Rykka – the stage name of Christina Maria Rieder – took to the stage of the Globe Arena to sing English-language song The Last of Our Kind, which she co-wrote, dressed in a striking outfit that emitted smoke.

But her performance failed to impress voters, meaning Switzerland will not be represented in the grand final for the second year running.

Aiming to be the second Canadian to win the title for Switzerland after Céline Dion famously won in 1988, Rykka was against the odds from the start – literally .

Before yesterday’s semifinal British bookmaker William Hill put her at 250/1 to win, the worst odds of all the competitors.

Since the semi-finals were introduced in 2004 Switzerland has failed to qualify for the final nine times.

Its best performance in the 21st century came in 2005 when Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja placed eighth for Switzerland with their song Cool Vibes.

It’s the only English-language song to have done well for Switzerland. Over the years the country has entered contestants singing in all four of its national languages, with both of the country’s winning songs being French.

In 1989 Swiss vocal group Furbaz entered Eurovision with a song in Romansch – the only Eurovision song ever sung in the niche language. They came 13th.

Watch Rykka's semifinal performance here: