Iceland has already confirmed their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 and today they kicked off the Söngvakeppnin 2019 process!
RÚV has opened submissions today and those who are interested to participate can send their songs until the 22nd of October. Apart from the “standard procedure” of submitting the songs via songvakeppnin.is, this year, RÚV will organize a “boot camp” where song writers and producers can work together and there is a possibility that some of the songs will be chosen to compete. The language rule still stands, meaning that all songs must be performed in Icelandic during the semi-finals but in the final, the contestants will sing in the language they intend to perform the song in Eurovision.
Söngvakeppnin 2019 will consist of three shows scheduled to take place on 9th and 16th of February and 2nd March. The two semi-finals will be held in Háskólabíó and the final in Laugardalshöll. In recent years, the total of competing songs were 12. This year though, the total of songs will be 10. Two songs of each semi-final will advance to the final, and thus only four songs will battle for the right to represent Iceland in Israel next May. However, the producers of the show reserve the right to add one extra song (that didn’t qualify) to the final as a wildcard.
There won’t be any changes regarding the voting system of the national final. Just as last year, the results of the two semi-finals will be determined by 100% televoting while the final’s results will be shared by the public and a jury. Both of them will have 50% power and the two songs with the most votes by the public and the jury will be put up to battle in a “super final” where the public will have full power and will decide the winner of the contest.
The rules of Söngvakeppnin 2019 can be found HERE (in Icelandic).
It’s been four years in a row that Iceland failed to qualify to the grand final of Eurovision. Will this change in 2019?