RSI, the Swiss Italian speaking national broadcaster will yet again opt for an internal selection in order to select its 3 candidates for the 2nd phase of the 2016 Swiss Eurovision national selection.

Artists wishing to compete in the 2016 Swiss Italian Eurovision regional internal selection can do so by sending in their application to RSI at the following address: Eurovision Song Contest, RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana, CP, 6903 Lugano. The submission form can be found here. Artists can send in their songs in any language.

RSI has kicked off its submission period for its internal Eurovision 2016 regional selection The deadline for submission has been set on 26 October. A special jury will evaluate all received entries and select a total of 3 entries for the EXPERT CHECK Live Audition scheduled to be held on 6 December in Zurich. The RSI internal selection is expected to be held by December.

A total of 19 acts will showcase their talent and vocal skills live in front of an expert jury ( 10 SRF/RTR candidates, 6 RTS candidates/ 3 RSI candidates). Only 6 acts will proceed to the 2016 Swiss Eurovision national final scheduled to be held on 13 February in Kreuzlingen ( 3 SRF/RTR- 2 RTS- 1 RSI).

The 2016 Eurvision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 1o, 12 and 14 May.

Melanie Rene won the 2015 Swiss Eurovision national final and represented the Helvetic nation at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna with her entry Time to shine. Despite an extraordinary performance she failed to qualify to the grand final.

Stay tuned to ESCToday for the latest news on Switzerland and the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest.