Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest
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
History
Iceland's best position at the contest is second place, which they have achieved twice: in
".In contrast Iceland's worst result in a grand final is last place, which has been achieved twice to date: in
With the introduction of semi-finals in
Despite these mixed fortunes, Iceland is the second most successful country never to win the contest (behind only Malta).
Participation overview
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 † |
Related involvement
Conductors
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 |
Heads of delegation
Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
---|---|---|
2017–2023 | Felix Bergsson | |
2024– | Rúnar Freyr Gíslason |
Commentators and spokespersons
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 |
Other shows
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 |
Gallery
-
Eiríkur Hauksson in Helsinki (2007)
-
Yohanna in Moscow (2009)
-
Hera Björk in Oslo (2010)
-
Eythor Ingi in Malmö (2013)
-
María Ólafs in Vienna (2015)
-
Greta Salóme in Stockholm (2016)
-
Ari Ólafsson in Lisbon (2018)
In popular culture
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]
Notes
- Big Fourcountries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the Grand Final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
- ^ The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ All conductors are of Icelandic nationality unless otherwise noted.
- ^ Conducted by Þórir Baldursson at the national final.
- ^ Conducted by Vilhjálmur Guðjónsson in the national final.
- ^ Conducted by Jón Ólafsson in the national final.
References
- ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (8 April 2018). "Iceland: Netta Barzilai Tops Alla leið Show One". Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (3 May 2019). "Iceland: "Cannot Take Qualification For Granted" – Felix Bergsson". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- Visir.is (in Icelandic). Vísir. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (10 April 2024). "Iceland: Rúnar Freyr New Head of Delegation for Eurovision". Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (14 May 2016). "ESC'16: 41 Spokespersons Revealed For Tonight". Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (4 May 2017). "Iceland: Bo Halldórsson To Announce Jury Votes". Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (29 April 2018). "Iceland: Edda Sif Pálsdóttir Revealed as Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (24 April 2019). "Iceland: Gísli Marteinn Baldursson Returns To Commentary Booth For Tenth Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (17 May 2019). "Iceland: Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson Announced as Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Iceland: "Play Jaja Ding Dong" Guy Will Reveal The Icelandic Jury Points at Eurovision 2021". Eurovoix. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "Árný Fjóla verður stigakynnir Íslands í Eurovision" [Árný Fjóla will be Iceland's scorer in Eurovision]. ruv.is (in Icelandic). RÚV. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- ^ "Dagskrá | RÚV Sjónvarp". ruv.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (11 April 2023). "Iceland: Gísli Marteinn Baldursson Confirmed as Commentator For Eurovision 2023". Eurovoix. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- ^ Grace, Emily. "Iceland: Gunna Dís Emilsdóttir Confirmed As New Eurovision Commentator For RÚV". Eurovoix. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ Wærhaug, Sølvi (24. august 1981). «Nesten krise …». VG. s. 36.
- ^ Wærhaug, Sølvi (18. august 1981). «Fire verdensdeler følger Momarkedet». VG. s. 37.