More than 200 budding Swiss songwriters have entered a public competition to come up with a new, more rousing national anthem, according to organisers.
They want to ditch a traditional work many view as far too solemn.
The contest, organised by the Swiss Society for Public Good, aims to replace The Swiss Psalm composed by Alberich Zwyssig, a Swiss monk, in 1841, which critics say is too hymn-like and at odds with modern-day Switzerland.
Some point to the anthem’s recent outing at the World Cup in Brazil, where Switzerland’s multi-ethnic team mumbled their way through the words ahead of a clash against France, whose players belted out La Marseillaise with confidence.
"The lyrics are very difficult and many can’t identify with the text since it was originally a church song," said Lukas Niederberger, director of the 200-year-old society, a respected independent body.
The anthem has been mocked as a "Swiss weather report" because of its mentions of the Alps, morning skies and misty valleys. Only a small percentage of the population is said to be able to sing more than one verse by heart.
Potential new anthems can be written in any of Switzerland’s four national languages.
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