Aerial photo of the radio relay station on the Jungfraujoch, 1963. This is where TV pictures crossed the Alps. Other relay channels were also used for telephone signals, relieving pressure on the north-south telephone cable. Museum of Communication, FFF_19361

Eurovision and the Jungfraujoch

Eurovision was the original name of cooperative pan-European programmes that were first broadcast on TV in the 1950s. This required a sophisticated radio relay network, with technologically advanced Switzerland at its heart.

Juri Jaquemet

Dr. phil., Curator of the Information and Communication Technology Collection, Museum of Communication, Berne

The Eurovision Song Contest is being held in Basel in May – the third time that Switzerland has hosted the event. The European collaborative production is therefore going back to its roots for its 69th edition. The first ever Eurovision was held in Lugano in 1956. On 24 May of that year, Swiss singer Lys Assia was crowned winner with the song Refrain in the since demolished Teatro Kursaal. Schweizer Fernsehen (Swiss Television), which was still in its infancy, was responsible for the programme together with the Radio Monte Ceneri Orchestra. Swiss Television’s broadcast truck travelled through the Gotthard Tunnel to Ticino on a car shuttle train. It was carrying TV cameras and a mobile television studio to produce the television pictures.

These moving images were recorded at a subsequent reprise and not at the actual event. The Eurovision Song Contest of 24 May 1956 was probably not recorded. Or the pictures have gone missing… YouTube

The first Eurovision Song Contest bore little resemblance to the modern-day event. At the Teatro Kursaal, the audience mainly consisted of invited guests and a jury. Every participating country nominated two members to the jury, who then decided the winner in camera in a somewhat opaque process. In Switzerland at least, there was no media hype surrounding Lys Assia after she won the contest, and her win only got a passing mention in the papers. Television sets were not widespread at the time, so people tuned in to the competition on the radio. Contrary to what many YouTube clips would have you believe, there is no surviving footage from the actual event. The video of Lys Assia’s winning song is a reprise. Only radio audio recordings and a few snippets of film remain. There’s a simple reason for this: while various technologies existed to record and archive sound in radio studios, television technology was not very advanced in 1956 and there was little interest in recording programmes. In addition, there was no affordable, standardised video technology for recording TV content at the time.

Portable tape recorder known as Marsi for reporting from outside the radio studio, 1950s. — **Portable tape recorder known as *Marsi* for reporting from outside the radio studio, 1950s.** Museum of Communication, IKT_00396

In 1956, the crew of the broadcast truck already had some experience from previous international television programmes. Pioneering work had been done in 1954 for the international broadcast of the Narcissus Festival in Montreux and the World Cup, which Switzerland hosted. The World Cup final, which was played at Bern’s Wankdorf Stadium, went down in the collective memory as the ‘Miracle of Bern’. West Germany beat the favourites Hungary 3-2 to become world champions. The win marked a turning point for West Germany with its successful and sporting football team, allowing it to take its first tentative steps to re-engage with the international community in the aftermath of the Second World War.

In Switzerland, the federal government entrusted the technical aspects of television broadcasting to the state-owned PTT (Swiss Posts, Telephones and Telegraphs). For televising the World Cup, officials ordered a fully-equipped television broadcast truck of the type Commer Marconi from England – the country that pioneered television – and travelled there to collect it themselves. But Switzerland was lacking qualified TV production professionals. People with experience in theatre were brought in to direct, and Swiss radio studios had people with expertise in producing complex programmes.

The PTT ordered a fully-equipped television broadcast truck from England. One of the responsible PTT officials got his truck driver’s licence especially so that he could drive it back to Switzerland. This photo shows the vehicle on a ferry in the port of Harwich. — The *PTT* ordered a fully-equipped television broadcast truck from England. One of the responsible *PTT* officials got his truck driver’s licence especially so that he could drive it back to Switzerland. This photo shows the vehicle on a ferry in the port of Harwich. Museum of Communication Bern, FFF_10259

Swiss Television sometimes cooperated with foreign TV broadcasters. For example, it received technical support from Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) for the broadcast of the World Cup football match between Switzerland and Italy in Lausanne. Switzerland went on to win the match, defeating Italy 2-1. The Narcissus Festival in Montreux, the 1954 World Cup and the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 were broadcast to televisions across Europe under the ‘Eurovision’ label. The fanfare surrounding Eurovision, centred on the music ‘Te deum’ by French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1634–1704), soon became engrained in the collective consciousness. The Eurovision theme tune premiered at the broadcast of the Narcissus Festival in Montreux on 6 June 1954. Meanwhile, the name ‘Eurovision’ was coined by British journalist George Campey, and quickly caught on during the ‘European Television Weeks’ in June and July 1954.

