Watch: tonight at 20:45 CET, the First Semi-Final of “Söngvakeppnin 2025” takes place, where three songs will secure their spot in the final. A viewing link is provided.
Tonight at 20:45 CET, “Söngvakeppnin 2025” will kick off with its First Semi-Final. Five contestants will participate in tonight’s semi-final, from which three will advance to the final. The finalists will be chosen solely by the viewing audience.
The hosts for the selection will be Benedikt Valsson, Fannar Sveinsson, and Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir, who have previously served as commentators for the Icelandic national broadcaster at Eurovision, and have each hosted the selection in different years. The broadcast will take place from RVK Studios in Reykjavik.
The first semi-final will begin at 20:45 CET.
To watch the semi-final – click here!
You may need to use a VPN. It’s recommended to check for updates close to the broadcast time.
First Semi-Final Running Order
- Stebbi Jak – Frelsið Mitt / Set Me Free
- Birgo – Ég flýg í storminn / Stormchaser
- Ágúst – Eins og þú / Like You
- Bia – Norðurljós / Northern Lights
- VÆB – Róa
Click on the song title to listen!
Among tonight’s participants, there’s one familiar name: the duo VÆB participated in Iceland’s Eurovision selection in 2024 and reached fourth place in the grand final with the song “Bíómynd“.
National Selection Format and Changes
The national selection format includes significant changes this year. Ten songs will advance to the semi-final stage, with each semi-final featuring five songs. Three songs from each semi-final will progress to the final, effectively eliminating the “Wildcard” previously awarded by RÚV and increasing the number of finalists from 5 to 6. Another major change is the elimination of the final duel, a signature element of previous selections. In previous years, two rounds of voting were held, with the top two songs from the first round advancing to a final duel. This year, the winner will be determined by a single round of voting, combining seven international jury points and public votes in a 50-50 split. The hosts for the national selection will be Benedikt Valsson, Fannar Sveinsson, and Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir, who have previously served as RÚV’s Eurovision commentators and individually hosted the national selection in different years.
The Icelandic song contest “Söngvakeppnin” has been held since 1981, serving as Iceland’s Eurovision national selection since 1986, except for years when internal selection was used. The competition includes two semi-finals where songs must be performed in Icelandic, with the public selects the finalists. In the final, qualifying songs can be performed in Icelandic or English, depending on the artist’s preferred language for Eurovision.
Key Dates for Iceland’s National Selection:
- First Semi-Final: Saturday, February 8th, 2025
- Second Semi-Final: Saturday, February 15th, 2025
- Grand Final: Saturday, February 22nd, 2025
Iceland in Eurovision 2024
“Scared Of Heights” is the name of the song performed by singer Hera Björk, who was chosen to represent Iceland after winning the local national finals. Iceland did not advance to the final, finishing 15th and last in the first semi-final with only 3 points.
This is the second consecutive year that Iceland has not qualified for the final, and the fourth time overall that the country has finished last in the competition.
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Eurovision 2025: This will be Iceland’s 37th participation in Eurovision. Iceland joined the competition in 1986 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 1999 and Eurovision 2009 after finishing second twice.
