Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020

Söngvakeppnin 2020 was the national final format developed by RÚV in order to select Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The three shows in the competition were hosted by Björg Magnúsdóttir, Fannar Sveinsson and Benedikt Valsson and all took place in Reykjavík: the two semi-finals were held at the Háskólabíó venue and the final took place at the Laugardalshöll. The semi-finals and final were broadcast on RÚV 1 and online at the broadcaster's official website ruv.is.[2]

Ten songs in total competed in Söngvakeppnin 2020 where the winner was determined after two semi-finals and a final. Five songs competed in each semi-final on 8 and 15 February 2020. The top two songs from each semi-final, as determined by public televoting qualified to the final which took place on 29 February 2020. The rules also stated that the competition producers would select a wildcard act for the final out of the remaining non-qualifying acts from both semi-finals.[3] The winning entry in the final was determined over two rounds of voting: the first to select the top two via 50/50 public televoting and jury voting and the second to determine the winner by aggregating the combined results of the first round to the received televotes.[4] All songs were required to be performed in Icelandic during the semi-final portion of the competition. In the final, the song was required to be performed in the language that the artist intended to perform in at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam.[5] In addition to selecting the Icelandic entry for Eurovision, a monetary prize of 1 million Icelandic króna was awarded to the songwriters responsible for the winning entry.[6]

On 13 September 2019, RÚV opened the submission period for interested songwriters to submit their entries until the deadline on 17 October 2019. Songwriters were required to be Icelandic, possess Icelandic citizenship or have permanent residency in Iceland between 1 September 2019 and 17 May 2020. However, exceptions would be made for minor collaborations with foreign songwriters as long as two-thirds of the composition and half of the lyrics are by Icelandic composers/lyricists. Composers had the right to submit up to two entries, while lyricists could contribute to an unlimited amount of entries.[6] At the close of the submission deadline, 157 entries were received. A seven-member selection committee was formed under consultation with the Association of Composers (FTT) and the Icelandic Musicians' Union (FÍH) in order to select the top ten entries. The ten competing artists and songs were revealed and presented by the broadcaster during the television programme Kynningarþáttur Söngvakeppninnar on 18 January 2020.[7] Among the competing artists are previous Icelandic Eurovision entrants Matti Matt, who represented Iceland in 2011 as part of Sjonni's Friends. Three of the competing entries that later qualified to the final entered English versions of their songs for the competition.

The first semi-final took place on 8 February 2020 where five competing acts presented their entries. The top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final. "Klukkan tifar" performed by Ísold & Helga and "Almyrkvi" performed by Dimma were the qualifiers.

The show also featured guest performances by GDRN, Katrín Halldóra and 2003 Icelandic Eurovision entrant Birgitta Haukdal.[9]

The second semi-final took place on 15 February 2020 where five competing acts presented their entries. The top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final. "Gagnamagnið" performed by Daði & Gagnamagnið and "Oculis Videre" performed by Iva were the qualifiers. The wildcard was awarded to an entry from the second semi-final: "Ekkó" performed by Nína.

The show also featured guest performances by Flóni and Elín Ey. Flóni performed the 1991 Icelandic Eurovision entry "Draumur um Nínu", while Elín Ey performed the 1974 Eurovision winning entry "Waterloo".[10][11]

The final took place on 29 February 2020 where the four entries that qualified from the preceding two semi-finals and the wildcard competed. In the semi-finals, all competing entries were required to be performed in Icelandic; however, entries competing in the final were required to be presented in the language they would compete with in the Eurovision Song Contest. Two entries remained in Icelandic ("Oculis Videre" performed by Iva and "Almyrkvi" performed by Dimma), while the other three entries competed in English. In the first round of voting, votes from a jury panel (50%) and public televoting (50%) determined the top two entries: "Think About Things" performed by Daði & Gagnamagnið and "Almyrkvi" performed by Dimma. Jury voting involved international jurors alongside Icelandic members. The top two entries advanced to a second round of voting, the superfinal, where the winner, "Think About Things" performed by Daði & Gagnamagnið, was determined by aggregating the results of the first round to the televoting results of the second round.[12] In addition to the performances of the competing artists, the interval acts featured guest performances by 1990 Icelandic Eurovision entrants Stjórnin, 2019 Icelandic Eurovision entrants Hatari and 2019 Norwegian Eurovision entrants KEiiNO.[13][14]