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Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest

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Summary

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FieldValue
NameIceland
ContestESC
BroadcasterRíkisútvarpið (RÚV)
Apps37 (28 finals)
First
Last
Highest2nd: ,
RelatedSöngvakeppnin
WebsiteRÚV page
Current2025

Iceland has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 37 times since its debut in . It has missed only two contests since then, in and , when prevented from competing due to finishing outside qualification places the preceding years, and will skip the contest due to the inclusion of in the context of the Gaza war. The country's best result is second place, which it achieved with "All Out of Luck" by Selma in and "Is It True?" by Yohanna in . The Icelandic participating broadcaster in the contest is Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), which select its entrant with the national competition Söngvakeppnin.

Iceland has achieved a total of seven top ten placements, with the others being "Eitt lag enn" by Stjórnin finishing fourth (), "Nei eða já" by Heart 2 Heart seventh (), "Open Your Heart" by Birgitta eighth (), "Hatrið mun sigra" by Hatari tenth (), and "10 Years" by Daði og Gagnamagnið fourth (). 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.

History

Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. It has participated in the contest representing Iceland since its in 1986, 20 years after RÚV was founded.

Iceland's best result in the contest is second place, which it has achieved twice: in with the song "All Out of Luck" performed by Selma, beaten by 's "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson, and in with "Is It True?" performed by Yohanna, beaten by 's "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak.

However, Iceland's worst result in the contest is last place, which has been achieved four times to date: in when "Það sem enginn sér" by Daníel Ágúst received 0 points, in when "Angel" by Two Tricky received 3 points, in when "Our Choice" by Ari Ólafsson received 15 points in the first semi final, and in when "Scared of Heights" by Hera Björk received 3 points in the first semi final.

With the introduction of semi-finals in , Iceland automatically qualified for the final that year due to Birgitta's eighth place the previous year. In , Iceland reached the final for the first time since then, with "This Is My Life" by Euroband. Iceland qualified for the final in seven consecutive contests between and before failing to qualify for the final from to . In , 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 , Iceland's joint-second best result to date, and a 23rd-place finish for Systur in . Further non-qualifications came in and . VÆB brought the country back to the final in 2025 breaking the countries two year non qualification streak. They finished 25th in the final, receiving zero points by the juries. RÚV withdrew from 2026 due to Israel's inclusion.

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

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 also participated five times (as a backing vocalist in 2008, 2009 and 2015, and as a solo artist in 2010 and 2024). Stefán Hilmarsson has participated twice (as a member of a group in 1988 and in a duo with Eyfi 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 additionally participated for Norway in 1991 as a member of Just 4 Fun). Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson entered as a solo artist in 2004 before participating in a duo with Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir in 2012; Greta Salóme later entered as a solo artist in 2016.

Participation overview

XEntry selected but did not compete†Upcoming event--
YearArtistSongLanguageFinalPointsSemiPoints
ICY"Gleðibankinn"Icelandic1619No semi-finals}}
Halla Margrét"Hægt og hljótt"Icelandic1628
Beathoven"Sókrates"Icelandic1620
Daníel"Það sem enginn sér"Icelandic22 ◁0
Stjórnin"Eitt lag enn"Icelandic4124
Stefán and Eyfi"Nína"Icelandic1526
Heart 2 Heart"Nei eða já"Icelandic780
Inga"Þá veistu svarið"Icelandic1342Kvalifikacija za Millstreet}}
Sigga"Nætur"Icelandic1249No semi-finals}}
Bo Halldórsson"Núna"Icelandic1531
Anna Mjöll"Sjúbídú"Icelandic13511059
Páll Óskar"Minn hinsti dans"Icelandic2018No semi-finals}}
Selma"All Out of Luck"English2146
August and Telma"Tell Me!"English1245
Two Tricky"Angel"English22 ◁3
Birgitta"Open Your Heart"English881
Jónsi"Heaven"English1916Top 11 in 2003 contest}}
Selma"If I Had Your Love"EnglishFailed to qualify}}1652
Silvía Night"Congratulations"English1362
Eiríkur Hauksson"Valentine Lost"English1377
Euroband"This Is My Life"English1464868
Yohanna"Is It True?"English22181174
Hera Björk"Je ne sais quoi"English, French19413123
Sjonni's Friends"Coming Home"English20614100
Greta Salóme and Jónsi"Never Forget"English2046875
Eyþór Ingi"Ég á líf"Icelandic1747672
Pollapönk"No Prejudice"English1558861
María Ólafs"Unbroken"EnglishFailed to qualify}}1514
Greta Salóme"Hear Them Calling"English1451
Svala"Paper"English1560
Ari Ólafsson"Our Choice"English19 ◁15
Hatari"Hatrið mun sigra"Icelandic102323221
Daði og Gagnamagnið"Think About Things"EnglishContest cancelled}} X
Daði og Gagnamagnið"10 Years"English43782288
Systur"Með hækkandi sól"Icelandic232010103
Diljá"Power"EnglishFailed to qualify}}1144
Hera Björk"Scared of Heights"English15 ◁3
Væb"Róa"Icelandic2533697

Notes

References

References

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  5. Granger, Anthony. (2024-04-10). "Iceland: Rúnar Freyr New Head of Delegation for Eurovision".
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  88. "Dagskrá {{!}} Rás 2 {{!}} 20. mai 2021". RÚV.
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  90. "Dagskrá {{!}} RÚV {{!}} 10. mai 2022". RÚV.
  91. "Dagskrá {{!}} Rás 2 {{!}} 10. mai 2022". RÚV.
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  94. "Dagskrá {{!}} RÚV {{!}} 9. mai 2023". RÚV.
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  98. "Dagskrá {{!}} RÚV {{!}} 7. mai 2024". RÚV.
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