Who doesn’t know the Eurovision anthem? YouTube

The BBC proved that television pictures could transcend national borders when it broadcast the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953, with audiences watching the ceremony live in France, the Netherlands and Germany. Meanwhile, the Eurovision project dates back to 1950. The idea was the brainchild of Marcel Bezençon from the canton of Vaud (1907-1981), who at the time was Director General of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG. He also headed the EBU Programme Commission, which was working on the idea of an international programme exchange. The European Broadcasting Union EBU initially brought together 23 broadcasters from Europe and the Mediterranean region. It aimed to share news footage and images and to standardise TV technology. In hindsight, the Eurovision pan-European programmes of the 1950s can be viewed as a precursor to a unified Europe. Unlike today, Switzerland played a key role. In the newspaper article “5 Jahre Eurovision” of 6 June 1959, the Tages-Anzeiger quoted an American journalist, saying “Those television guys in Europe are 200 years ahead of the politicians.” The article went on to say that while political unity in Europe was still only being talked about, there had been ‘first-class cooperation’ in the television industry for five years.

The trouble with technology

There were no satellites or fibre optic cables to broadcast Eurovision programmes in close to real time in the 1950s. But the emerging European radio relay network was a promising technology. This involved radio waves being bundled together by radio relay antennas and concentrated electromagnetic signals being transmitted in a direct line from one antenna to the next. Always having a direct line-of-sight connection was therefore important. The broadcast truck mentioned above was thus accompanied by another vehicle equipped with a mobile radio relay antenna. For a live broadcast, a relay connection first needed to be set up on site. Swiss Television was responsible for producing the Eurovision programmes. Outside of the broadcast truck, the PTT took over, relaying the picture signals. So everyone had a clearly-defined role. In the case of the Football World Cup in 1954, the PTT aimed the pictures from Wankdorf at the transmitter on Bantiger mountain. From there, connections were established to Chasseral and the Jungfraujoch. The latter was a sort of crucial Alpine pass for audiovisual data in the radio relay network of the 1950s.

A television broadcast truck being deployed at the road cycling world championships in 1961. On the roof of the truck is a radio relay antenna. This is how the PTT was able to relay the TV pictures. — A television broadcast truck being deployed at the road cycling world championships in 1961. On the roof of the truck is a radio relay antenna. This is how the *PTT* was able to relay the TV pictures. Museum of Communication Bern, FFF_59307

This map of the European broadcast relay network as it was in the summer of 1954 shows the central role played by the radio relay station on the Jungfraujoch. This is where the audiovisual data crossed the Alps. NZZ archive

From the late 1940s, radio relay was tested as an alternative to telephone cables, such as those laid in the Gotthard railway tunnel, which were reaching their limits. In the summer of 1948, the PTT evaluated potential radio relay connections via the Alps. It opted for a form of cooperation that would prove to be typical during the Cold War era. Armed with telescopes, signal lamps, radio relay technology and plenty of climbing equipment, a PTT team ventured out, assisted by the transmission service from the engineering division, and by the Federal Military Technical Department. Most of the measuring equipment was supplied by Aargau-based firm Brown Boveri & Cie. The radio relay tests were therefore a collaboration between Swiss military and industrial players. The Monte Generoso-Jungfraujoch-Chasseral line turned out to be ideal. The first two landmarks were already accessible through a railway and tourist infrastructure. From the top of Monte Generoso you could see as far as the Po Plain and parts of the Apennines to the south, and the Jungfraujoch to the north. Meanwhile, from the Jungfraujoch, you could see large swathes of the Swiss Plateau and the Jura. In other words, this was an ideal spot for radio relay connections. Finally, the Chasseral also lent itself to the transmission of signals to France and Germany.

**The radio relay station on Monte Generoso, photographed in 1961.** Museum of Communication, FFF_19416

**The imposing transmitter on the Chasseral, 1961.** Museum of Communication, FFF_54036, © Fotostiftung Schweiz

The search for an ideal location in the high Alpine environment of the Jungfraujoch presented major challenges for the PTT team, with wind speeds of up to 100 km/h, and frost and drift snow that damaged the test antennas. The equipment was placed in a rudimentary Gotthardzelt tent supplied by the Swiss Armed Forces. The radio relay technology was towed to the ridge on a roped-up horn sled: not a task for the faint-hearted! Power was supplied via an 800-metre-long cable, which was connected to the Jungfraujoch train station. Eventually, an ideal spot was found. In late August 1948, the test connection was piloted and presented to the PTT directors’ conference, which was held on the Chasseral for this purpose. While it was still mainly about relieving pressure on the telephone cables through the Gotthard, the participants were aware that the tested connection would also benefit the future transmission of television signals.

