This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2020) |
Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
---|---|
Participating broadcaster | Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) |
Participation summary | |
Appearances | 36 (27 finals) |
First appearance | 1986 |
Highest placement | 2nd: 1999, 2009 |
Related articles | |
Söngvakeppnin | |
External links | |
RÚV page | |
Iceland's page at Eurovision.tv | |
For the most recent participation see Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 |
Iceland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 36 times since its debut in 1986, missing only two contests since then, in 1998 and 2002, when prevented from competing due to finishing outside qualification places the preceding years. The country's best result is second place, which it achieved with "All Out of Luck" by Selma in 1999 and "Is It True?" by Yohanna in 2009. The Icelandic participant broadcaster in the contest is Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), which select its entrant with the national competition Söngvakeppnin.
Iceland has achieved a total of seven top ten placements, with the others being "Eitt lag enn" by Stjórnin finishing fourth (1990), "Nei eða já" by Heart 2 Heart seventh (1992), "Open Your Heart" by Birgitta eighth (2003), "Hatrið mun sigra" by Hatari tenth (2019), and "10 Years" by Daði og Gagnamagnið fourth (2021). Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Iceland has failed to qualify for the final nine times, including four years consecutively (2015–18). To date, Iceland is the only Nordic country that has yet to win the contest.
Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. It has participated in the contest representing Iceland since its 31st edition in 1986, 20 years after RÚV was founded.
Iceland's best placing at the contest is second place, which it has achieved twice: in 1999 with the song "All Out of Luck" performed by Selma, beaten by Sweden's "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson, and in 2009 with "Is It True?" performed by Yohanna, beaten by Norway's "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak.
In contrast Iceland's worst result in a final is last place, which has been achieved twice to date: in 1989, when "Það sem enginn sér" by Daníel Ágúst received no points, and in 2001, when "Angel" by Two Tricky received three points.
With the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Iceland automatically qualified for the final that year due to Birgitta's eighth place the previous year. In 2008, Iceland reached the final for the first time since then, with "This Is My Life" by Euroband. Iceland qualified for the final in seven consecutive contests between 2008 and 2014 before failing to qualify for the final from 2015 to 2018. In 2019, Hatari brought the country back to the final for the first time since 2014, finishing tenth, which was followed by a fourth-place finish for Daði og Gagnamagnið in 2021, Iceland's joint-second best result to date, and a 23rd-place finish for Systur in 2022. Further non-qualifications came in 2023 and 2024.
Despite these mixed fortunes, Iceland is the second most successful country never to have won the contest (behind only Malta).
Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir has participated five times (as a member of a group in 1990 and 1992, as a solo artist in 1994, and as a background vocalist in 1991 and 2006). Hera Björk has also participated five times (as a backing vocalist in 2008, 2009 and 2015, and as a solo artist in 2010 and 2024). Stefán Hilmarsson has participated twice (as a member of a group in 1988 and in a duo with Eyfi in 1991), as have Selma Björnsdóttir (1999 and 2005), Eiríkur Hauksson (as a member of a group in 1986 and as a solo artist in 2007; Eiríkur has additionally participated for Norway in 1991 as a member of Just 4 Fun). Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson entered as a solo artist in 2004 before participating in a duo with Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir in 2012; Greta Salóme later entered as a solo artist in 2016.
