Iceland was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "This Is My Life", written byÖrlygur Smári,Paul Oscar, and Peter Fenner, and performed by the duoEuroband. The Icelandic participating broadcaster,Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), selected its entry throughSöngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2008. The selection consisted of eleven heats, a Second Chance round, four semi-finals and a final, held between 6 October 2007 and 23 February 2008. Eight songs ultimately competed in the final, where "This Is My Life" performed by Eurobandið emerged as the winner exclusively through public televoting. The duo was renamed as Euroband for the Eurovision Song Contest. Songwriter Paul Oscar representedIceland in 1997 with the song "Minn hinsti dans" where he placed twentieth in the competition.
Iceland was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 22 May 2008. Performing as the opening entry for the show in position 12, "This Is My Life" was announced among the 10 qualifying entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 24 May. This marked the first time that Iceland qualified to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since theintroduction of semi-finals in2004. It was later revealed that the Iceland placed eighth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 68 points. In the final, Iceland performed in position 11 and placed fourteenth out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 64 points.
Prior to the 2008 contest,Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) had participated in theEurovision Song Contest representing Iceland twenty times since its first entry in 1986.[1] Its best placing in the contest to this point was second, achievedin 1999 with the song "All Out of Luck" performed bySelma. Since the introduction of a semi-final to the format of the Eurovision Song Contest in2004, it has, to this point, yet to qualify to the final. In2007, its song "Valentine Lost" performed byEiríkur Hauksson failed to qualify to the final.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, RÚV organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its intentions to participate at the 2008 contest on 10 July 2007.[2] Since 2006, RÚV has used a national final to select its entry, a method that continued for its 2008 participation.
Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2008 was the national final format developed by RÚV in order to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The seventeen shows in the competition were broadcast onRÚV during the television programmeLaugardagslögin, hosted byRagnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Gísli Einarsson.[3] The first sixteen shows were held at the RÚV studios inReykjavík and the final took place at the Vetrargarðinum inKópavogur.[4]
Thirty-three songs in total competed inSöngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2008, where the winner was determined after fifteen shows: eleven heats, a Second Chance round, four semi-finals and a final. Three songs competed in each heat between 6 October and 15 December 2007. The winning song from each heat qualified to the semi-finals, and a wildcard act was selected out of the two remaining non-qualifying acts. RÚV selected three of the eleven wildcards to compete in the Second Chance round on 12 January 2008, and the winning song qualified to the semi-finals. Three songs competed in each semi-final on 19 January 2008, 26 January 2008, 2 February 2008 and 9 February 2008, and the top two songs qualified to the final which took place on 23 February 2008.[5][6] The results of all shows, including the wildcard selection, were determined by 100% public televoting. The televoting for the wildcard selection in each heat took place via radio onRás 2 for a week, with the results being announced during the Rás 2 radio programmeHelgarútgáfunni.[7]
On 10 July 2007, RÚV opened the submission period for interested songwriters to submit their entries until the deadline on 3 September 2007. Songwriters were required to be Icelandic, possess Icelandic citizenship or have permanent residency in Iceland by 1 October 2007, and had the right to submit up to three entries.[2] At the close of the submission deadline, 146 entries were received. A selection committee was formed in order to select the top six entries, while additional twenty-seven entries came from nine composers invited by RÚV to each create three entries for the competition. The invited composers were:[8]
The eleven heats took place between 6 October 2007 and 12 January 2008 where three acts presented their entries in each heat. The winning entry voted upon solely by public televoting qualified directly to the semi-finals, while one of the two remaining acts was awarded a wildcard following a separate televote.[7][9]
Three of the eleven wildcards were selected to compete in the Second Chance round, which were announced on 6 January 2008.[10] The three acts presented their entries in the Second Chance round on 12 January 2008 where "Hvar ertu nú?" performed by Dr. Spock was voted upon solely by public televoting to proceed to the semi-finals.[11]
The four semi-finals took place on 19 January, 26 January, 2 February and 9 February 2008. In each semi-final three acts presented their entries, and the top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final.Birgitta Haukdal, who was scheduled to perform her song withMagni Ásgeirsson in the first semi-final, did not appear during the show as she was on holiday.[12]
The final took place on 23 February 2008 where the eight entries that qualified from the preceding four semi-finals competed.Eurobandið performed their entry in Icelandic in the heat and semi-final, however, they presented their entry in English in the final.[3] The winner, "This Is My Life" performed Eurobandið, was determined solely by televoting that registered more than 100,000 votes.[13][14] In addition to the performances of the competing artists, the show was opened by a medley featuring past Icelandic Eurovision entrants performing their songs.[15][16]
Euroband performing during theUKEurovision Preview Party inLondon
Euroband made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "This Is My Life" as the Icelandic Eurovision entry. On 24 April, Euroband was one of the guest performers of1995 Icelandic Eurovision entrantBjörgvin Halldórsson'sJólagestir Björgvins concert which was held at theCircus Building inCopenhagen, Denmark.[18][19] On 25 April, Euroband performed during theUKEurovision Preview Party event which was held at theScala Club inLondon, United Kingdom and hosted byPaddy O'Connell.[20]
It was announced in September 2007 that the competition's format would be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008.[21] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries. TheEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2008, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals. Iceland was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 22 May 2008.[22] The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 17 March 2008 and Iceland was set to open the show and perform in position 1, before the entry fromSweden.[23]
The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Iceland onRÚV with commentary by Sigmar Guðmundsson.[24] RÚV appointed Brynja Þorgeirsdóttir as its spokesperson to announce the Icelandic votes during the final.[citation needed]
Euroband during a rehearsal before the second semi-final
Euroband took part in technical rehearsals on 13 and 16 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 21 and 22 May. The Icelandic performance featured the members of Euroband dressed in black and pink outfits and performing choreography, joined on stage by four backing vocalists in black outfits.[25][26] The stage lighting were in deep blue and white colours.[27] The backing vocalists that joined Euroband were: Grétar Örvarsson, Guðrún Gunnarsdóttir,Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir and Pétur Örn Guðmundsson. Grétar Örvarsson previously representedIceland in 1990 and1992 as part ofStjórnin andHeart 2 Heart, respectively, while Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir would go on to representIceland in 2010.[28]
At the end of the show, Iceland was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. This marked the first time that Iceland qualified to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since theintroduction of semi-finals in2004. It was later revealed that Iceland placed eighth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 68 points.[29]
Shortly after the second semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine the running order of the final. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Iceland was drawn to perform in position 11, following the entry fromPoland and before the entry fromTurkey.
Euroband once again took part in dress rehearsals on 23 and 24 May before the final. The duo performed a repeat of their semi-final performance during the final on 24 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Iceland finished in fourteenth place with 64 points.[30]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Iceland and awarded by Iceland in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Denmark in the semi-final and the final of the contest.
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Iceland