When piloting radio relay on the Jungfraujoch, the PTT tested different types of antennas and locations. Here we can see a Chireix-Mesny antenna below the Sphinx Observatory, 1952. — **When piloting radio relay on the Jungfraujoch, the *PTT* tested different types of antennas and locations. Here we can see a Chireix-Mesny antenna below the Sphinx Observatory, 1952.** Museum of Communication, FFF_73168
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**Not for the faint-hearted: on the north-eastern side of the Jungfrau, radio relay equipment is transported to the east ridge on a roped-up horn sled.** Museum of Communication, FFF_73237
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Two staff members from the PTT team haul the radio relay equipment to the east ridge of the Jungfrau in the summer of 1948. — **Two staff members from the *PTT* team haul the radio relay equipment to the east ridge of the Jungfrau in the summer of 1948.** Museum of Communication, FFF_73025
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Gotthardzelte tent on the east ridge of the Jungfrau. The radio relay antenna is directed towards Monte Generoso. The Sphinx Observatory can be seen in the background. — *Gotthardzelte* tent on the east ridge of the Jungfrau. The radio relay antenna is directed towards Monte Generoso. The Sphinx Observatory can be seen in the background. Museum of Communication, FFF_73992
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**The upgraded radio relay station on the Jungfrau, circa 1970.** Museum of Communication, FFF_72682
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The radio relay station on the Jungfraujoch – which is located on the east ridge of the Jungfrau at an altitude of 3,705 metres – began operation just in time for the Eurovision programmes in 1954. The PTT structure was accessed via a purpose-built underground tunnel, 150 metres of which went through ‘permanent’ ice. The 255-metre altitude difference between the relay station and the Jungfraujoch railway station was covered using a purpose-built underground funicular. The newspaper NZZ declared the European television network from Hamburg to Rome ready for operation on 28 May 1954. Over 5,000 kilometres of radio relay connections were available in Europe for the broadcast of the Football World Cup, guaranteeing live transmission of the television pictures to the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Italy. The sound accompanying the TV pictures – which, depending on the country, came from different commentators watching the matches in the stadiums – was partly transmitted via telephone lines and then combined with the pictures in the destination country.

TV report from 1990 on the Jungfraujoch radio relay station (in German). SRF

It’s not clear how many people watched the television coverage of the World Cup. Figures range from 40 million to 90 million. The SRG Annual Report of 1954 cited 4 million viewers – presumably referring to the total number of television sets tuning in. But it was still rare at the time for people to have a television in their home. Most people watched the match with others in a restaurant, in a radio and television shop, or in the only living room with a TV on their street. So, public viewing existed long before the advent of giant screens and projectors.

No connection for Ticino

The first Eurovision events were tough for the people of Ticino. Although Italy was supplied with TV pictures via Monte Generoso, the Swiss Television output couldn’t transmit to the southern canton. This was because there were no terrestrial relay transmitters – as they were only commissioned in 1958. Those who were lucky, or who were in the right geographic location, could pick up Italian television channels and watch Eurovision that way. Individual initiatives from 1950 to 1954 that sought to extend the signal of the RAI to the Sopraceneri via radio bridges, were quickly stopped by the PTT. The state was stubbornly defending its monopoly, and wanted to retain control of the moving images and programme content.

Switzerland’s first TV broadcast truck was a hive of activity in the 1950s. Ticino didn’t benefit though. The truck is now part of the collection at the Museum of Communication in Bern. Museum of Communication, PfM_0117

One characteristic of Switzerland’s radio relay network is its agility. By the end of the 1950s, the Uetliberg transmission tower had replaced the Chasseral for many purposes. The central television relay hub for German-speaking Switzerland therefore moved closer to Swiss Television’s studio in Zurich. In 1964, the Albis-Felsenegg broadcasting tower began operation, becoming the new hub for relay signals. When Basel hosts the Eurovision Song Contest in May, the radio relay station on the Jungfraujoch will no longer be used for transmitting the programme, as Swisscom permanently decommissioned it in 2011. The parabolic antennas were dismantled the following year. The Jungfraubahn railway operator has taken over the building and funicular railway. Plans were revealed by the Jungfrau railway in 2018 to open an exclusive watch shop where the radio relay station used to be. According to information from SRG, the Eurovision pictures from Basel will be relayed to Ticino in May via a TV fibre optic line. Meanwhile, the cult show will be broadcast in Italy via satellites.

This blog post was originally published on the blog of the Museum of Communication.

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