Icelandic broadcaster have announced that their National Final for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest will conclude on the 20th of February 2016, after having two semi-finals.
Iceland will be celebrating 30 years of Eurovision (1986-2016) in Stockholm, and are eagerly awaiting their first win. Iceland’s best results were achieved in Jerusalem in 1999 and in Moscow in 2009, where Selma and Yohanna ended second respectively.
Semi Final 1 will be held on the 6th of February
Semi Final 2 will be held on the 13th of February
The Final will be held on the 20th of February
Each semi final will consist of 6 songs, 3 of which will progress to the final, who will be joined by a ‘wildcard’ selected by a jury. Therefore, the final on the 7th of February will have 7 songs competing.
Icelandic residents or citizens may enter songs, which must be performed in Icelandic in the semi finals, but the songs must be performed in the language they intend to perform in Eurovision in the Final (20th February).
Iceland failed to qualify for the Grand Final of the Vienna contest in May, which was the first time the country failed to perform in the final since 2007.
