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Iceland: The results of Semi-Final 1 of Söngvakeppnin 2024!

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Iceland is on the lookout for its representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden. Hence, Söngvakeppnin 2024 kickstarted tonight, since Semi-Final 1 aired with Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Sigurður Þorri Gunnarsson and Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson as the hosts of the show.

The show

The show began with Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Sigurður Þorri Gunnarsson performing a mendley of iconic Icelandic entries, such as “Is It True?” and “Hatrið mun sigra“.

A total of five songs competed in tonight’s first semi-final and eventually, two of them grabbed the ticket to the Final, as it was determined by 100% televoting process.

Blankiflúr – “Sjá þig” / “Love You”

 

CeaseTone – “Ró” / “Flow”

 

Væb – “Bíómynd” / “Movie Scene”

 

Sunny – “Fiðrildi”

 

Anita – “Stingum af” / “Downfall”

 

 

Sigga, Iceland’s 1994 representative performed her Eurovision entry “Nætur” as an interval act.

The results

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

  1. Væb – “Bíómynd” / “Movie Scene”
  2. Anita – “Stingum af” / “Downfall”
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 Second Semi-Final of Söngvakeppnin 2024 is scheduled for next Saturday, February 24th.

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 Final is set to take place on Saturday, March 2nd.

It is worth pointing out that Iceland’s participation at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest is under doubt, due to the current situation in Gaza and Israel’s involvement in the Contest. Therefore, RÚV will be in consultation with the crowned winner of Söngvakeppnin 2024 in order to make the final call regarding the country’s participation, with the former having the last word on the matter.

 

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the news regarding the Icelandic participation and more!

Iceland: Söngvakeppnin 2024 Commences with First Semi-Final!

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Tonight marks the beginning of the journey to select Iceland’s representative for the 68th Eurovision Song Contest with the first semi-final of Söngvakeppnin 2024.

Format

Comprising of two semi-finals and the grand final on March 2nd, these three shows will determine the artist who will compete for Iceland’s colors in Malmö.

Five artists will compete in each of the two semi-finals, with the top two in votes from Icelandic viewers advancing to the grand final. This means that at least four artists will participate in the grand final of Söngvakeppnin 2024, with the Icelandic public broadcaster having the right to grant a wildcard to one additional artist to compete in the final.

In the grand final, the result will be determined after two rounds of voting. In the first round, the Icelandic public and an international jury will jointly decide, with the top two in the ranking advancing to the second round. There, only the Icelandic public will have the right to vote, and their votes will be combined with those of the first round to determine Iceland’s representative in Eurovision 2024.

First Semi-Final

The five artists competing in tonight’s first semi-final of Söngvakeppnin 2024 are:

  1. CeaseTone – Ró / Flow
  2. Blankiflúr –  Sjá þig / Love You
  3. ANITA – Stingum af / Downfall
  4. Sunny – Fiðrildi
  5. VÆB- Bíómynd / Movie Scene

The hosts for tonight are Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Sigurður Þorri Gunnarsson, and Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson.

The first semi-final of Söngvakeppnin 2024 begins at 20:45 CET and can be watched through the official website of the Icelandic public broadcaster by clicking HERE.

Diljá represented Iceland in last year’s contest with the song “Power,” finishing 11th in the second semi-final with 44 points, failing to secure a spot in the final.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the developments regarding Iceland’s journey in the contest!

Iceland: Bashar Murad has not decided whether he will take part in Eurovision 2024!

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Bashar Murad is, so to speak, the face of the days. The artist of Palestinian origin, who is one of the ten candidates in Iceland’s national final for Eurovision 2024, says in an interview on the country’s public television that he has not decided whether he will participate in the contest, since of course he is the winner of Söngvakeppnin .

The news of Bashar Murad’s participation in Söngvakeppnin, before we had even heard his song, was enough to propel Iceland to the top of the betting table.

Bashar Murad rose to prominence in Iceland after collaborating with Hatari in 2019, right after Eurovision ended that year. In an interview with RUV, Bashar Murad denies the accusations that his participation is essentially a tool of political exploitation, while he answers that he has not yet decided whether he will finally participate in Eurovision 2024, since he is the winner of Söngvakeppnin.

We actually started working on this project a year and a half ago and considered participating in the competition last year (2023). But we decided it would be best to wait another year. So the work on this started in August last year…And who knows what will happen? It also depends on the situation we are in. Things change day by day. I take it one day at a time.

RUV has declared that its participation in Eurovision 2024 is not a given and the decision on this will be made after the end of Söngvakeppnin, in consultation with the winner of course.

Iceland will decide on Eurovision 2024 on March 2. You can listen to Bashar Murad’s Wild West in the video below:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: RUV

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: First favourite to win Eurovision 2024 according to the bookies!

