Английская Википедия:Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

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Iceland is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, with "Scared of Heights" performed by Hera Björk. The Icelandic broadcaster Шаблон:Lang (RÚV) organised the national final Шаблон:Lang 2024 in order to select the Icelandic entry for the contest.

Background

Шаблон:Main Prior to the 2024 contest, Iceland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-nine times since its first entry in 1986. Iceland's best placing in the contest to this point is second, which it achieved on two occasions: in Шаблон:Esccnty with the song "All Out of Luck" performed by Selma and in Шаблон:Esccnty with the song "Is It True?" performed by Yohanna. The country also reached two more top-5 positions: in Шаблон:Esccnty with the song "Шаблон:Lang" performed by Шаблон:Lang and in Шаблон:Esccnty with the song "10 Years" performed by Шаблон:Lang, ending fourth on both occasions. Since the introduction of semi-finals in Шаблон:Escyr, Iceland has failed to qualify to the final eight times, including in Шаблон:Esccnty, when the country placed 11th in the second semi-final with the song "Power" performed by Diljá.

The Icelandic national broadcaster, Шаблон:Lang (RÚV), broadcasts the event within Iceland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. From 2006 to 2020 and again since 2022, Iceland's entry has been selected through Шаблон:Lang, a televised national competition. RÚV confirmed its intention to participate in the 2024 contest on 30 May 2023, while also confirming Шаблон:Lang as its national selection method.

Before Eurovision

Söngvakeppnin 2024

Шаблон:Lang 2024 was the national final organised by RÚV in order to select Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. It consisted of two semi-finals on 17 and 24 February 2024 at Truenorth Studio, and a final on 2 March 2024 at Шаблон:LangШаблон:Sndboth located in Reykjavík. The shows were presented by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Sigurður Þorri Gunnarsson, and Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson. The semi-final qualifiers were determined by televoting, while a combination of jury and public votes was used to determine the results of the final and superfinal.

Competing entries

On 15 June 2023, RÚV opened the period for interested songwriters to submit their entries, lasting until 10 September; at the closing of the submission window, 118 entries had been received. In addition to reviewing the submissions, the broadcaster also directly invited established artists to compete. The ten selected entries were unveiled on 27 January 2024, with one participant, Bashar Murad, revealed three days prior. Among the entrants was Hera Björk, who previously represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.

Artist	SongШаблон:Efn		Songwriter(s)
	Icelandic title	English title
Anita	"Шаблон:Lang"	"Downfall"	Шаблон:Hlist
Bashar Murad	"Шаблон:Lang"	"Wild West"	Шаблон:Hlist
Blankiflúr	"Шаблон:Lang"	"Love You"	Шаблон:Hlist
CeaseTone	"Шаблон:Lang"	"Flow"	Шаблон:Hlist
Heiðrún Anna	"Шаблон:Lang"	Шаблон:N/a	Шаблон:Hlist
Hera Björk	"Шаблон:Lang"	"Scared of Heights"	Шаблон:Hlist
Maiaa	"Шаблон:Lang"	"Break Away"	Шаблон:Hlist
Sigga Ózk	"Шаблон:Lang"	"Into the Atmosphere"	Шаблон:Hlist
Sunny	"Шаблон:Lang"	Шаблон:N/a	Шаблон:Hlist
Væb	"Шаблон:Lang"	"Movie Scene"	Шаблон:Hlist

Semi-finals

Two semi-finals took place on 17 and 24 February 2024. Five entries performed in each, with two qualifying for the final; RÚV reserved the option to select a fifth finalist among the non-qualifiers, which was later invoked. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, a number of guest performances were also featured during the two shows. The first semi-final featured a duet by Friðrik Ómar Hjörleifsson (Шаблон:Esccnty as part of Eurobandið) and Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir (Icelandic representative in Шаблон:Esccnty as part of Stjórnin, Шаблон:Esccnty as part of Heart 2 Heart, and Шаблон:Esccnty), who performed a medley of Icelandic Eurovision entries. The second semi-final featured a performance from Шаблон:Ill and Шаблон:Ill, who opened the show with their song "Шаблон:Lang", and an interval act from Björgvin Halldórsson (Шаблон:Esccnty) and Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson.

