On Friday, January 20, Iceland will announce to the world who from her shores will be participating in Söngvakeppnin 2017, the Icelandic national final.
Over 200 songs were submitted for Söngvakeppnin, but only a dozen acts will be chosen to perform, and the announcement will break at 19:40 local time from those in the know at RUV, the national broadcaster.
Contrary to some speculation, Iceland will not be internally selecting comedian Robbie Rotten for Söngvakeppnin, even if he had found some support for his bid. Representative for the contest, Ragnhildur Steinunn was tight-lipped, but was encouraged about the chosen acts, “I can not say much but I can however say that here are on the move performers who have repeatedly been linked with the race but never participated in it before. The law this year are really good and this will be fun.” Thus not precluding the inclusion of Robbie Rotten.
The initial episode will introduce the Söngvakeppnin singers and songwriters. Immediately after, the songs in both native Icelandic and English will be available for listening www.songvakeppnin.is
This Icelandic contest celebrated its thirty year anniversary last year with an elegant broadcast from Laugardalshöll, Reykjavík. This year two shows will be broadcast for Söngvakeppnin, on February 25 and March 4. The results will be shown live from Laugardalshöll, where we’re told to expect a plentiful dose of diversity from this year’s talent.
Do you have someone you’d like to see representing Iceland? Will they be able to bring Iceland back to the Eurovision final since they last graced the stage in 2014? Will they find themselves as beloved by the fans as Greta Salóme was last year? Sound off in the comments below.