Our friends in Switzerland are desperate for their third win. Desperate I tell you. After leading (or co-leading) the winners table for three years, they’ve been stuck on two wins for 35 years. And they’ve had some close calls since.
Today’s birthday girl Mariella Farré (née Gabriella Filomeno) is the epitome of a Swiss performer. She’s a native of the German bit of the Confederation, with an Italian real name and a French stage name. She just about ticks every box. Anyway, she’d tried a few times to represent her country, and did so as a soloist with an Italian song in München/Munich. It didn’t do that well, so she dragged her pal Pino along to Göteborg/Gothenburg two years later and, did three places better. She’s sneaking up on getting her country its third win. Mariella actually now sings less and trains dancers. Maybe she trained Mr Hänni.
Mariella is 61 today.
Buon compleanno/Frohe Geburtstag/Bonne anniversaire, Mariella!