Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

Iceland will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, having internally selected Daði og Gagnamagnið as their representative, the same group who would have competed in the cancelled 2020 contest. They are the only Nordic country who did not opt to use their usual national selection for 2021.

Eurovision Song Contest 2021
Country Iceland
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 23 October 2020
Song: 13 March 2021
Selected entrantDaði og Gagnamagnið
Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2020 • 2021

Background
Main article: Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2020 Contest, Iceland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 36 times since its first entry in 1986.[1] Iceland's best placing in the contest to this point was second, which it achieved on two occasions: in 1999 with the song "All Out of Luck" performed by Selma and in 2009 with the song "Is It True?" performed by Yohanna. Since the introduction of a semi-final to the format of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, Iceland has failed to qualify to the final seven times. In 2019, Iceland placed tenth in the grand final with the song "Hatrið mun sigra" performed by the band Hatari.

The Icelandic national broadcaster, Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), broadcasts the event within Iceland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. From 2006 to 2020, Iceland's competitor has been selected by the Söngvakeppnin, a televised national competition. Daði og Gagnamagnið won Söngvakeppnin 2020 with "Think About Things". The song was considered one of the favourites to win,[2] however the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 23 October 2020, RÚV confirmed that Daði og Gagnamagnið will represent Iceland in the 2021 contest with an as-yet unspecified song.[3] The song will be revealed on 13 March 2021.[4]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European 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. For the 2021 contest, the semi-final allocation draw held for 2020 which was held on 28 January 2020, will be used for 2021 contest. Iceland was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 20 May 2021, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[5]

References
  1. "Iceland Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  2. "Eurovision 2020 Odds: Bulgaria Favourite To Win - 10 March". wiwibloggs. 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  3. "Daði og Gagnamagnið return for Iceland". Eurovision. 2020-10-23.
  4. Granger, Anthony (2021-01-27). "Iceland: Eurovision 2021 Entry To Be Revealed on March 13". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  5. Groot, Evert (17 November 2020). "2020 Semi-Final line-up to stay for 2021". eurovision.tv. Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
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