Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014


Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Icelandic entry was selected through the national final Söngvakeppnin 2014, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið. Iceland was represented by the song "No Prejudice", performed by Pollapönk and written by Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson, Haraldur F. Gíslason and John Grant. The entry qualified from the first semi-final to compete in the final. Iceland placed 15th in the final, scoring 58 points.

Before Eurovision

Söngvakeppnin 2014

Söngvakeppnin 2014 was the national final format developed by RÚV in order to select Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. On 3 September 2013, RÚV opened the submission period for interested songwriters to submit their entries until the deadline on 14 October 2013. Composers had the right to submit up to two entries, while lyricists could contribute to an unlimited amount of entries. At the close of the submission deadline, 297 entries were received - a 25% increase in submissions from the previous year. RÚV worked together with the composers of the selected entries in order to find the most suitable performers for the songs.
Two semi-finals took place on 1 and 8 February 2014 at RÚV Studios and the final took place on 15 February 2014 in Háskólabíó. Five songs competed in each semi-final and the top two from each semi-final as decided upon by televoting qualified to the final. In addition to the televoting qualifiers, a jury selected an additional two wildcard qualifiers from the remaining songs in both semi-finals to proceed to the final. In the final, the first round of voting consisted of the combination of jury voting and televoting, which determined the top two. The top two songs qualified to the second round of voting where televoting determined the winner. Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir hosted all three shows.

Competing entries

Ten artists and songs were selected for the competition and revealed during the television programme Kastljós on 17 December 2013.
ArtistSong 'Composer
Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir"Amor" 'Haukur Johnson
Guðbjörg Magnúsdóttir"Aðeins ætluð þér" 'María Björk Sverrisdóttir, Marcus Frenell
Sverrir Bergmann"Dönsum burtu blús" 'Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson
Vignir Snær Vigfússon"Elsku þú" 'Vignir Snær Vigfússon, Þórunn Erna Clausen
Greta Mjöll Samúelsdóttir"Eftir eitt lag" 'Ásta Björg Björgvinsdóttir, Bergrún Íris Sævarsdóttir
Pollapönk"Enga fordóma" 'Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson, Haraldur F. Gíslason
Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir"Lífið kviknar á ný" 'Karl Olgeir Olgeirsson, Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir
Guðrún Árný Karlsdóttir"Til þín" 'Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir
Gissur Páll Gissurarson"Von" 'Jóhann Helgason
F.U.N.K."Þangað til ég dey" Franz Ploder Ottósson, Pétur Finnbogason, Lárus Örn Arnarsson

Shows

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 1 February 2014 where five competing artists presented their entries. The top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final. The qualifiers were "Von" performed by Gissur Páll Gissurarson and "Eftir eitt lag" performed by Greta Mjöll Samúelsdóttir.

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 8 February 2014 where five competing artists presented their entries. The top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final. The qualifiers were "Enga fordóma" performed by Pollapönk and "Þangað til ég dey" performed by F.U.N.K.

Final

The final took place on 15 February 2014 where the six entries that proceeded from the preceding two semi-finals competed. In the first round of voting, votes from a jury panel and public televoting determined the top two entries. "Enga fordóma" performed by Pollapönk and "Lífið kviknar á ný" performed by Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir qualified to the second round. In the second round, artists were required to perform the song in the language they intended to compete with at the Eurovision Song Contest. "Lífið kviknar á ný" was performed in English as "Up and Away", while "Enga fordóma" was performed in a mix of Icelandic and English. Televoting solely selected "Enga fordóma" performed by Pollapönk as the winner in the second round. As winners of the competition, Pollapönk won a monetary prize of 1 million Icelandic króna and the right to represent Iceland in Copenhagen.

At Eurovision

During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Iceland was drawn to compete in the first half of the first semi-final on 6 May 2014. In the first semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Iceland would perform 5th, following Sweden and preceding Albania. Iceland qualified from the first semi-final and competed in the final on 10 May 2014. During the winner's press conference for the first semi-final qualifiers, Iceland was allocated to compete in the first half of the final. In the final, the producers of the show decided that Iceland would perform 4th, following Azerbaijan and preceding Norway. Iceland placed 15th in the final, scoring 58 points.
While the Icelandic entry was selected to be performed in a language mix of Icelandic and English, Pollapönk performed the song entirely in English at the contest under the title "No Prejudice". Pollapönk were joined on stage by two backing vocalists. The Icelandic performance features the band dressed in pink, blue, yellow and red outfits and performing with instruments. Their performance concluded with the members using their bodies to spell the word "LOVE" with the third line of the E being the neck of a guitar.
In Iceland, both the semi-finals and the final were broadcast on RÚV and Rás 2 with commentary by Felix Bergsson. The Icelandic spokesperson revealing the result of the Icelandic vote in the final was Benedict Valsson. This is also Iceland's third best placing in the contest, since Yohanna's runner-up in 2009.

Points awarded to Iceland

12 points10 points8 points7 points6 points

    • 5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point

    • Points awarded by Iceland

    Semi-final 1

    Points awarded in first semi-final:
    12 points
    10 points
    8 points
    7 points
    6 points
    5 points
    4 points
    3 points
    2 points
    1 point

    Final

    Points awarded in the final:
    12 points
    10 points
    8 points
    7 points
    6 points
    5 points
    4 points
    3 points
    2 points
    1 point

    Split voting results

    The following five members comprise the Icelandic jury:
    The Icelandic votes in the first semi-final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.

    Final

    The Icelandic votes in the grand final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.