Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest Di Rienzo () and Arlette Zola (), before winning the contest for the second time in with Celine Dion and the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". Annie Cotton gave the country its 15th top five result in , when she placed third. Girl band Vanilla Ninja finished eighth in , Switzerland's only top ten result of the 21st century. Sebalter gave the country its second-best result of the century, finishing 13th in . Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Switzerland has failed to reach the final 11 times. Switzerland had been absent from Eurovision four times
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Germany was represented by mother and daughter duo Maxi & Chris Garden, with the song "Lied für einen Freund", at the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 30 April in Dublin. "Lied für einen Freund", written by prolific Eurovision duo Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger, was the winner of the German national final, held on 31 March. Maxi & Chris Garden had finished second in the 1987 German final. One of the songs which failed to qualify for the 1988 German national final, "Das Beste" by male/female duo Duett, later became