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 | 35 (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 35 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 Selma in 1999 and Yohanna in 2009. The Icelandic broadcaster for the contest is Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), which also broadcasts Iceland's national selection competition, Söngvakeppnin.
Iceland has achieved a total of seven top ten placements, with the others being Stjórnin finishing fourth ( 1990), Heart 2 Heart seventh ( 1992), Birgitta eighth ( 2003), Hatari tenth ( 2019) and Daði og Gagnamagnið fourth ( 2021). Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Iceland has failed to qualify for the final eight times, including four years consecutively (2015–18). To date, Iceland is the only Nordic country that has yet to win the contest.
Iceland's best position at the contest is second place, which they have achieved twice: in 1999 when Selma represented Iceland with the song " All Out of Luck", and came second to Sweden's Charlotte Nilsson and in 2009 when Yohanna came second to Norway's Alexander Rybak with the ballad " Is It True?".
In contrast Iceland's worst result in a grand final is last place, which has been achieved twice to date: in 1989, when Daníel Ágúst received nul points for his entry " Það sem enginn sér", and in 2001, when Two Tricky received three points for their entry " Angel".
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, when Euroband sang "This Is My Life". 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. Another non-qualification came with Diljá in 2023.
Despite these mixed fortunes, Iceland is the second most successful country never to win 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 participated four times (as a backing vocalist in 2008, 2009 and 2015, and as a solo artist in 2010). Stefán Hilmarsson has participated twice (as a member of a group in 1988 and as a member of a duo 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 in addition participated for Norway in 1991 as a member of a group.), Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson (as a solo artist in 2004 and as a member of a duo in 2012) and Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir (as a member of a duo in 2012 and 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 | Upcoming † |
Year | Conductor [c] | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Gunnar Þórðarson | [d] | [1] |
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 |
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (July 2020) |
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 1985, RÚV has broadcast the contest on the radio using same commentator for TV and radio and the Internet broadcast since early 2000s.
Year | Commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1970 | No commentator | Did not participate | |
1971 | Björn Matthíasson | ||
1972 | Björn Matthíasson | ||
1973 | Jón O. Edwald | ||
1974 | Unknown | ||
1975 | Dóra Hafsteinsdóttir | ||
1976 | Jón Skaptason | ||
1977 | No commentator | ||
1978 | Ragna Ragnars | ||
1979 | Björn Baldursson | ||
1980 | Björn Baldursson | ||
1981 | Dóra Hafsteinsdóttir | ||
1982 | Pálmi Jóhannesson | ||
1983 | Unknown | ||
1984 | |||
1985 | Hinrik Bjarnason | ||
1986 | Þorgeir Ástvaldsson | Guðrún Skúladóttir | |
1987 | Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir | ||
1988 | Hermann Gunnarsson | ||
1989 | Arthúr Björgvin Bollason | Erla Björk Skúladóttir | |
1990 | Árni Snævarr | ||
1991 | Guðríður Ólafsdóttir | ||
1992 | Árni Snævarr | Guðrún Skúladóttir | |
1993 | Jakob Frímann Magnússon | ||
1994 | Sigríður Arnardóttir | ||
1995 | Áslaug Dóra Eyjólfsdóttir | ||
1996 | Svanhildur Konráðsdóttir | ||
1997 | |||
1998 | Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson | Did not participate | |
1999 | Gísli Marteinn Baldursson | Áslaug Dóra Eyjólfsdóttir | |
2000 | Ragnheiður Elín Clausen | ||
2001 | Eva María Jónsdóttir | ||
2002 | Logi Bergmann Eiðsson | Did not participate | |
2003 | Gísli Marteinn Baldursson | Eva María Jónsdóttir | |
2004 | Sigrún Ósk Kristjánsdóttir | ||
2005 | Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir | ||
2006 | Sigmar Guðmundsson | ||
2007 | |||
2008 | Brynja Þorgeirsdóttir | ||
2009 | Þóra Tómasdóttir | ||
2010 | Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir | ||
2011 | Hrafnhildur Halldórsdóttir | Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir | |
2012 | Matthías Matthíasson | ||
2013 | Felix Bergsson | María Sigrún Hilmarsdóttir | |
2014 | Benedikt Valsson | ||
2015 | Sigríður Halldórsdóttir | ||
2016 | Gísli Marteinn Baldursson | Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson | |
2017 | Björgvin Halldórsson | ||
2018 | Edda Sif Pálsdóttir | ||
2019 | Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson | ||
2021 | Hannes Óli Ágústsson (as Olaf Yohansson from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) |
||
2022 | Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir | ||
2023 | Einar Stefánsson | ||
2024 | Gunna Dís Emilsdóttir | TBA |
Show | Commentator | Channel | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Songs of Europe | No commentator | RÚV | |
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest | Gísli Marteinn Baldursson | ||
Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits | No commentator | ||
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light | Felix Bergsson |
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. [11]