Queen of Eurovision Song Contest – That would be the best way to remember the Swiss singer, who represented Switzerland at the 1956 Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne – the very first edition of the contest, which is now the world’s biggest musical entertainment show, that is now Eurovision Song Contest.

Lys Assia represented Switzerland in 1956, with two songs, ‘Das alte Karussell’, and ‘Refrain’, when the contest was taking place in Teatro Kursaal (now Casino Lugano) in Lugano, Switzerland. She won the contest with ‘Refrain’, but unfortunately, only winning performance was kept full from the visuals of the 1956 edition. Take a look at her winning performance below:

Lys Assia returned to the Eurovision stage also in 1957 with ‘L’enfant que j’étais‘, placing 8th, as well as in 1958 with ‘Giorgio‘ (2nd place).

She was always a part of Eurovision community, and it was no secret that she loved the contest, even decades later. Lys Assia entered her song ‘C’était ma vie‘ to Swiss National selection, back in 2012 – when Ralph Siegel and Jean-Paul Cara wrote the song for her. The song came 8th that year, but she anway traveled to Baku, as a guest of honour.

The last attempt was in 2013, when she entered another song in Switzerland, this time to represent her homeland at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden. Back in 2013, she teamed up again with Ralph Siegel, and tried to win the Eurovision ticket, together with NewJack, with a song ‘All in Your Head‘.

One of the last public Eurovision appearances was in 2016, when she travelled to Stockholm, Sweden and therefore she met the international press in the press centre, giving interviews in several languages. Lys, thank you for your music, you’ll be missed. Happy Birthday!