Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Iceland
Member station RÚV
National selection events Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins
Appearances
Appearances 24
First appearance 1986
Best result 2nd: 1999, 2009
Worst result Last: 1989, 2001
External links
RÚV page
Iceland's page at Eurovision.tv

Iceland has entered the Eurovision Song Contest 24 times since their debut in 1986. Iceland did not enter in 1998 and 2002 when prevented due to finishing outside qualification places the preceding years.

Contents

History of Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest

Iceland's best position at the contest has been second place, which they have achieved twice: in 1999 Selma represented Iceland with the song "All Out of Luck", and came second to Sweden's Charlotte Nilsson after leading for most of the voting; 2009 returned Iceland to second place, where Jóhanna came second to Norway's Alexander Rybak with the ballad "Is It True?".

In contrast Iceland's worst result has been last place, which has been achieved twice to date: 1989 gave Iceland its first last place, when Daníel Ágúst got nul points for his entry "Það sem enginn sér"; in 2001 Two Tricky came last for Iceland, receiving just 3 points for their performance of "Angel".

With the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Iceland automatically qualified for the final, due to Birgitta's 8th place the previous year. In 2008, Iceland reached the final for the first time, when Euroband sang "This Is My Life", a eurodance song, which eventually finished 14th in the contest. In 2009 Iceland again qualified from the semi-final, finishing first, and eventually coming second in the final. In the 2010 contest, and after taking 3rd place in the semi-final, Hera Björk didn't manage to hold on to a good spot eventually finishing 19th in the final.

Despite these mixed fortunes, Iceland is the second most successful country never to win the contest (behind only Malta).

Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir has participated three times (1990, 1992 & 1994). Selma Björnsdóttir has participated twice (1999 & 2005), as with as with Eiríkur Hauksson (as group member 1986 and solo artist in 2007.)

The Icelandic broadcaster for the contest is Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV).

Contestants

Year Artist Title Final Points Semi Points
1986 ICY "Gleðibankinn" 16 19
1987 Halla Margrét "Hægt og hljótt" 16 28
1988 Beathoven "Þú og þeir (Sókrates)" 16 20
1989 Daníel Ágúst "Það sem enginn sér" 22 0
1990 Stjórnin "Eitt lag enn" 4 124
1991 Stefán & Eyfi "Draumur um Nínu" 15 26
1992 Heart 2 Heart "Nei eða já" 7 80
1993 Inga "Þá veistu svarið" 13 42
1994 Sigga "Nætur" 12 49
1995 Bo Halldórsson "Núna" 15 31
1996 Anna Mjöll "Sjúbídú" 13 51
1997 Paul Oscar "Minn hinsti dans" 20 18
1999 Selma "All Out of Luck" 2 146
2000 August & Telma "Tell Me!" 12 45
2001 Two Tricky "Angel" 22 3
2003 Birgitta "Open Your Heart" 8 81
2004 Jónsi "Heaven" 19 16 X X
2005 Selma "If I Had Your Love" X X 16 52
2006 Silvia Night "Congratulations" X X 13 62
2007 Eiríkur Hauksson "Valentine Lost" X X 13 77
2008 Euroband "This Is My Life" 14 64 8 68
2009 Yohanna "Is It True?" 2 218 1 174
2010 Hera Björk "Je ne sais quoi" 19 41 3 123
2011 Sigurjón's Friends "Coming Home" 20 61 4 100
2012

Voting history (1986-2011)

Iceland has given the most points to...

Rank Country Points
1  Denmark 154
2  Sweden 124
3  Norway 111
4  France 78
5  Finland 73

Iceland has received the most points from...

Rank Country Points
1  Sweden 102
2  Norway 93
3  Denmark 90
4  United Kingdom 66
5  Portugal 58

NOTE: The totals in the above tables include only points awarded in Eurovision finals, and not the semi-finals since 2004.

Since introducing the semi-finals in 2004

Iceland has given the most points to...

Rank Country Points
1  Denmark 78
2  Finland 64
3  Norway 55
4  Sweden 53
5  Ukraine 30
6  Hungary 26
7  Portugal 25
8  Greece 21
9  France 20
 Serbia 20

Iceland has received the most points from...

Rank Country Points
1  Norway 68
2  Denmark 60
3  Finland 57
4  Sweden 48
5  Portugal 38
6  Hungary 36
7  Spain 31
8  Lithuania 30
9  United Kingdom 29
10  Malta 28

NOTE: The tables with points from 2004 include points awarded in both finals and semi-finals where the highest point from the final/semi-final is picked.

Commentators

Year(s) Commentators
1986 Þorgeir Ástvaldsson
1987 Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir
1988 Hermann Gunnarsson
1989-1991 Arthúr Björgvin Bollason
1992 Árni Snævarr
1993-1997 Jakob Frímann Magnússon
1998 Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson
1999-2005 Gísli Marteinn Baldursson
2006-2010 Sigmar Guðmundsson
2011-current Hrafnhildur Halldórsdóttir

References

External links