1 | First place |
2 | Second place |
3 | Third place |
◁ | Last place |
X | Entry selected but did not compete |
† | Upcoming event |
Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | ICY | "Gleðibankinn" | Icelandic | 16 | 19 | No semi-finals | |
1987 | Halla Margrét | "Hægt og hljótt" | Icelandic | 16 | 28 | ||
1988 | Beathoven | "Sókrates" | Icelandic | 16 | 20 | ||
1989 | Daníel | "Það sem enginn sér" | Icelandic | 22 ◁ | 0 | ||
1990 | Stjórnin | "Eitt lag enn" | Icelandic | 4 | 124 | ||
1991 | Stefán and Eyfi | "Nína" | Icelandic | 15 | 26 | ||
1992 | Heart 2 Heart | "Nei eða já" | Icelandic | 7 | 80 | ||
1993 | Inga | "Þá veistu svarið" | Icelandic | 13 | 42 | Kvalifikacija za Millstreet | |
1994 | Sigga | "Nætur" | Icelandic | 12 | 49 | No semi-finals | |
1995 | Bo Halldórsson | "Núna" | Icelandic | 15 | 31 | ||
1996 | Anna Mjöll | "Sjúbídú" | Icelandic | 13 | 51 | 10 | 59 |
1997 | Paul Oscar | "Minn hinsti dans" | Icelandic | 20 | 18 | No semi-finals | |
1999 | Selma | "All Out of Luck" | English | 2 | 146 | ||
2000 | August and Telma | "Tell Me!" | English | 12 | 45 | ||
2001 | Two Tricky | "Angel" | English | 22 ◁ | 3 | ||
2003 | Birgitta | "Open Your Heart" | English | 8 | 81 | ||
2004 | Jónsi | "Heaven" | English | 19 | 16 | Top 11 in 2003 contest[a] | |
2005 | Selma | "If I Had Your Love" | English | Failed to qualify | 16 | 52 | |
2006 | Silvía Night | "Congratulations" | English | 13 | 62 | ||
2007 | Eiríkur Hauksson | "Valentine Lost" | English | 13 | 77 | ||
2008 | Euroband | "This Is My Life" | English | 14 | 64 | 8 | 68 |
2009 | Yohanna | "Is It True?" | English | 2 | 218 | 1 | 174 |
2010 | Hera Björk | "Je ne sais quoi" | English, French | 19 | 41 | 3 | 123 |
2011 | Sjonni's Friends | "Coming Home" | English | 20 | 61 | 4 | 100 |
2012 | Greta Salóme and Jónsi | "Never Forget" | English | 20 | 46 | 8 | 75 |
2013 | Eythor Ingi | "Ég á líf" | Icelandic | 17 | 47 | 6 | 72 |
2014 | Pollapönk | "No Prejudice" | English | 15 | 58 | 8 | 61 |
2015 | Maria Olafs | "Unbroken" | English | Failed to qualify | 15 | 14 | |
2016 | Greta Salóme | "Hear Them Calling" | English | 14 | 51 | ||
2017 | Svala | "Paper" | English | 15 | 60 | ||
2018 | Ari Ólafsson | "Our Choice" | English | 19 ◁ | 15 | ||
2019 | Hatari | "Hatrið mun sigra" | Icelandic | 10 | 232 | 3 | 221 |
2020 | Daði og Gagnamagnið | "Think About Things" | English | Contest cancelled[b] X | |||
2021 | Daði og Gagnamagnið | "10 Years" | English | 4 | 378 | 2 | 288 |
2022 | Systur | "Með hækkandi sól" | Icelandic | 23 | 20 | 10 | 103 |
2023 | Diljá | "Power" | English | Failed to qualify | 11 | 44 | |
2024 | Hera Björk | "Scared of Heights" | English | 15 ◁ | 3 | ||
2025 | TBD February 2025 †[1] | Upcoming † |
Year | Conductor[c] | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Gunnar Þórðarson | [d] | [2] |
1987 | Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson | ||
1988 | No conductor | ||
1989 | |||
1990 | Jon Kjell Seljeseth | [e] | |
1991 | Jón Ólafsson | ||
1992 | Nigel Wright | [f] | |
1993 | Jon Kjell Seljeseth | ||
1994 | Frank McNamara | ||
1995 | |||
1996 | Ólafur Gaukur | ||
1997 | Szymon Kuran |
Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
---|---|---|
2017–2023 | Felix Bergsson | |
2024– | Rúnar Freyr Gíslason |
Iceland has broadcast the show since 1970. The first to be broadcast live was the 1983 edition after the plan to broadcast the 1982 contest failed. Since 1986, RÚV has broadcast the contest on the radio using same commentator for TV and radio and the Internet broadcast since early 2000s.
