Switzerland won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 with Lys Assia’s “Refrain”.
The inaugural contest took place in Lugano, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. Switzerland was represented by Lys Assia, who performed two songs because each participating country was allowed two entries. Her other entry was “Das alte Karussell”.
“Refrain” was selected as the winner by an international jury. The full voting details were not publicly released, so the contest does not have a published points table like modern Eurovision editions.
A common mix-up is confusing Switzerland’s first victory with later Swiss wins. Switzerland also won in 1988 with Céline Dion and again in 2024 with Nemo. Lys Assia’s 1956 result remains historically distinct because it was Eurovision’s first winning performance.