Semi-final 1Шаблон:Snd17 February 2024

Draw	Artist	Song	Result
1	Blankiflúr	"Шаблон:Lang"	Eliminated
2	CeaseTone	"Шаблон:Lang"	Eliminated
3	Væb	"Шаблон:Lang"	Qualified
4	Sunny	"Шаблон:Lang"	Eliminated
5	Anita	"Шаблон:Lang"	Qualified

Semi-final 2Шаблон:Snd24 February 2024

Draw	Artist	Song	Result
1	Sigga Ózk	"Шаблон:Lang"	Wildcard
2	Heiðrún Anna	"Шаблон:Lang"	Eliminated
3	Bashar Murad	"Шаблон:Lang"	Qualified
4	Maiaa	"Шаблон:Lang"	Eliminated
5	Hera Björk	"Шаблон:Lang"	Qualified

Final

The final took place on 2 March 2024 and featured the four qualifiers and the wildcard from the semi-finals. While in the semi-finals all competing entries were required to be performed in Icelandic, in the final they had to be presented in the language they would be performed in at the Eurovision Song Contest: Væb opted for the Icelandic version, while the other four entrants opted for the English one. In addition to the competing entries, Diljá Pétursdóttir (Шаблон:Esccnty) and Selma Björnsdóttir (Icelandic representative in Шаблон:Esccnty and Шаблон:Esccnty) performed as interval acts.

A 50/50 combination of jury and public votes determined two superfinalists, who then went through an additional televoting round; the sum of the two votings decreed the winner. For the first time since 2016, the jury in the final consisted exclusively of Icelanders, namely: Vigdís Hafliðadóttir (singer, actress and human right activist), Sindri Ástmarsson (programme director of Iceland Airwaves), Erna Hrönn (singer and radio host), Árni Matthíasson (music journalist and writer), Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir (singer), Шаблон:Ill (chairman of the board of the Icelandic Music Information Centre) and Elín Hall (musician).

FinalШаблон:SndFirst roundШаблон:Snd2 March 2024

Draw	Artist	Song	Jury	Televote	Total	Place	Result
1	Væb	"Шаблон:Lang"	13,656	15,727	29,383	4	Eliminated
2	Hera Björk	"Scared of Heights"	16,661	15,406	32,067	2	Advanced
3	Anita	"Downfall"	14,476	10,124	24,600	5	Eliminated
4	Bashar Murad	"Wild West"	21,304	26,359	47,663	1	Advanced
5	Sigga Ózk	"Into the Atmosphere"	16,114	14,595	30,709	3	Eliminated

Шаблон:Nowrap

Draw	Song	Juror 1	Juror 2	Juror 3	Juror 4	Juror 5	Juror 6	Juror 7	Total
1	"Шаблон:Lang"	1,639	1,912	1,639	1,912	2,185	2,731	1,639	13,656
2	"Scared of Heights"	1,912	2,185	2,185	1,639	3,278	2,185	3,278	16,661
3	"Downfall"	2,185	1,639	2,731	2,731	1,639	1,639	1,912	14,476
4	"Wild West"	3,278	2,731	3,278	3,278	2,731	3,278	2,731	21,304
5	"Into the Atmosphere"	2,731	3,278	1,912	2,185	1,912	1,912	2,185	16,114

SuperfinalШаблон:Snd2 March 2024

Draw	Artist	Song	Votes			Place
			Round 1	Round 2	Total
1	Hera Björk	"Scared of Heights"	32,067	68,768	100,835	1
2	Bashar Murad	"Wild West"	47,663	49,832	97,495	2

Ratings

Viewing figures by show

Show	Air date	Average viewership	Total viewership	Шаблон:Abbr (%)	Шаблон:Abbr
Semi-final 1	Шаблон:Dts	92,420	121,080	35.01%
Semi-final 2	Шаблон:Dts	87,120	110,900	33%
Final	Шаблон:Dts	105,330	144,810	39.9%

Official album

Файл:Söngvakeppnin 2024 album cover.webp

Cover art of the official compilation album

Шаблон:Lang 2024 is the official compilation album of the contest. It was compiled by RÚV and was digitally released by Alda Music under the former's exclusive license on 28 January 2024. The album features both the Icelandic and English versions of the entries.

Weekly chart performance for Шаблон:Lang 2024

Chart (2024)	Peak position
Icelandic Albums (Шаблон:Lang)	5

Promotion

As part of the promotion of her participation in the contest, Hera Björk confirmed her presence at the PrePartyES in Madrid on 30 March 2024, the Eurovision in Concert event in Amsterdam on 13 April 2024, the Nordic Eurovision Party in Stockholm on 14 April 2024 and the Nordic Music Celebration event in Oslo on 20 April 2024.

