| Eurovision Song Contest 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Switzerland | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | ESC 2016 – die Entscheidungsshow | |||
| Selection date(s) | 13 February 2016 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Rykka | |||
| Selected song | "The Last of Our Kind" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Failed to qualify (18th) | |||
| Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "The Last of Our Kind" written by Christina Maria Rieder, Mike James, Jeff Dawson and Warne Livesey. The song was performed by Rykka, which is the artistic name of singer Christina Maria Rieder. The Swiss entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final ESC 2016 – die Entscheidungsshow, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR). Artists that were interested in entering the Swiss national final had the opportunity to apply to one of three open selections with defined submission periods organised by SRF together with the Swiss-Romansh broadcaster Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and/or the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). A total of 19 entries were selected to advance to an "Expert Check" round; ten entries were selected from the SRF/RTR selection, six entries were selected from the RTS selection and three entries were selected from the RSI selection. The "Expert Check" was held on 6 December 2015 and involved four experts evaluating the live performances of the 19 entries and selecting six entries to advance to the televised national final—three artists and songs from the SRF/RTR candidates, two from the RTS candidates and one from the RSI candidates. The six finalists performed during the national final on 13 February 2016 where a combination of jury voting and public voting ultimately selected "The Last of Our Kind" performed by Rykka as the winner.
Switzerland was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2016. Performing during the show in position 3, "The Last of Our Kind" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Switzerland placed eighteenth (last) out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 28 points.