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Iceland: Gunna Dís Emilsdóttir is RÚV’s commentator for Eurovision 2024!

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After a recent change in the Head of Delegation, it’s now time for Iceland, to select the new commentator, that will comment the show on behalf of the Icelandic public broadcaster, RÚV.

In detail, Gunna Dís Emilsdóttir, will be the Icelandic commentator this year, after Gísli Marteinn stepped down from his role. Gunna Dís has many years of experience behind her, having worked both as a TV and Radio producer.

After RÚV’s announcement, she said:

“I have followed Eurovision from a young age and am fascinated by the cultural diversity that the competition shows. I realize that I am taking on this job under challenging circumstances. There have been different opinions about this year’s competition, and all of these opinions are fully justified. I’m on my way to Malmö on behalf of RÚV and I’m going to do my best to describe what’s going to happen on the big stage in May.”

Gísli Marteinn Baldursson, Iceland’s commentator since 2003, stepped down, due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, and the Contest’s reaction to it, or to the no reaction at all, according to RÚV.

This year, Iceland is represented by Hera Björk and her song “Scared of Heights” and she will take part in the first semi-final:

https://youtu.be/OouUsCZ3xkM

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Icelandic participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Source: ruv.is

Iceland: Rúnar Freyr is the country’s new Head of Delegation!

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Iceland and Hera Björk, are about to fly to Malmö for Eurovision 2024, and as it seems, they are going to have a new Head of Delegation for the Contest!

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Iceland: Listen to the acoustic version of “Scared of Heights” by Hera Björk on “A Little Bit More”!

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Just like last year, some time before the first rehearsals of the countries, the show called “A Little Bit More” aired on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.

So, for all this time before the rehearsals, Eurovision TV will upload different performances of the artists, like different versions of their songs, or covers of songs from other artists.

Below you can listen to the a capella version of Iceland’s entry for this year’s contest, “Scared of Heights” by Hera Björk, performed in the Reykjavik Art Museum:

https://youtu.be/rVppZEb31B4

You can also watch the Eurovisionfun team, reacting and commenting to Iceland’s entry for Eurovision 2024:

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Icelandic participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Iceland: The detailed voting results of the semi-finals of Söngvakeppninn 2024!

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RÚV, the public broadcaster of Iceland, revealed the detailed voting results of the two semi-finals of Söngvakeppninn 2024, that took place on February 17 and 24.

First Semi-Final – February 17

  • Bíómynd – VÆB: 7.347 votes
  • Stingum af – ANITA: 6.514 votes
  • Sjá þig – Blankiflúr: 3.046 votes
  • Ró – Ceasetone: 1.344 votes
  • Fiðrildi – Sunny: 577 votes

Second Semi-Final – February 24

  • Vestrið Villt – Bashar Murad: 9.034 votes
  • Við förum hærra – Hera Björk: 8.552 votes
  • Um Allan Alheiminn – Sigga Ózk: 6.730 votes
  • Fljúga burt – MAIAA: 3.184 votes
  • Þjakaður af ást – Heiðrún Anna: 1053 votes

We remind you that Hera Björk manged to turn the tables with her song “Scared of Heights” and won the second round of voting of Söngvakeppninn, claiming the country’s representation against Bashar Murad with the song “Wild West”.

Iceland 2024: The detailed results of Söngvakeppnin

Iceland will participate in the First Semi-Final of Eurovision 2024, on May 7, and they will perform 8th:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OouUsCZ3xkM

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Icelandic participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

Source: RUV

Iceland: The country will eventually be present in Malmö!

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RÚV has finally reached a decision. Iceland will participate in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö with Hera Björk and her Söngvakeppnin winning entry “Scared of Heights“.

Hera Björk won the national selection a week ago, however Iceland’s participation in Eurovision 2024 remained unsure in the meantime.

Iceland’s participation in uncertainty

In January, RÚV stated that the country’s participation in Malmö is uncertain and will be discussed after the conclusion of Söngvakeppnin 2024. The decision would be made by RÚV’s group and the winner of the national selection.

As a consensus was achieved in RÚV’s Eurovision group, Iceland will ultimately participate in Eurovision 2024.

Concerns regarding Söngvakeppnin’s results

Söngvakeppnin’s results sparked widespread criticism in Iceland, as Bashar Murad’s entry won the first round of voting but lost to Hera Björk in the second round. Many viewers expressed concerns about voting irregularities, claiming that votes for Bashar Murad were counted for Hera Björk instead. Furthermore, the co-author of Bashar Murad’s entry demanded an independent investigation of the contest’s results in order to maintain the organization’s trust and reputation.

In the meantime, one of “Scared of Heights” songwriters, Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir, has stated that she will not be following Eurovision 2024, as she does not think the results were fair.

Iceland: A songwriter from “Scared of Heights” has left the Eurovision team!

Iceland is allocated to perform in the second half of the first semi-final on May 7 with Hera Björk and “Scared of Heights“. It will be Hera Björk’s second time-as a representative-on the Eurovision stage, having previously represented Iceland in 2010.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: ruv.is 

Iceland: Israeli influence behind Hera Björk’s victory!

