Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986

Eurovision Song Contest 1986
Country	Iceland
National selection
Selection process	Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins
Selection date(s)	15 March 1986
Selected entrant	ICY
Selected song	"Gleðibankinn"
Finals performance
Final result	16th, 19 points
Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest
1986

Iceland was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, held in Bergen, Norway. It was the first time Iceland was represented in the contest.

While the country had satellite television contact from other nations (the United States and Canada) since 1981, Iceland was not able to connect to other European nations before the end of 1985, meaning 1986 was the first year Iceland could send a delegation to the Eurovision Song Contest.^[1]

The Icelandic national final to select their entry, Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins, was held on 15 March at the RÚV Studios in Reykjavík, and was hosted by young musician Jónas R. Jónsson. 1985 Eurovision Song Contest winners Bobbysocks were special guests, and they performed their winning song La det swinge, and a new song entitled Midnight Rocks during the show. The votes of a five-member "expert jury" decided the winner, although only the top five placings were announced.

The winning entry was "Gleðibankinn," performed by Pálmi Gunnarsson and composed by Magnús Eiríksson.

National final

At Eurovision

Pálmi Gunnarsson performed sixth on the night of the contest, following United Kingdom and preceding the Netherlands. He was joined by Helga Möller and Eiríkur Hauksson, comprising the trio ICY.

At the close of the voting it had received 19 points, placing 16th in a field of 20 competing countries. Iceland's first-ever points were awarded to them by the Netherlands (who gave the song five of the eventual 19 points).

External links

• Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 1986 at RÚV.is (Icelandic)
• Icelandic National Final 1986

References

Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Artists 1980s ICY Halla Margrét Beathoven Daníel Ágúst 1990s Stjórnin Stefán & Eyfi Heart 2 Heart Inga Sigga Bo Halldórsson Anna Mjöll Paul Oscar 1998 Selma 2000s August & Telma Two Tricky 2002 Birgitta Jónsi Selma Silvia Night Eiríkur Hauksson Euroband Yohanna 2010s Hera Björk Sigurjón's Friends Greta Salóme & Jónsi Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson Pollapönk María Ólafsdóttir Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir
Songs 1980s "Gleðibankinn" "Hægt og hljótt" "Þú og þeir (Sókrates)" "Það sem enginn sér" 1990s "Eitt lag enn" "Draumur um Nínu" "Nei eða já" "Þá veistu svarið" "Nætur" "Núna" "Sjúbídú" "Minn hinsti dans" 1998 "All Out of Luck" 2000s "Tell Me!" "Angel" 2002 "Open Your Heart" "Heaven" "If I Had Your Love" "Congratulations" "Valentine Lost" "This Is My Life" "Is It True?" 2010s "Je ne sais quoi" "Coming Home" "Never Forget" "Ég á líf" "No Prejudice" "Unbroken" "Hear Them Calling"
(Note : Entries scored out are when Iceland did not compete)