Year | Television channel | Radio station | Commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1970 | Sjónvarpið | No radio broadcast | Unknown | Did not participate | [7] | |
1971 | Björn Matthíasson | [8] | ||||
1972 | [9] | |||||
1973 | Jón O. Edwald | [10] | ||||
1974 | Unknown | [11] | ||||
1975 | Dóra Hafsteinsdóttir | [12] | ||||
1976 | Jón Skaptason | [13] | ||||
1977 | Unknown | [14] | ||||
1978 | Ragna Ragnars | [15] | ||||
1979 | Björn Baldursson | [16] | ||||
1980 | [17] | |||||
1981 | Dóra Hafsteinsdóttir | [18] | ||||
1982 | Pálmi Jóhannesson | [19] | ||||
1983 | Unknown | [20] | ||||
1984 | [21] | |||||
1985 | Hinrik Bjarnason | [22] | ||||
1986 | Rás 1 | Þorgeir Ástvaldsson | Guðrún Skúladóttir | [23][24] | ||
1987 | Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir | [25][26] | ||||
1988 | Hermann Gunnarsson | [27][28] | ||||
1989 | Arthúr Björgvin Bollason | Erla Björk Skúladóttir | [29][30] | |||
1990 | Unknown | [31] | ||||
1991 | Rás 2 | [32] | ||||
1992 | Árni Snævarr | [33] | ||||
1993 | No radio broadcast | Jakob Frímann Magnússon | [34] | |||
1994 | Rás 2 | Sigríður Arnardóttir | [35][36] | |||
1995 | Áslaug Dóra Eyjólfsdóttir | [37][38] | ||||
1996 | Svanhildur Konráðsdóttir | [39][40] | ||||
1997 | [41][42] | |||||
1998 | Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson | Did not participate | [43] | |||
1999 | Gísli Marteinn Baldursson | Áslaug Dóra Eyjólfsdóttir | [44][45] | |||
2000 | No radio broadcast | Ragnheiður Elín Clausen | [46][47] | |||
2001 | Eva María Jónsdóttir | [48][49] | ||||
2002 | Rás 2 | Logi Bergmann Eiðsson | Did not participate | [50] | ||
2003 | Gísli Marteinn Baldursson | Eva María Jónsdóttir | [51][52] | |||
2004 | Sjónvarpið (all shows) | Rás 2 (all shows) | Sigrún Ósk Kristjánsdóttir | [53][54] | ||
2005 | Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir | [55][56] | ||||
2006 | Rás 1 (semi-final) Rás 2 (final) |
Sigmar Guðmundsson | [57][58] | |||
2007 | Rás 2 (semi-final) | [59][60] | ||||
2008 | Rás 2 (all shows) | Brynja Þorgeirsdóttir | [61][62][63] | |||
2009 | Þóra Tómasdóttir | [64][65][66][67] | ||||
2010 | Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir | [68][69][70] | ||||
2011 | RÚV (all shows) | No radio broadcast | Hrafnhildur Halldórsdóttir | Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir | [71][72] | |
2012 | Matthías Matthíasson | [73][74] | ||||
2013 | Rás 2 (semi-final, final) | Felix Bergsson | María Sigrún Hilmarsdóttir | [75][76][77] | ||
2014 | Rás 2 (all shows) | Benedikt Valsson | [78][79][80] | |||
2015 | Sigríður Halldórsdóttir | [81][82][83][84] | ||||
2016 | Rás 2 (final) | Gísli Marteinn Baldursson | Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson | [85][86][87][88] | ||
2017 | Rás 2 (semi-final, final) | Björgvin Halldórsson | [89][90][91][92] | |||
2018 | Edda Sif Pálsdóttir | [93][94][95] | ||||
2019 | RÚV (all shows)[g] RÚV 2 (all shows)[h] ruv.is (all shows)[i] |
Unknown | Gísli Marteinn Baldursson (Icelandic) Unknown (English) |
Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson | [96][97] | |
2020 | Not announced before contest was cancelled | |||||
2021 | RÚV (all shows)[g] RÚV 2 (all shows)[j] ruv.is (all shows)[i] |
Rás 2 (semi-final, final) | Gísli Marteinn Baldursson (Icelandic) Alex Elliott (English) |
Hannes Óli Ágústsson[k] | [98][99][100][101][102] | |
2022 | RÚV (all shows)[g] RÚV 2 (all shows)[l] |
Gísli Marteinn Baldursson | Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir | [103][104][105][106] | ||
2023 | Einar Stefánsson | [107][108][109][110] | ||||
2024 | Gunna Dís Emilsdóttir | Friðrik Ómar Hjörleifsson | [111][112][113][114] |
Show | Channel | Commentator | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Songs of Europe | Sjónvarpið | Björn Baldurson | [115] |
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest | Sjónvarpið, Rás 2 | Unknown | [116] |
Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits | RÚV | [117] | |
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light | [118] |
The 2020 Netflix comedy film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga depicts Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as a fictional duo from Iceland competing in Eurovision. Hannes Óli Ágústsson, who plays Olaf Yohansson in the film, reprised the role for the voting segment of the 2021 contest final, in which he presented the points on behalf of the Icelandic jury.[102]
Markús Örn Antonsson útvarpsstjóri er formaður nefndarinnar og Guðrún Skúladóttir er ritari og talsmaður nefndarinnar þegar niðurstaða dómnefndar verður kynnt í Bergen.[Broadcaster Markús Örn Antonsson is the committee's chairman and Guðrún Skúladóttir is the committee's secretary and spokesperson when the jury's decision is announced in Bergen.]