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According to the Icelandic press the Israeli broadcaster KAN is behind the campaign against Bashar Murad.

The Israeli Yogev Segal who organized the campaign against Bashar Murad in Söngvakeppnin, Iceland’s selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest, according to the Icelandic website MANNLÍF, is an employee of Israel’s public broadcaster. Yogev Segal is the founder of a Facebook discussion group for Icelanders who support Israel.

Yogev Segal seems to have urged all members of this group to vote for Hera Björk in the final of Söngvakeppnin 2024. That is, he suggested that Israel’s supporters in Iceland should urge as many people as possible to vote for Hera Björk’s song. It was, according to him, the safest way to ensure that there would be no Palestinian on the stage of the competition in Sweden in May.

Within the aforementioned group, Segal admits to working for Israel’s state television, KAN, which, like the Icelandic one, is responsible for Israel’s participation in Eurovison. He suggests that reporting on his campaign is grist to the conspiracy theory mill. Finally he claims that Israel had no interest in the Icelandic national final.

For the record, Söngvakeppnin 2024 was won by Hera Björk with the song “Scared of Heights”, however this year the participation of the country is not considered certain, as the issue of the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine and the participation of the former in the competition is a point of friction in Iceland’s public sphere. The final decision on whether the island of ice and fire in Malmö will take part is expected today.

Source: SAMSTÖÐIN

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the updates around the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!

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Iceland: With Hera Björk and Scared of Heights in Malmö!

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Τhe grand final of Söngvakeppnin 2024, the national process through which the representative of the island of ice and fire in the Eurovision Song Contest is sworn took place tonight. This year, however, the country’s participation is not considered certain, as the issue of the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine and the participation of the former in the competition is a point of friction in the public sphere of Iceland. The grand final of Söngvakeppnin 2024 took place in Laugardalshöll, Reykjavík.

As in the previous two semi-finals, the grand final was presented by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Sigurður Þorri Gunnarsson and Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson.

The show started with a tribute to Selma and Iceland’s 1999 entry that finished in 2nd place. Selma herself opened the final night with a live performance of Out of Luck!

The contestants

Five artists participated in the grand final where they performed their entries in English apart from the Væb who chose to keep their song in Icelandic. At this point we remind you that the rules allow the artists to choose the language of their preference.

The artists of the first round of the final performed as per below:

With the end of the competitive part of the first round, the telephone lines were opened for the voting of the televoters.

First Round results

In the first round the two artists who advanced to the second round resulted from the combination of the votes of the television audience and the jury.

The two artists who made it to the second round were:

  1. Hera Björk – “Scared of Heights”
  2. Bashar Murad – “Wild West“

Second Round results

In the second round of the final the two aforementioned artists performed their entries again where the result was decided only by the vote of the television audience.

Before the announcement of the results, last year’s representative of Iceland, Diljá, took the stage.

After the end of the voting, the winner was Hera Björk with Scared of Heights!

Hera Björk with Scared of Heights and Iceland, in case RÚV does not decline the participation in the Contest, is scheduled to take part in the second half of the first semi-final of 7th of May claiming one of the ten tickets for the grand final of Saturday 11th of May.

This is going to be the second time Hera Björk represents Iceland after 2010 when she finished 19th in the final.

What do you think of the results of the Icelandic final? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the updates around the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!

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Iceland: Last week’s Söngva­keppn­in almost the same TV ratings as last year!

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The average TV ratings for last Saturday‘s semifinal night of Söngva­keppn­in, the Icelandic national selection process was 35 percent. Last year’s average ratings were 37 percent. Cumulative ratings were 45 percent, compared to 48 percent last year.

Considerable pressure was exerted to cancel the contest in Iceland and thereby not participate in Eurovision. Many people said they would boycott the contest if it were to be held. Rúnar Freyr Gíslason, director of the competition, says it is awesome to see how much interest there is in the competition, as it is obvious that despite the continuous protests and calls for boycott, the interest remained high.

The finalists

The two songs which secured their place to the final, after the Icelandic people cast their votes, are:

  • Væb – “Bíómynd”
  • Anita – “Stingum af”

The format

Ten songs are equally allocated in two semi-finals and two entries qualify from each semi-final to the Final, a result eventuating by 100% televote. Meanwhile, the producers of the show have the option to add a fifth finalist as a wildcard from the semi-finalists.

The Final is comprised of two rounds. In the first round, the two acts that qualify for the Super Final will be decided by jury and televote. In the second round, the country’s representative will be determined solely by the public vote.

The schedule

The Second Semi-Final of Söngvakeppnin 2024 is scheduled for next Saturday, February 24th. The Final is set to take place on Saturday, March 2nd.

Source: RÚV/Amanda Guðrún Bjarnadóttir

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Iceland: Listen to the songs of Söngvakeppnin 2024!

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RÚV, the public broadcaster of Iceland is going to select its representative for Eurovision 2024, once again through Söngvakeppnin, the country’s national final!

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Iceland: A singer from Palestine among Söngvakeppnin 2024 contestants!

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The artists and songs for Söngvakeppnin 2024, the national final of Iceland, are going to be announced in a few days, however, we may already know one of the artists taking part.

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