Right after their confirmation that they will be joining the Eurovision party in Tel Aviv, RÚV, the country’s national broadcaster is directly proceeding to announcements regarding their national selection procedure Söngvakeppnin 2019, whose winner will defend the island’s colours at the 64th Eurovision Song Contest.

Changes approved; 10 competing acts in 2019

Musical variety is more than welcome in RÚV and Söngvakeppnin, thus the broadcaster encourages artists from all music genres to submit their compositions and try to represent the island of the North Atlantic at Tel Aviv’s Eurovision edition. Yesterday saw the beginning of submissions, which will be open via the show’s official website by 22 October.

This year sees some minor changes in Iceland’s national competition, as the semi-finalists number is reduced. 2019 will see a total of 10 entries fighting for a ticket to the show’s final, instead of 12. The two semi-finals will be taking place on 9 and 16 February, while the final is scheduled for the evening of 2 March at the Laugardalshöll arena in Reykjavik.

For one more year, RÚV aspires to host yet another spectacular event, as Eurovision remains one of the most popular TV shows among the Icelanders, achieving very high TV ratings every year. As reported by the broadcaster, the acclaimed British choreographer Lee Proud has been hired as the artistic director of the show, while Samúel J. Samúelsson will again serve as the musical director.

RÚV’s Assistant Program Manager, Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, has made the following statements:

The contest has been expanding from year to year and we have been hugely pleased with its development. This year we decided to undergo some changes and we think it will offer more variety, fun and even better regulations.

As with the recent Söngvakeppnin editions, a big name of the Scandinavian discography will be invited to take to the show’s stage, succeeding some of our most beloved Eurostars, like Robin Bengtsson, Emmelie de Forest, Alexander Rybak, Loreen, and Måns Zelmerlöw.

You may check out all the rules and regulations of the Söngvakeppnin 2019 here (in Icelandic).

Iceland at Eurovision 2018

Following once again their annual tradition, Iceland used their national selection process Söngvakeppnin in order to pick their hopeful for Eurovision Song Contest 2018. At the final of 3 March, the young artist Ari Ólafsson was crowned as the show’s winner, who would be representing the nation in Lisbon, with his ballad Our choice.

He finally didn’t manage to qualify to Eurovision’s Grand Final, coming only 19th at the first semi-final with a total of 15 points. Here is his live performance at the Altice Arena:

Following Netta’s victory with Toy, the 64th Eurovision Song Contest is set to take place on 14, 16 and 18 May at the Convention Center in Tel Aviv, Israel.