Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965

Eurovision Song Contest 1965
Participating broadcaster	Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR)
Country	Switzerland
National selection
Selection process	Gran Premio Eurovisione della canzone
Selection date(s)	6 February 1965
Selected artist(s)	Yovanna
Selected song	"Non, à jamais sans toi"
Selected songwriter(s)	Bob Calfati Jean Charles
Placement
Final result	8th, 8 points
Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1964 • 1965 • 1966►

Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1965 with the song "Non, à jamais sans toi", composed by Bob Calfati, with lyrics by Jean Charles, and performed by Greek singer Yovanna. 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 on 6 February 1965 at 21:00 CET (19:00 UTC) in the Kursaal Theater in Locarno.[1] Six songs took part in the selection, with two songs being performed each in French, German, and Italian.[2][3]

The national final was presented by Mascia Cantoni [it].[3] Five artists took part to represent Switzerland: Audrey, Bruna Lelli [it], Carmela Corren –who had represented Austria in 1963–, Wilma Goich –who participated in the Sanremo Music Festival 1965 in January–, and Yovanna.

The voting consisted of a twelve-member "expert" jury presided over by Paul Henri Jaccard. Each juror would give 3 points to their favorite song, 2 to their second favorite, and 1 to their third favorite.[3] The winner was Yovanna, with the song "Non, à jamais sans toi", written by Jean Charles and composed by Bob Calfati, who were both reportedly absent from the event.[2][3][4]

Final – 6 February 1965[3][4][5]

R/O	Artist	Song	Language	Songwriter(s)	Total	Place
1	Carmela Corren	"Eines tages"	German	Cedric Dumont Kurth Hertha	5	5
2	Audrey	"Douce"	French	Emile Gardaz Géo Voumard	4	6
3	Bruna Lelli [it]	"Tu sei"	Italian	Alberto Testa Giovanni Pelli	11	3
4	Yovanna	"Non"[a]	French	Bob Calfati Jean Charles	23	1
5	Wilma Goich	"Un bacio sulle dita"	Italian	Grytzko Marcia Iller Pattacini	20	2
6	Carmela Corren	"Ay ay lachende sonne"	German	Hazy Osterwald Kruth Hertha	9	4

At Eurovision

Yovanna performing "Non, à jamais sans toi" at Eurovision

At the Eurovision Song Contest 1965 in Naples, the Swiss entry was the eighteenth and last song of the night following Yugoslavia. The Swiss entry was conducted by Mario Robbiani, who previously composed and conducted the 1960 Swiss entry, "Cielo e terra" by Anita Traversi. At the close of voting, Switzerland had received eight points in total; the country finished eighth among the eighteen participants.

Voting

Each participating broadcaster assembled a ten-member jury panel. Every jury member could distribute 9 points in 3 different ways depending on how the jurors voted; 5, 3, and 1 points to their 3 favorite songs, 6 and 3 points to their 2 favorite songs, or 9 points to a single song.

Points awarded to Switzerland[6] Score Country 5 points  France 3 points  Austria

Points awarded by Switzerland[6] Score Country 5 points  United Kingdom 3 points  Luxembourg 1 point  Monaco

References

1. "Radio TV Radio" (in French). 5 February 1965. p. 2. Retrieved 1 February 2025 – via Scriptorium.
2. Jaccard, Michel (8 February 1965). "Grand Prix Eurovision de la chanson: La chanson romande «Non» a remporté la finale suisse" [Eurovision Song Contest: The French-speaking song "Non" won the Swiss Final]. ASL (in French). Lausanne, Switzerland. p. 1. Retrieved 22 January 2025 – via Scriptorium.
3. ""Non" scelta come la più bella canzone del 1965" ["Non" chosen as the most beautiful song in 1965]. Giornale del Popolo (in Italian). Lugano, Switzerland. 8 February 1965. p. 3. Retrieved 23 January 2024 – via Sistema bibliotecario ticinese [it].
4. "Forse a Locarno ha vinto... il ricordo di Edith Piaf" [Perhaps the memory of Edith Piaf won in Locarno]. Eco di Locarno (in Italian). Locarno, Switzerland. 11 February 1965. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2024 – via Sistema bibliotecario ticinese [it].
5. "Schweizer Ausscheidung - Finale Suisse - Finale Svizzera 1965". Vorstadt Music & Records. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
6. "Results of the Final of Naples 1965". Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved 23 January 2025.

1. Consistently titled as such in reports referring to the selection, but renamed to "Non, à jamais sans toi" following the event.