Country Iceland Selected song "Coming Home" | Selected entrant Sigurjón's Friends | |
Selection process Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011 Selection date(s) Semi-final
15 January 2011
22 January 2011
29 January 2011
Final
12 February 2011 Semi-final result Qualified (4th, 100 points) | ||
Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany, selecting their entry through the national final Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011, organised by Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV).
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Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011
In a letter to the Association of Icelandic songwriters, Páll Magnússon, the managing director of Icelandic television broadcaster RÚV has announced that all entries to Söngvakeppnin 2011 shall be performed entirely in Icelandic, claiming that it's an Icelandic song contest intended for the entertainment of Icelandic television viewers.
The statement has received mixed feelings amongst the Icelandic public, who for the most part support and prefer the Icelandic Eurovision entries to be performed in English.
Composers can submit their entries until midnight on 18 October. The selection process is open only to residents of Iceland. Icelandic composers are however allowed to collaborate with composers residing outside Iceland and each composer may enter a maximum of three songs.
The Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011 final was held on 12 February 2011.
Semi-final 3
Sigurjón Brink was expected to compete in the semi-final, however Brink died unexpectedly on 17 January in Garðabær.
At Eurovision
Iceland sang in fourteenth position in the first semi-final of the contest, on 10 May, qualifying for the final. Alexandru Busa of Esctoday.com regarded the Icelandic song as one of the darkest horses in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. In the final, the group got 20th, but also Hungary gave it 12 points.