In a news article released by RÚV, further details about Söngvakeppnin were released, detailing the national final process Iceland will be using to select their song for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024.
The artistic directors for Söngvakeppnin were revealed. From left to right in the featured image of this article, Högni Egilsson, Selma Björnsdóttir, Samúel Bjarki Pétursson and Gunnar Páll Ólafsson are the four artistic directors. Selma will be familiar to Eurovision fans, as she participated for Iceland in 1999 with the song “All Out of Luck” and in 2005 with the song “If I Had Your Love”. Högni, Samúel Bjarki, and Gunnar Páll are also music industry veterans in Iceland.
118 entries were submitted for Söngvakeppnin this year, but only 10 will be included in the selection by the producers. The 10 entries will be revealed in a televised special and onto major music streaming platforms on 27 January 2024.
For the 2024 edition, Söngvakeppnin will move out of the RVK film studio and instead be held in two different venues. The semi-finals will be held at the Truenorth studio in Fossaleyni and the final will be returning to Laugardalshöllin. The semi-finals will be held on 17 February and 24 February, while the final will be held on 2 March. The shows will also have the same hosts as last year, Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Sigurður Þorri Gunnarsson and Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson.
The format for Söngvakeppnin will remain largely unchanged. Five songs will compete in each semi-final, with the top two songs decided by televote in each semi-final will advance to the final. However, producers will reserve the right to bring in a “wildcard” from the six remaining non-qualifiers to advance to the final, making a possible final of five songs. Typically the wildcard is the entry with the highest televoting total without qualifying. Details about how the final will be conducted should be announced later, but in recent editions, the top two songs after 50/50 international jury and national televote will advance to a “super final” with an additional round of televoting. The song with the most votes after the “super final” will be the winner and Iceland’s representative in Malmö.
Iceland participated in 2023 in Liverpool with the song “Power” by the artist Diljá. Iceland failed to qualify out of the second semi-final, finishing in 11th place with 44 points.
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Source: RÚV