Formaður dómnefndarinnar verður Markús Örn Antonsson útvarpsstjóri og ritari Guðrún Skúladóttir.[The chairman of the jury will be broadcaster Markús Örn Antonsson and the secretary Guðrún Skúladóttir.]
Guðrún Skúladóttir er sem fyrr ritari nefndarinnar og það verður því væntanlega hún sem tilkynnir um niðurstöðu nefndarinnar úr útvarpshúsinu þegar líða tekur á kvöldið.[As before, Guðrún Skúladóttir is the committee's secretary, and it will presumably be she who announces the committee's decision from the broadcast centre as the evening draws to a close.]
Ritari nefndarinnar er Erla Björk Skúladóttir.[The secretary of the committee is Erla Björk Skúladóttir.]
Ragnheiður Elín Clausen mun venju samkvæmt koma fram fyrir Íslands hönd og lesa niðurstöður íslensku símakosningarinnar – eða dómnefndarinnar ef því er að skipta[...][Ragnheiður Elín Clausen will, as usual, appear on behalf of Iceland and read the results of the Icelandic telephone election – or those of the jury if that is the case]
Þótt Sigrún Ósk Kristjánsdóttir sé ekki nema 23 ára fór hún létt með að tala beint til 140 milljóna Evrópubúa fyrir hönd Íslands í beinni útsendingu á Eurovision[Although Sigrún Ósk Kristjánsdóttir is only 23 years old, she easily spoke directly to 140 million Europeans on behalf of Iceland during the live Eurovision broadcast]
Þad er Brynja Þorgeirsdóttir sem kynnir úrslitin í íslensku símakosningunni, og verður hún númer 16 í þeirri röd í kvöld.[It is Brynja Þorgeirsdóttir who presents the results of the Icelandic telephone vote, and she will be number 16 in that vote tonight.]
Ekki eru þó allir jafn heppnir því Sigmar Guðmundsson, sjónvarpsmaðurinn skeleggi, fer ekki fet og þarf að lýsa kvöldunum tveimur í beinni útsendingu á RÚV, hvort sem Ísland verður þar á meðal eða ekki.[However, not everyone is so lucky, because Sigmar Guðmundsson, the energetic TV presenter, does not go on foot and has to describe the two nights live on RÚV, whether Iceland will be included or not.]
Bo is the first former participant from Iceland to reveal the results of the Icelandic vote since Yohanna who announce the Icelandic points in 2010.
Eurovision-farinn fyrrverandi Matti Matt verður í nýju hlutverki á laugardaginn þegar hann kynnir stig Íslands í Söngvakeppni evrópskra sjónvarpsstöðra[Former Eurovision participant Matti Matt will be in a new role on Saturday when he presents Iceland's points at the Eurovision Song Contest]
Sjónvarpsmaðurinn Gísli Marteinn Baldursson kynnir Eurovision í ár og gerir það í áttunda skiptið.[TV presenter Gísli Marteinn Baldursson will present Eurovision this year and will do so for the eighth time.]
Tónlistarmaðurinn Björgvin Halldórsson kynnir stig íslensku dómnefndarinnar í Eurovision í ár, en eins og margir vita þá er Björgvin faðir Svölu Björgvinsdóttur sem keppir fyrir Íslands hönd í keppninni í Kænugarði.[The musician Björgvin Halldórsson presents the points of the Icelandic jury in Eurovision this year, but as many know, Björgvin is the father of Svála Björgvinsdóttir, who is competing for Iceland in the competition in Kyiv.]