Switzerland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Unbreakable" written by Gabriel Broggini and Ivan Broggini. The song was performed by the duo Sinplus. The Swiss entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2012, organised by the Swiss German speaking broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen (SF) in collaboration with the other broadcasters part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR). SF, SF's radio station DRS 3, the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI) each conducted varying selections and a total of fourteen entries were selected to advance to the televised national final—six artists and songs from the SF selection, three from the DRS 3 selection, three from the RTS selection and two from the RSI selection. The fourteen finalists performed during the national final on 10 December 2011 where public voting ultimately selected "Unbreakable" performed by Sinplus as the winner.
Switzerland was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 22 May 2012. Performing during the show in position 7, "Unbreakable" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Switzerland placed eleventh out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 45 points.
Background
Prior to the 2012 contest, Switzerland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-two times since its first entry in 1956. Switzerland is noted for having won the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Refrain" performed by Lys Assia. Their second and, to this point, most recent victory was achieved in 1988 when Canadian singer Céline Dion won the contest with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". Following the introduction of semi-finals for the , Switzerland had managed to participate in the final three times up to this point. In 2005, the internal selection of Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja, performing the song "Cool Vibes", qualified Switzerland to the final where they placed 8th. Due to their successful result in 2005, Switzerland was pre-qualified to compete directly in the final in 2006. Between 2007 and 2010, the nation failed to qualify to the final after a string of internal selections. After opting to organize a national final in 2011, Switzerland has managed to qualify to the final but placed last with the song "In Love for a While" performed by Anna Rossinelli.
The Swiss national broadcaster, Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), broadcasts the event within Switzerland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. SRG SSR confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest on 15 May 2011. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster also announced that the Swiss entry for the 2012 contest would be selected through a national final. Switzerland has selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest through both national finals and internal selections in the past. Between 2005 and 2010, the Swiss entry was internally selected for the competition. In 2011, the broadcaster has opted to organize a national final in order to select their entry.
Before Eurovision
Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2012
Die grosse Entscheidungs Show 2012 was the second edition of the Swiss national final format that selected Switzerland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. The national final was a collaboration between four broadcasters in Switzerland: the Swiss-German broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen (SF), the radio station from SF DRS 3, the Swiss-French broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) and the Swiss-Italian broadcaster Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI). The show took place on 10 December 2011 at the Bodensee Arena in Kreuzlingen, hosted by Sven Epiney and was televised on SRF 1, RSI La 2 with Italian commentary by Clarissa Tami and Paolo Meneguzzi, and RTS Deux with French commentary by Nicolas Tanner and Jean-Marc Richard. The competition was also broadcast via radio on DRS 3 and streamed online at the official website of SF sf.tv.