TSI). Since 1982, unlike previous Swiss national finals, where all composite broadcasters internally selected their entries, a public preliminary round was held by one of the regional broadcasters. TSI and SF DRS held preselections to select their three entries, while TSR internally selected its entries.

The Swiss-Italian preselection was held and broadcast on radio on 10 December 1984 at 20:00 CET as part of the program . Seven songs participated, with the three highest scoring songs advancing to the national final. The voting system consisted of a public jury of radio listeners who voted via telephone and an "expert" jury. Applications for voters were required to be sent as postcards until 3 December.

Among the participants was , who represented .

+ — 10 December 1984Artist(s)SongSongwriter(s)Result Composer Lyricist Andy L. "" Andy Lütolf Friends "" Corry Knobel Qualified Marisa Frigerio "" Marisa Frigerio Pullover "" Gfeller Flückiger "" Nella Martinetti Qualified Renato Mascetti "" Renato Mascetti Qualified Sandro Di Bello "" Fausto Franchini

: , the SF DRS preselection, was held and broadcast on radio on 15 December 1984 at 20:00 (CET) on DRS 1 and RTS 2 and was held in Beromünster. Songwriters from Switzerland and Liechtenstein were able to submit songs for Mariella Farré (who represented ), (who represented as part of the Pepe Lienhard Group), and the Martin Richard Trio. Nine songs were selected to compete in the event— three for each artist. The Swiss-German and Romansh viewers then voted to decide which songs would qualify to the final.

The songs that advanced to the national final were "Pierrot", written by Waltraud Battaglia and Markus Ellenberger for Mariella Farré, "", written by Anita Kerr and for both Farré and , and "", written by Marcel Bless and the Acid Cider Band for the Martin Richard Trio.

No information is currently known about the remaining song titles and their songwriters, however, it is reported that the songwriters who failed to qualify criticized this process because the artists did not connect or identify with their songs.

1985 TSR staged the national final on 23 February 1985 at 21:10 (CET) in its studios in Geneva. It was hosted by Serge Moisson, with Le Groupe Instrumental Romand accompanying the performances. Les Compagnons de l'Arche featuring Hana Lamkova and the Black Theater of Prague made guest appearances.

Among the participants were Arlette Zola (who represented ), (who represented ), and Daniela Simons (who would later represent ). The Martin Richard Trio was renamed to 'Swiss Singers' and became a duo. +Participating entriesBroadcasterArtist(s)SongSongwriter(s)Language Composer LyricistRTSI Friends "" Corry Knobel Italian "" Nella Martinetti Renato Mascetti "" Renato MascettiSF DRS Mariella Farré "Pierrot" Markus Ellenberger German Mariella Farré and "" Anita Kerr Swiss Singers "" Marcel BlessTSR Arlette Zola "" Pietro Silvestri French Daniela Simons "" Daniela Simons Nicky Nicolas "" Franco Bussmann Nicky Nicolas

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 press jury, and an "expert" jury. Applications for viewers to join the regional juries were sent via postcard until 17 February, and 50 viewers from each canton were randomly selected to cast their votes to their broadcaster divisions via phone call. Additionally, one random voter in the public jury would be drawn to be invited to attend the Eurovision Song Contest as an audience member along with a companion. The selected voter was K. Mauser. The winner was the song "", composed by Anita Kerr with lyrics from and performed by Mariella Farré and . +Final — 23 February 1985 Artist(s) Song Regional Juries PressJury ExpertJury Total Place DRS TSR TSI 1""35886304 2Nicky Nicolas""1312189 3Mariella Farré"Pierrot"54265227 4Friends""42438218 5Mariella Farré and ""876104351 6Arlette Zola""78772313 7Daniela Simons""665510322 8Swiss Singers""1010313275 9Renato Mascetti""211047246

At Eurovision

At the Eurovision Song Contest 1985, held at the in Gothenburg, the Swiss entry was the fifteenth entry of the night following the and preceding . The Swiss conductor at the contest was Anita Kerr, who composed the song. Additionally, she was one of the only three female conductors in the history of Eurovision Song Contest. At the close of voting, Switzerland had received 39 points in total; finishing in twelfth place out of nineteen 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.

+ Points awarded to Switzerland Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

+ Points awarded by Switzerland Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

References