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It took Iceland around 24 hours to climb to the top of the betting table in terms of the likelihood of winning Eurovision 2024. The news that among the candidates in Söngvakeppnin 2024, the country’s national final for the contest, there is a Palestinian artist among them, has sent Iceland’s odds plummeting and now the possibility of its first ever Eurovision win is more likely than ever, at least according to betting companies.

The announcement by Icelandic public broadcaster RUV that among the 10 candidates for the semi-finals of Söngvakeppnin 2024, there is also Palestinian Bashar Murad, brought a strong shock to the Bookers. Iceland may be thinking about their participation in Eurovision 2024 and even “threatening” to pull out of the contest, but the message sent out by the participation of a Palestinian artist in the country’s national final and Iceland‘s eventual representation in Malmö by him, is apparently enough in its favour to put it at the top of the betting in terms of the possibility of winning Eurovision 2024.

So Iceland have now passed superpower Ukraine who have been at the top for days now, and the UK who via BBC and with their superstar Olly Alexander as their representative are aiming very high this year, leaving them in second and third place respectively.

RUV revealed that they will make their final decision on whether or not to participate in the upcoming song contest after the end of Söngvakeppnin 2024, and in consultation with the winner. Iceland‘s national final concludes on March 2, so we will know then if Iceland will finally make it to this year’s competition or not.

Of course, in this year’s very fluid landscape, all of the above can easily be overturned. Either because Bashar Murad‘s song with which he will participate in the Icelandic national final will not be the expected one, or because the Palestinian artist will not win in Söngvakeppnin after all and will not be the one who will be nominated to represent Iceland in Malmö. In that case, everyone who rushed in the last few hours to put their money on a possible Icelandic victory will have blown their money.

The many swings we have seen at the top of the betting this year bode well for an exciting year where we will not know the winner early on, as has been the case in the past two seasons. Always, of course, under the condition that no one song will emerge as a standout and the betting companies will anoint it as the firm favourite, as happened with Stefania and Tattoo. We are probably heading towards a repeat of 2021, where things were not even clear in rehearsals, as we had 3-4 songs that were almost equally contested by bettors to win.

Do you think Iceland will be able to get their first win in May in Malmö? Tell us in the comments below!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

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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Daði Freyr: Iceland is winning Eurovision 2024!

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With a post on X (formerly Twitter), Iceland‘s representative at Eurovision 2020 and 2021, Daði Freyr, created excitement for the participation of the Land of Ice and Fire in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.

He was quick to clarify, in response to comments, that he does not intend to return to Eurovision 2024 himself.

As we have informed you in a previous article, Iceland’s broadcaster RÚV will once again select its entry through Söngvakeppnin, with the grand final taking place on 2 March 2024.

RÚV received 118 entries for Söngvakeppnin 2024. The final list of participants will be announced on 27 January in Lögin i Söngvakeppninni.

Daði’s words imply that within the entries submitted to RÚV there is a very good song or even a well-known artist with great ambitions for the island nation, which, although it has been participating in the competition since 1986, has not yet won the first place.

Daði Freyr may not have been able to compete at Eurovision 2020 with his viral hit Think About Things, but he returned the following year with 10 Years and won 4th place, scoring 378 points!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSMhu-PrLME&t=6s

Do you think Iceland can win Eurovsion 2024? Write us in the comments!

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Iceland: Söngvakeppnin 2024 Final on March 2!

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Iceland has already confirmed its participation in Eurovision 2024 and will select its representative on 2 March with the grand final of Söngvakeppnin 2024.

RÚV, Iceland’s national broadcaster, has announced the timetable of the national final. The competition will consist of three shows: the first semi-final on 17 February, the second semi-final on 24 February and the final on 2 March. The winner of the competition will receive the golden ticket to represent the Land of Fire and Ice at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden.

Each semi-final will consist of five entries competing live. The two songs from each show with the most votes from the TV audience will qualify for the grand final. The show’s producers also have the option of adding a fifth finalist as a wildcard from the other contestants. The show will again be presented by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Sigurður Þorri Gunnarsson and Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson.

RÚV received 118 entries for Söngvakeppnin 2024. The final list of participants will be announced on 27 January in RÚV’s Lögin i Söngvakeppninni.

Artistic direction for Söngvakeppnin 2024 will be provided by Högni Egilsson, Selma Björnsdóttir, Samúel Bjarki Pétursson and Gunnar Páll Ólafsson. Selma is the well-known Eurostar, former Eurovision representative of Iceland, taking second place in 1999 in Jerusalem with the song “All Out of Luck“, but failing to qualify in 2005 in Kiev with the song “If I Had Your Love“.

Diljá represented Iceland in this year’s competition with the song “Power“, finishing 11th in the second semi-final with 44 points, failing to advance to the final.

Source: ruv.is

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