Whilst settling down to watch the Latvian Pre Party from Riga tonight, about twenty minutes before it started, I saw that someone on Facebook had linked to a Swiss online website with a thunderbolt of an announcement. In a week where we had already lost the Queen of Eurovision Hosting (Katie Boyle), Eurovision was now reeling with the loss of its 'First Lady', the winner of the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest, Lys Assia:
![]()
This was translated from Swiss and over the course of the time before the Party had started, sources across Switzerland confirmed the news that she had passed away at the age of 94. SRF on Twitter revealed the news internationally:
A very good age, most would say, but in the week that a much loved icon of Eurovision had already crossed the great divide, it was still a seismic shock to the fandom, particularly as Lys was still so active with the show. The main reason for being so well regarded? Winning the first Contest would have done it on its own:
Sie war die Grande Dame des Eurovision Song Contest! Lys Assia stirbt im Alter von 94 Jahren. 1956 gewann sie mit «Refrain» den ersten Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson und holte damit den Sieg für die Schweiz. #RIP#LysAssia@LysAssia#Eurovision#ESC#Schweiz#Switzerlandpic.twitter.com/D1fgGItoAk— SRF ESC (@srfesc) March 24, 2018
A very good age, most would say, but in the week that a much loved icon of Eurovision had already crossed the great divide, it was still a seismic shock to the fandom, particularly as Lys was still so active with the show. The main reason for being so well regarded? Winning the first Contest would have done it on its own:
Every fan knows the song for pleasure, they know the fact for music quizzes, they know the information behind its win and the fact that she came second that year too - the only artist to have completed that feat and the only one who will ever do so:
She was second on the stage that night in Lugano with this one - her involvement in the Contest that we all love right at the start was vital (along with the other artists in 1956, although Michèle Arnaud was the only other artist to sing twice that night). That year was the catalyst for the greatest musical entertainment show in the world and what was effectively a radio show then, all bar the footage of Lys in her reprise, has burgeoned to the extravaganza it is today. She was possibly the first artist to get the Eurovision 'virus', as Philip Kirkorov so graphically put it in the Riga Pre-Party press conference, as she participated in 1957 (finishing joint 8th):
She then sung for Switzerland again in 1958, finishing a close second to France - three years in a row, with only Valentina Monetta matching that feat 56 years later:
FORTY-FOUR years later, she attempted a come back in the Swiss NF process, with Ralph Siegel and Jean Paul Cara both lending a hand, Eurovision royalty all:
Unfortunately a return for a fourth Eurovision was not to be, as this song finished eighth at Kreuzlingen. As a performer, Lys (born Rosa Mina Schärer) was a trailblazer - as an ambassador for the show itself, she truly was a Queen, always promoting the Contest for all she was worth and still putting forward her top 20 chart of the current Eurovision selection up until fairly recently. A lady after my own heart...
![]()
The closest I got to her was at the Greatest Hits Concert on 31st March 2015 - I would have been about fifteen rows back from her in the Circle, watching Graham Norton interview her on her 'throne'. It all seemed a little bit staged at the time but since the announcement of her death I have realised that it so wasn't - it seems as though anyone who has attended Eurovision in the past had probably met her and has a fond story to tell about her.
She was a Eurovision fan, not ashamed of being associated with the Contest that she and we all love (unlike some who have conveniently erased their time at the ESC from their memories) and she was happy to chat with fans, warmly sharing her opinions and her past, often into the early hours of the morning if what I have heard is true!
The EBU has been busy too with their memorial videos:
Another nice tribute but I think that RTP and the EBU will have to have some sort of remembrance section in Lisbon, what with Lys, Katie and France Gall all passing away over the last three months. Other yearly television shows have a similar segment in their yearly shows (the BBC's Sports Personality Of The Year and The Oscars being prime examples) - maybe this year could start a tradition at Eurovision, a fitting one for three such huge icons of the Contest...
![]()
At the end of such a sad week, with two Eurovision greats leaving for that 'Concours Eurovision de la chanson' in the sky, I will reflect on the positives - that both Katie and Lys had such long and wonderful lives, that they both gave such joy to lots of people across Europe (whether fans or one-off observers), and that both ladies were the embodiment of everything that was good and great about the Eurovision Song Contest.
As a last comment here, I would like to pass on my condolences to the family and friends of Lys and if any are reading this, just let it be known that she was truly loved by all Eurovision fans, whether they had met her or not...
She was second on the stage that night in Lugano with this one - her involvement in the Contest that we all love right at the start was vital (along with the other artists in 1956, although Michèle Arnaud was the only other artist to sing twice that night). That year was the catalyst for the greatest musical entertainment show in the world and what was effectively a radio show then, all bar the footage of Lys in her reprise, has burgeoned to the extravaganza it is today. She was possibly the first artist to get the Eurovision 'virus', as Philip Kirkorov so graphically put it in the Riga Pre-Party press conference, as she participated in 1957 (finishing joint 8th):
She then sung for Switzerland again in 1958, finishing a close second to France - three years in a row, with only Valentina Monetta matching that feat 56 years later:
A win, two runner-up places and an 8th
has only been bettered by Mr Eurovision, Johnny Logan!
has only been bettered by Mr Eurovision, Johnny Logan!
FORTY-FOUR years later, she attempted a come back in the Swiss NF process, with Ralph Siegel and Jean Paul Cara both lending a hand, Eurovision royalty all:
Unfortunately a return for a fourth Eurovision was not to be, as this song finished eighth at Kreuzlingen. As a performer, Lys (born Rosa Mina Schärer) was a trailblazer - as an ambassador for the show itself, she truly was a Queen, always promoting the Contest for all she was worth and still putting forward her top 20 chart of the current Eurovision selection up until fairly recently. A lady after my own heart...
And that is why this lady was so loved by Eurovision fandom
and why she will be fondly remembered forever more.
She was a Eurovision fan, not ashamed of being associated with the Contest that she and we all love (unlike some who have conveniently erased their time at the ESC from their memories) and she was happy to chat with fans, warmly sharing her opinions and her past, often into the early hours of the morning if what I have heard is true!
The EBU has been busy too with their memorial videos:
Another nice tribute but I think that RTP and the EBU will have to have some sort of remembrance section in Lisbon, what with Lys, Katie and France Gall all passing away over the last three months. Other yearly television shows have a similar segment in their yearly shows (the BBC's Sports Personality Of The Year and The Oscars being prime examples) - maybe this year could start a tradition at Eurovision, a fitting one for three such huge icons of the Contest...
As a last comment here, I would like to pass on my condolences to the family and friends of Lys and if any are reading this, just let it be known that she was truly loved by all Eurovision fans, whether they had met her or not...
RIP Lys Assia 1924 - 2018