Switzerland debuted at Eurovision at the first contest in 1956, and will send its 50th entry to the 2009 contest. The country has won the contest twice: their first win occurred at the very first contest, when Lys Assia won for Switzerland with "Refrain" when the contest was held in Switzerland, in the town of Lugano; their second and latest win to date came in 1988, when Canadian singer Céline Dion won with "Ne partez pas sans moi". The country, however, has also come last in the contest on five occasions: in 1964, 1967, 1974, 1998 and in the semi-final of the 2004 Contest. The Swiss broadcaster SRG SSRidée suisse has been in charge of the Swiss Eurovision entry since its interception. In the past the organisation has held a national final to select the Swiss entry to Eurovision, with each regional broadcaster entering songs to the contest. Since 2005, however, the organisation has held an internal selection for the Swiss Eurovision entry, which was continued for the 2009 selection.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
, the German-language sector of SRG SSR, began its selection for Eurovision 2009 in July 2008. From July to 20 October 2008 SF held an open call for artists interested in Eurovision. Artists and authors wishing to enter were not obliged to be Swiss citizens, however SF stressed that the experience of possible candidates was vital. A five-member jury selected the final entry for Switzerland for the contest. After months of deliberation, Swiss newspaperBlick claimed in January 2009 that SF had selected the popular Swiss band the Lovebugs to represent Switzerland at the 2009 Contest in Moscow, Russia. SF confirmed on 19 January 2009 that the Lovebugs had been selected by the jury appointed by the broadcaster to represent Switzerland at Eurovision. No information had yet been disclosed on the song the band would sing in Moscow, however a poll held by Swiss radio station DRS, part of SF, on their website showed that readers preferred "The Highest Heights" over other songs on their new album of the same name. On 23 February 2009, it was finally announced that the Lovebugs would compete at the contest with "The Highest Heights".
At Eurovision
Since Switzerland is not one of the "Big Four" and is not the host of the 2009 contest, it had to compete in one of the two semi-finals. The song competed in the first semi-final but failed to reach the final.
