Update 18 December, 16:20: Heilsarmee announced their intention to look for a creative solution together with SRF, meaning that they intend to wait with an ultimate decision about their participation.

If the Swiss public has its say, the “Salvation Army” will be representing the Central European nation in Malmö. Not the whole Salvation Army, because the EBU doesn’t allow 1.7 million people on stage at the same time – although if Christer Björkman gets his way, who knows. But they are going to compete with the maximum allowed number: six (not 4 one, but for Switzerland again, in any case).

To be more specific: Sarah Breiter, Jonas Gygax, Katharina Hauri, Christoph Jakob, Emil Ramsauer and Michel Sterckx form the music group, initially named after the international religious organisation behind it: “Heilsarmee” in its German form. However, it now seems they will not be allowed to enter Eurovision with this name.

The Salvation Army was founded in London in 1865 and has spread to most parts of the world over the last 150 years. In the 1880s, it reached most countries in Western Europe, including both Switzerland and Sweden.

Just as an interesting side note: Many of the Rica Hotels in Sweden were previously owned by the Salvation Army (“Frälsningsarmén”). Nowadays, the hotels belong to Rica. But because – for example – the building that houses Rica Hotel Stockholm remained the property of the Salvation Army, the consumption of alcohol is still strictly forbidden in it.

Since their victory, Heilsarmee have caused heavy controversial discussions, and not only among Eurovision fans. It’s more or less a well-known fact that the Salvation Army as an organisation stands in opposition to gay rights. And it’s more or less a well-known fact that a good majority of hardcore Eurovision fans are gay. As is the host of the Swiss National Final, as are some members of the “Europa Panel” that judged the Swiss entries in the show on Saturday. And as are many Swiss ESC fans who voted for Heilsarmee.

If nothing else, all of this will give rise to an interesting situation during the Eurovision weeks in Malmö in particular, where the members of the group will come into contact with many gay fans and reporters. Will they seek to spread the word of their beliefs? Will the on-site reporters engage them in a heated discussion in a press conference? Will there be some kind of big bang? All speculation at this stage, but the questions are intriguing.

So far, we have a statement by one of their members. Christoph Jakob (31), the lead singer, said when asked by 20 Minuten Online: “The sexual orientation of a person doesn’t play a role for me. We from the Salvation Army accept everyone the way he or she is.”

Maybe this is his opinion. Maybe not all of the 1.7 million Salvation Army members are necessarily against gay rights, discriminating, homophobic, hating, even if the official word from the top of the organisation says it differently. So we have to be cautious not to put everyone into the same pigeonhole – just like gay people ask when it comes to how other people see them. Of course, the criticism of the organisation as a whole (as opposed to the individuals contained therein) is valid, and is now gaining the attention of the ESC world. And this will be even more the case in Malmö. This is a good thing.

Except it might not get that far in first place: Minutes after Heilsarmee won the Swiss Final, rumours about a possible disqualification hit the surface, as political and religious groups are not allowed to compete in Eurovision. SRF has since been given assurances by the EBU: The newly selected Swiss participants can enter their song, but have to change their name for Eurovision, and are not allowed to wear their uniforms. Now it’s up to the Heilsarmee to accept these requests – or to withdraw.

What alternatives did Switzerland have?
The other members of the announced top three were Carrousel (2nd) and Jesse Ritch (3rd), neither of which did very well in the #esc chat voting (see the end of this article). And it’s hard to believe that any of the other entries but Heilsarmee would have had a bigger chance in Malmö. So yes, from a personal perspective, it can certainly be argued that Switzerland made the right decision. But now we see the phenomenon that many fans have problems liking a song that they would probably normally like if someone else was singing it. It’s inevitably difficult to judge a song without judging the background of the performers – just like it was hard to judge ESC 2012 without judging the background of the host country, and so on.

The thing that will count most on the stage in Malmö is the song: “You And Me“. In these three minutes at least, as Christopher Jakob said to 20 Minuten Online: “(…) we don’t go there to missionize, but to represent Switzerland.”

Let’s wait and see what happens next.

The results of the voting in the chat – provided by TommyE:

1. Nicolas Fraissinet – Lève-toi (5.94 out of 10 points; average)
2. Melissa – The point of no return (5.47)
3. Anthony Bighead – Do the monkey (4.60)
4. Carrousel – J’avais rendez-vous (4.16)
5. Chiara Dubey – Bella sera (3.81)
6. Heilsarmee – You and me (3.50)
7. Ally – Catch me (3.17)
8. Nill Klemm – On my way (2.88)
9. Jesse Ritch – Forever & a day (2.75)