Which act will shine under Iceland's Northern Lights?

Söngvakeppnin, the Icelandic national selection for Eurovision 2018 is set to begin this weekend in Laugardalshöll, one of the largest venues in Reykjavík. The show will be presented by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, who is also one of the producers of the contest, as she has been in recent years.

As in previous years, the entries will be performed in Icelandic during the semi-finals. Each show will feature six acts and the three songs with the most votes will proceed to the final which is set to take place on Saturday 3rd March. A special jury panel will also select a wildcard act for the final from the remaining non-qualifying acts from both semi-finals. 

The participants 

Semi Final 1, 10th February 2018 

• Þórunn Antonía - Ég mun skína / Shine
• Tómas Helgi Wehmeier and Sólborg Guðbrandsdóttir - Ég og þú / Think It Through
• Ari Ólafsson - Heim / Our Choice
• Heimilistónar - Kúst og fæjó
• Fókus hópurinn/The Focus Group: Sigurjón Örn Böðvarsson, Rósa Björg Ómarsdóttir, Hrafnhildur Ýr Víglundsdóttir, Karitas Harpa Davíðsdóttir and Eiríkur Þór Hafdal - Aldrei gefast upp / Battleline
• Guðmundur Þórarinsson - Litir / Colours

Semi Final 2, 17th February 2018 

During the second Semi Final, broadcasted on 17th February 2018, another six artists will perform with the chance to win Söngvakeppnin 2018 and travel to Lisbon in May:

• Dagur Sigurðarson - Í stormi / Saviour
• Áttan: Sonja Valdín and Egill Ploder - Hér með þér / Here for you
• Aron Hannes - Gold Digger
• Rakel Pálsdóttir - Óskin mín / My Wish
• Þórir Geir Guðmundsson and Gyða Margrét Kristjánsdóttir - Brosa / With You
• Stefanía Svavarsdóttir, Agnes Marinósdóttir and Regína Lilja Magnúsdóttir - Svaka stuð / Heart Attack

Stars shining bright

As in previous years, Söngvakeppnin will feature previous Eurovision Song Contest performers.  Robin Bengtsson, who represented Sweden in the 2017 competition with I Can't Go On, will perform during the final on 3rd March alongside Emmelie de Forest who won the Eurovision Song Contest for Denmark in 2013. 

Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Iceland made its Eurovision debut in 1986 and is yet to win the contest. In 1999 Selma finished second with her song All Out Of Luck and ten years later, Yohanna equalled this success with her ballad Is It True? Svala represented Iceland in 2017 with the song Paper.

Iceland boasts strong viewing figures for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2016 the country delivered the largest viewing share of all 42 participating countries with 95.3% of those watching TV in the country watching the Grand Final.