Iceland has been represented at theEurovision Song Contest 37 times since its debut in1986, missing only two contests since then, in1998 and2002, 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" bySelma in1999 and "Is It True?" byYohanna in2009. The Icelandic participating broadcaster in the contest isRíkisútvarpið (RÚV), which select its entrant with the national competitionSöngvakeppnin.
Iceland has achieved a total of seven top ten placements, with the others being "Eitt lag enn" byStjórnin finishing fourth (1990), "Nei eða já" byHeart 2 Heart seventh (1992), "Open Your Heart" byBirgitta eighth (2003), "Hatrið mun sigra" byHatari tenth (2019), and "10 Years" byDaði 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.
In contrast Iceland's worst result in a final is last place, which has been achieved twice to date: in1989, when "Það sem enginn sér" byDaníel Ágúst received no points, and in2001, when "Angel" byTwo Tricky received three points.
With the introduction of semi-finals in2004, Iceland automatically qualified for the final that year due toBirgitta's eighth place the previous year. In2008, Iceland reached the final for the first time since then, with "This Is My Life" byEuroband. Iceland qualified for the final in seven consecutive contests between2008 and2014 before failing to qualify for the final from2015 to2018. In2019,Hatari brought the country back to the final for the first time since 2014, finishing tenth, which was followed by a fourth-place finish forDaði og Gagnamagnið in2021, Iceland's joint-second best result to date, and a 23rd-place finish forSystur in2022. Further non-qualifications came in2023 and2024.
Despite these mixed fortunes, Iceland is the second most successful country never to have won the contest (behind onlyMalta).
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.
^According to thethen-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries 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.
^Roxburgh, Gordon (2016).Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn:Telos Publishing.ISBN978-1-84583-118-9.
^"Dagskráin" [Programme].Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 16 April 1981. p. 26.Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved12 January 2023 – viaTimarit.is.
^"Á skjánum" [On screen].Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 30 April 1982. p. 4.Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved12 January 2023 – viaTimarit.is.
^"Sjónvarp" [Television].Fréttir (in Icelandic).Reykjavík, Iceland. 3 May 1984. p. 6. Retrieved24 December 2024 – viaTimarit.is.
^"Laugardagur 4. maí" [Saturday 4 May].DV (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 4 May 1985. p. 23.Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved14 January 2023 – via Timarit.is.
^"Laugardagur 3. maí" [Saturday, 3 May].Dagskrá útvarpsins (in Icelandic). Vol. 56, no. 18.Reykjavík, Iceland. 28 April – 4 May 1986. pp. 11–12. Retrieved15 July 2025 – viaTimarit.is.
^"Íslenska dómnefndin" [The Icelandic jury].Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 1 May 1986. p. 2. Retrieved28 May 2024 – viaTimarit.is.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.]
^"Ellefu dómnefndarmenn valdir fyrir söngvakeppnina" [Eleven jury members selected for the song contest].Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 5 May 1987. p. 24. Retrieved15 January 2023 – viaTimarit.is.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.]
^"Útvarp/Sjónvarp" [Radio/Television].Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 30 April 1988. p. 6. Retrieved15 January 2023 – via Timarit.is.
^"Prestur, fiðlusmiður, bóndi og vitavördur í dómnefndinni" [Priest, violin maker, farmer and lighthouse keeper on the jury].DV (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 30 April 1988. p. 9. Retrieved29 May 2024 – viaTimarit.is.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.]
^"Laugurdagur 6. maí" [Saturday 6 May].DV (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 6 May 1989. p. 3. Retrieved12 December 2022 – viaTimarit.is.
^"Söngvakeppnin: Fjórir valdir til að syngja bakraddir" [Eurovision: Four chosen to sing backing vocals].Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 12 April 1989. p. 19. Retrieved28 May 2024 – viaTimarit.is.Ritari nefndarinnar er Erla Björk Skúladóttir. [The secretary of the committee is Erla Björk Skúladóttir.]
^"Laugurdagur 5. maí" [Saturday 5 May].DV (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 5 May 1990. p. 54. Retrieved2 February 2025 – viaTimarit.is.
^KGP (13 May 2000)."Tvær Evróvisjón-keppnir sama daginn: Bakvarðasveitin á vakt – grípur inn í ef símkerfið hrynur" [Two Eurovision competitions on the same day: The back-up team on duty – to intervene if the network crashes].Morgunblaðið Dagskrá (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. p. 67. Retrieved29 May 2024 – viaTimarit.is.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]
^"Laugardagur 12. maí" [Saturday 12 May].DV (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 12 May 2001. p. 70. Retrieved2 December 2022 – viaTimarit.is.
^Eurovision Song Contest 2001 (Television programme).Copenhagen,Denmark: DR. 12 May 2001.
"Tískulögga Jónsa" [Jónsi's fashion cop].DV (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 12 May 2004. p. 13. Retrieved17 January 2023 – viaTimarit.is.
^"Stúlkan með stáltaugarnar: Klikkaði ekki fyrir framan 140 milljónir" [The girl with the nerves of steel: Did not crack in front of 140 million].DV (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 17 May 2004. p. 32. Retrieved29 May 2024 – viaTimarit.is.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]
^"Hægt að kjósa þrisvar: Líklegra að sms-atkvæði komist til skila" [You can vote three times: SMS votes are more likely to be delivered].Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 20 May 2008. Retrieved16 February 2023 – viaTimarit.is.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.]
^"Fréttir af fólki" [News about people].Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 11 May 2009. p. 30. Retrieved2 March 2023 – viaTimarit.is.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.]
^Granger, Anthony (4 May 2017)."Iceland: Bo Halldórsson To Announce Jury Votes". Eurovoix.Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved8 April 2022.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.
^"Byrjaður að æfa '12 points go to Sweden!'" [Started practicing '12 points go to Sweden!'].Monitor (in Icelandic). Reykjavík, Iceland. 24 May 2012. p. 3. Retrieved30 May 2024 – viaTimarit.is.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]
^Albertsdóttir, Auður (12 May 2017)."Má ekki ritskoða sig of mikið" [Don't censor yourself too much].mbl.is (in Icelandic).Morgunblaðið.Archived from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved30 May 2024.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.]
^Pálsson, Stefán Árni (5 May 2017)."Pabbi kynnir íslensku stigin í Eurovision" [Dad presents the Icelandic points in Eurovision].Visir.is (in Icelandic).Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved30 May 2024.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.]
For the most recent participation see
Jon Kjell Seljeseth
Nigel Wright
Frank McNamara
Szymon Kuran
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