Söngvakeppnin (known from 1986 to 1989 as Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsstöðva and in 1981, 1983, and from 1990 to 2012, as Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins, ) is an annual music competition organised by Icelandic public broadcaster (RÚV) to determine for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Format The contest was first organised in 1981, although neither it nor its subsequent 1983 edition were used to determine any representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest until Iceland made its debut in the . Since then, RÚV has used to select the Icelandic entry, but has also used an internal selection at times, between 1995 and 1999, and in 2004, 2005, and 2021.

has consisted of a multi-artist competition, with between five and ten songs competing. Most contests in the past have been a one-night event. From 2006 to 2025, the contest consisted of a number of semi-finals aired before a final.

It was known for RÚV to change the performers for Eurovision. This can be seen in 1986, when winner Pálmi Gunnarsson was joined by Eiríkur Hauksson and Helga Möller to form ICY for Eurovision. In 1994, RÚV was not happy with the winning song, and so enlisted Frank McNamara to rearrange the entry and select a new singer.Icelandic National Final 1994

Songs at were previously only allowed to be performed in Icelandic. However, the winning songs were normally translated into English for Eurovision. This rule was abolished in 2008, when English-language songs were allowed to compete for the first time. The rules were later changed again in 2015, requiring that in the semi-finals, the songs must be performed in Icelandic. In the final, the finalists will be asked to determine the language they will perform their song in Eurovision.

Winners The winners of since 1986 have gone on to represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest. Iceland has never won the contest, being the only Nordic country never to do so, but it has finished second twice: in 1999 (when an internal selection was used), losing to , and in 2009, when it lost to .

2020 was the first time in history where the winner of , in this case Daði og Gagnamagnið, did not advance to Eurovision, as that event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, RÚV internally re-selected Daði og Gagnamagnið to represent the country in , with the song also chosen internally. The competition will not be held in 2026 due to RÚV's decision not to take part in that year's Eurovision.

+ Table key 1 First place 2 Second place 3 Third place ◁ Last place † Upcoming event

+ List of Söngvakeppnin winners Year Artist Song Songwriter(s) At Eurovision Final Points Semi Points 1981 Pálmi Gunnarsson "" Guðmundur Ingólfsson, Magnús Haraldsson rowspan="2" colspan="4" 1983 Sigríður Gröndal colspan="2" 1986 Pálmi Gunnarsson "" Magnús Eiríksson 16th 19 colspan="2" rowspan="7" 1987 Halla Margrét Árnadóttir "" 16th 28 1988 Sverrir Stormsker and Stefán Hilmarsson "" Sverrir Stormsker 16th 20 1989 Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson "" Valgeir Guðjónsson 22nd ◁ 0 1990 Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir and "" , Hörður G. Ólafsson 4th 124 1991 Stefán Hilmarsson and "" Eyjólfur Kristjánsson 15th 26 1992 Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir and "" Friðrik Karlsson, Grétar Örvarsson, Stefán Hilmarsson 7th 80 1993 "" Friðrik Sturluson, Jon Kjell Seljeseth 13th 42 colspan="2" 1994 Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir "" Friðrik Karlsson, Stefán Hilmarsson 12th 49 colspan="2" rowspan="4" 2000 Einar Ágúst Víðisson and "" Örlygur Smári, Sigurður Örn Jónsson 12th 45 2001 Kristján Gíslason and Gunnar Ólason "" Einar Bárðarson, 22nd ◁ 3 2003 Birgitta Haukdal "" Birgitta Haukdal Brynjarsdóttir, Hallgrímur Óskarsson 8th 81 2006 Silvía Nótt "" Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, rowspan="2" colspan="2" 13th 62 2007 Eiríkur Hauksson "" Kristján Hreinsson, Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson 13th 77 2008 Eurobandið "This Is My Life" Örlygur Smári, Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson, Peter Fenner 14th 64 8th 68 2009 Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir "Is It True?" Chris Neil, Óskar Páll Sveinsson, Tinatin Japaridze 2nd 218 1st 174 2010 Hera Björk "" Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir, Örlygur Smári 19th 41 3rd 123 2011 Sigurjón's Friends "" Sigurjón Brink, Þórunn Erna Clausen 20th 61 4th 100 2012 Greta Salóme and Jónsi "" Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir 20th 46 8th 75 2013 Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson "" Örlygur Smári, Pétur Örn Guðmundsson 17th 47 6th 72 2014 Pollapönk "No Prejudice" John William Grant, Haraldur F. Gíslason, Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson 15th 58 8th 61 2015 María Ólafsdóttir "Unbroken" Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson rowspan="4" colspan="2" 15th 14 2016 Greta Salóme "Hear Them Calling" Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir 14th 51 2017 Svala "Paper" Einar Egilsson, Lester Mendez, Lily Elise, Svala Björgvinsdóttir 15th 60 2018 Ari Ólafsson "Our Choice" Þórunn Erna Clausen 19th ◁ 15 Hatari "" Einar Hrafn Stefánsson, Klemens Nikulásson Hannigan, Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson 10th 232 3rd 221 2020 Daði og Gagnamagnið "Think About Things" Daði Freyr Pétursson colspan="4" 2022 Sigga, Beta and Elin "" Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir 23rd 20 10th 103 2023 Diljá "Power" Diljá Pétursdóttir, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson rowspan="2" colspan="2" 11th 44 2024 Hera Björk "Scared of Heights" Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir, Ferras Alqaisi, Jaro Omar, Michael Burek 15th ◁ 3 2025 Væb "Róa" Matthías Davíð Matthíasson, Hálfdán Helgi Matthíasson, Ingi Þór Garðarsson 25th 33 6th 97

Performers and songwriters with multiple wins The following individuals have won Söngvakeppnin as a performer or songwriter more than once. + Individuals with multiple Söngvakeppnin wins Wins Name Wins as performer Wins as songwriter 4 Stefán Hilmarsson 1988, 1991 1992, 1994 Örlygur Smári 2000, 2008, 2010, 2013 2 Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir 2012 (with Jónsi), 2016 Hera Björk 2010, 2024 2010 Gunnar Ólason 2001, 2011 (as part of Sigurjón's Friends) rowspan="4" Pálmi Gunnarsson 1981, 1986 Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir 1990, 1992 1992, 1994 Friðrik Karlsson rowspan="4" 1992, 1994 Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson 2015, 2023 Þórunn Erna Clausen 2011, 2018 1987, 1989

Söngvakeppnin Hall of Fame or the Hall of Fame was introduced in to acknowledge artists who have outstanding contributions to the competition.

Year Artist Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir Björgvin Halldórsson Jóhanna Guðrún

See also Dansk Melodi Grand Prix Melodifestivalen Melodi Grand Prix Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest

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