t’s already 30 years ago since Iceland was named for the very first time at the Eurovision Song Contest by the lovely Åse Kleveland in Bergen 1986. The group Icy sang “Gleðibankinn” and made a respectable 16th rank. At that time it was possible for the first time to have a broadcasting connection to Iceland. This was taken as a great surplus to have another Nordic country with a population of more than 340.000. The Icelandic music has strongly been influenced by performers like Mezzoforte, Björk or GusGus.
The interest in the ESC in Iceland is extremely high. The viewing figures are always record braking, other European broadcasters could only dream of. Maybe it’s a very emotional Icelandic thing that the entire country stands behind its performers, when Europe and the world is looking at Iceland at least for three minutes. Maybe it’s similar in other countries, but in regards of the small population this is an outstanding thought.

Even if Iceland could never get the crown of Eurovision, it was very close twice: in Jerusalem 1999 Selma could make a wonderful 2nd place with “Out Of Luck” and in Moscow 2009 Yohanna could bring Iceland another 2nd place with “Is It True?”.

Beside of the results, Iceland’s contributions have always been special. From ballads to Europop, from Techno to Swing, there were always entries nobody should forget. Remember the sexy performance of Paul Oscar on the couch with the leather dressed girls, or the absolute crazy performance of Silvia Night with “Congratulations” in Athens. Good to know is that some singers who did not even get a single point like Daníel Augúst Haraldsson with “Það Sem Enginn Sér”, made a very good career in the electro genre under the name of GusGus.

The Icelandic highlights at Eurovision:

• Icy with “Gleðibankinn” in 1986 (16th place)
• Halla Margarét with “Hægt Og Hljótt” in 1987 (16th place)
• Anna Mjöll with “Sjúbídú” in 1996 (13th place)
• Paul Oscar with “Minn Hinsti Dans” in 1997 (20th place)
• Selma Björnsdóttir with “All Out Of Luck” in 1999 (2nd place)
• Birgitta Haukdal with “Open Your Heart” in 2003 (8th place)
• Selma with “If I Had Your Love” in 2005 (16th place semi final)
• Euroband with “This Is My Life” in 2008 (14th place)
• Yohanna with “Is It True?” in 2009 (2nd place)
• Hera Björk with “Je ne sais quoi” in 2010 (19th place)
• Greta Salóme & Jónsi with “Never Forget” in 2012 (20th place)
• Eythor Ingi with “Ég Á Líf” in 2013 (17th place)

From eurovisionlive.com we say congratulations Iceland and we hope that one day soon we will see Iceland winning the ESC.

You can watch the Icelandic national final here

Author: Bernd LemmermannEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Public relations, Editor, Journalist

About me:
As one of the founders of eurovisionlive.com I am responsible for the interviews with the singers and the editorial content. My passion for the Eurovision Song Contest exists since my early childhood. The exotic music, different cultures and languages have given a lot of inspiration to me. Since my very first ESC in Dublin 1994 I particularly appreciate the get together and friendship of all the nationalities and Riverdance was a thrill!