Starting a mere ten minutes after its Finnish counterpart, the Swiss National Final (or, for the linguistically capable, “Die Grosse Entscheidungsshow”) will be held in Kreuzlingen this Saturday, hosted by veteran Swiss Eurovision presence Sven Epiney.  Following the submission of over 200 entries from all over the world (as the Swiss generally do not technically place geographical restrictions on who can enter), the nation’s major broadcasters have whittled the selection down to six finalists.

1. Christian Tschanz – “Au Paradis” (RTS)
2. 3 for All – “Together Forever” (SRF/RTR)
3. Nino Colonna – “La luce del cuore (The Light of the Heart)” (SRF/RTR)
4. Yasmina Hunzinger – “I Still Believe” (SRF/RTR)
5. Natacha & Stéphanie – “Une terre sans vous (A World Without You)” (RTS)
6. Sebalter – “Hunter of Stars” (RSI)

(Interestingly, the only Italian-language song in the running was sponsored by the Swiss-German broadcaster SRF, while the Italo-Swiss network RSI are sending a song in English.  The Franco-Swiss channel, RTS, has both of its songs in French.)

The Swiss have a rough road ahead of them in Copenhagen.  Since the creation of the Semifinal system back in 2004, only two entries have managed to make it out of the Semis (and one automatically qualified on the strength of “Cool Vibes”).  What do you think?  Can any of these six songs do what DJ Bobo, Paolo Meneguzzi, and the Salvation Army Takasa failed to do?

“Die Grosse Entscheidungsshow” will be streamed at Eurovision.tv, starting at 20:10 CET.

(And, for a fun trip down memory lane, feel free to check out my thoughts on my crazy, whirlwind journey to last year’s Swiss National Final!)