Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden, and have selected their entry through a national selection, consisting of two semi-finals and a final, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster RÚV. Eythor Ingi represented Iceland with the song "Ég á líf", which scored 47 points and finished in 17th place in the grand final on 18 May 2013.
Söngvakeppnin 2013 was the national final format developed by RÚV in order to select Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. The three shows in the competition were hosted by Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir and Þórhallur Gunnarsson and all took place in Reykjavík: the two semi-finals were held at the RÚV studios and the final took place at the Harpa.
Format[]
Twelve songs in total competed in Söngvakeppnin 2013 where the winner was determined after two semi-finals and a final. Six songs competed in each semi-final on 25 and 26 January 2013. The top three songs from each semi-final, as determined by 50/50 public televoting and jury voting qualified to the final which took place on 2 February 2013. A wildcard act was selected by a jury for the final out of the remaining non-qualifying acts from both semi-finals. The winning entry in the final was determined over two rounds of voting: the first to select the top two via 50/50 public televoting and jury voting and the second to determine the winner with 100% televoting. All songs were required to be performed in Icelandic in the competition, but it will be up to the winning composers to decide if their song will be performed in Icelandic or English at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö.[1][2]
Competing entries[]
On 11 September 2012, RÚV opened the submission period for interested songwriters to submit their entries until the deadline on 8 October 2012. Songwriters were required to be Icelandic, possess Icelandic citizenship or have permanent residency in Iceland. However, exceptions would be made for minor collaborations with foreign songwriters as long as two-thirds of the composition and lyrics are by Icelandic composers/lyricists.[3] At the close of the submission deadline, 150 entries were received. A selection committee was formed in order to select the top twelve entries. The twelve competing artists and songs were revealed by the broadcaster on 12 November 2012.[4] Among the competing artists are previous Icelandic Eurovision entrants Birgitta Haukdal, who represented Iceland in 2003, and Yohanna, who represented Iceland in 2009.
Svavar Knútur Kristinsson and Hreindís Ylva Garðarsdóttir Hólm
"Lífið snýst"
Hallgrímur Óskarsson, Svavar Knútur Kristinsson
Sylvía Erla Scheving
"Stund með þér"
María Björk Sverrisdóttir
Unnur Eggertsdóttir
"Ég syng!"
Elíza Newman, Gísli Kristjánsson, Ken Rose, Hulda G. Geirsdóttir
Semi-finals[]
Two semi-finals took place on 25 and 26 January 2013, with six competing acts presenting their entries in each semi-final. Votes from a jury panel (50%) and public televoting (50%) determined the top three entries from each show to proceed to the final. A jury wildcard was also awarded to one of the eliminated acts, which also progressed to the final.
The final took place on 2 February 2013 where the six entries that qualified from the preceding two semi-finals and a jury wildcard selected from the remaining non-qualified entries competed. In the first round of voting, votes from a jury panel (50%) and public televoting (50%) determined the top two entries: "Ég á líf" performed by Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson and "Ég syng!" performed by Unnur Eggertsdóttir. The top two entries advanced to a second round of voting, the superfinal, where the winner, "Ég á líf" performed by Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson, was determined solely by televoting.[5][6]
Eythor Ingi at the Eurovision Press Conference in Malmö.
Eythor Ingi at the second semi-final dress rehearsal in Malmö.
Iceland was allocated to compete in the second semi-final on 16 May for a place in the final on 18 May.[7] In the second semifinal, the producers of the show decided that Iceland would perform 8th, following Bulgaria and preceding Greece.[8] Iceland qualified from the second semi-final, placing 6th and scoring 72 points.[9][10]
At the second semi-final winners' press conference, Iceland was allocated to perform in the second half of the final.[11] In the final, the producers of the show decided that Iceland would perform 19th, following Denmark and preceding Azerbaijan.[12] Despite being a favourite to win the contest, Iceland placed 17th in the final and scored 47 points.[13]
Iceland