Controversies

Calls for boycott

The inclusion of Шаблон:Esccnty in the list of participants for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis resulting from Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war sparked controversy in Iceland as well as several other participating countries, with calls and petitions for broadcasters to boycott the event. Despite an initial statement that Iceland would still participate in the contest, petitions received from the Association of Composers and Lyricists of Iceland (FTT) and activists of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement prompted RÚV to decide that its participation would be evaluated after discussing with the winning artist of Шаблон:Lang, thus making the national final independent from the contest for the first time. Ahead of the final, both eventual superfinalists Hera Björk and Bashar Murad confirmed that they would take part in Eurovision if they won, while none of the other finalists had made a decision. However, RÚV decided to delay its final decision to 11 March, the deadline by which all participating countries must have submitted their entries; the broadcaster confirmed that Hera Björk would participate in Eurovision on that day.

In a March 2024 poll by Шаблон:Lang, 32.3% of Icelanders wanted Iceland to take part in Eurovision, 42.2% were opposed to Iceland's participation, and 25.5% did not have an opinion. A similar poll by Шаблон:Lang showed 31% in support, 46% opposed, and 23% no opinion.

App voting failure and allegations of voting irregularities

Шаблон:Lang, the app used for voting during the national final, was alleged to have experienced a glitch during the superfinal voting. Many viewers reported on social media platforms regarding the supposed glitch. Lilja Kristín Birgisdóttir, director of marketing and communications at Vodafone Iceland, said in an interview that the company's representatives looked into the matter together with the Шаблон:Lang producers and later reported that all the systems worked as expected, suggesting that the issue was not systemic on Vodafone's part.

Einar Hrafn Stefánsson, one of the songwriters of "Wild West", called for an investigation carried out by an independent party as regards the conduct of the voting in the contest. Rúnar Freyr Gíslason, Шаблон:Lang's executive director, later stated that an investigation into the glitch was launched, while also clarifying that the total number of SMS votes received by the superfinalists did not influence the final results. It was further explained by the contest producers that this was because only a few users were affected by the issue. After the release of the results, Einar said that his request for an independent investigation had been denied, pushing him to request a re-voting. However, Шаблон:Ill, RÚV's radio director, reiterated that the results were beyond doubt, despite the fact that the broadcaster had no information as to why the problem only occurred on Murad's number.

Later, an open letter signed by more than 1,200 Icelanders was sent to Rúnar Freyr and the RÚV board demanding for an in-depth investigation of the voting irregularities during the contest. Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir, one of the songwriters of "Scared of Heights", stated that she would "cut ties with the song" over RÚV's refusal to shed further light, stating that "Шаблон:Om conscience Шаблон:Om allow it" and citing racism in the Icelandic public's reaction to Murad's participation as an additional reason for her choice. Einar's request for an investigation was subsequently granted, with Stefán disclosing that RÚV had decided to appoint an independent expert to carry out an assessment of the voting procedure.

On 10 March 2024, it was reported by the news site Шаблон:Lang that Yogev Segal, an employee of Israeli broadcaster Kan, had allegedly started a campaign to vote against Murad during the Шаблон:Lang final. Segal was purported to be one of the moderators of a Facebook group called "Israeli-Icelandic Conversation", allegedly active since January 2024, and encouraged its members to vote for Hera Björk in the competition to prevent Murad from winning. In a message to Greek fansite Eurovisionfun, Segal admitted his involvement with the group, while clarifying that Kan had no relation to it and that it only had a small number of Icelandic members, dismissing any allegations of interference in the voting. He claimed that the post which had sparked the accusations was his "peaceful" attempt to call out the "meddling of politics" in Eurovision rather than a campaign against Murad.

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (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 will progress to the final. On 30 January 2024, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country will perform in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. Iceland was scheduled for the second half of the first semi-final.

Ahead of the contest, RÚV will organise and broadcast the traditional Eurovision preview show Шаблон:Lang ("All the Way") starting on 13 April 2024. It will feature a panel of guests who will discuss and evaluate the competing entries across several weeks, ultimately decreeing a favourite. In addition, as part of the Eurovision programming, RÚV cooperated with DR and SVT alongside other EBU member broadcastersШаблон:Sndnamely ARD/WDR, the BBC, ČT, ERR, Шаблон:Lang, NRK, NTR, VRT and YleШаблон:Sndto produce and air a documentary titled ABBAШаблон:SndAgainst the Odds, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Шаблон:Esccnty with "Waterloo" by ABBA.