Good evening Iceland! The Nordic country is set to decide its representative to Liverpool. Live from the Great North tonight is the final of Söngvakeppnin 2023. Five acts are still standing in this year’s selection. Who will fly to Liverpool and follow the footsteps of Systur?

How to watch?

You can watch the Grand Final of Söngvakeppnin 2023 at 20:45 CET via the following channels:

• RUV
• RUV webstream

About the show

The Grand Final of Songvakeppnin 2023 will be hosted by  Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Siggi Gunnars and Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson. Tonight’s show will see five acts jumping on stage with only one goal: being selected to represent Iceland at the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. Four qualified from the two previously organised semi finals, whereas a fifth act was selected by a jury among the non-qualifiers.

According to the rules of Söngvakeppnin entrants are required to perform their entries in the Final in the language they would eventually choose in Eurovision. Tonight we will therefore hear four entries in English and only one in Icelandic, namely OK of Langi Seli og Skuggarnir.

The line-up

• Sigga Ózk – Dancing lonely
• BRAGI – Sometimes the world’s against you
• Celebs – Doomsday dancing
• Diljá – Power
• Langi Seli og Skuggarnir – OK

Tonight’s result will be determined 50% from the international juries and 50% from the televote. After a first round of voting, two acts will advance to a Super Final, where the televote will ultimately pick their entry for this year’s Eurovision. The winner of Söngvakeppnin 2023 will fly the Icelandic flag in Liverpool during the first half of the second semi final on Thursday 11 May.

Iceland in Eurovision

Iceland debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986 and is yet to win the event. The country achieved its best results in the competition in 1999 (Selma) and 2009 (Yohanna) when it placed 2nd in the Grand Final. The Nordic nation has partaken in Europe’s favourite television show 34 times.

In 2022 the trio Systur represented Iceland in Turin with the song Með hækkandi sól. They finished 23rd in the Grand Final with 20 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G71c48O3j-s