Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 explained

Year:1995
Country:Iceland
Preselection:Internal selection
Preselection Date:Artist: 8 December 1994
Song: 19 April 1995
Entrant:Bo Halldórsson
Song:Núna
Final Result:15th, 31 points

Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the song "Núna" written by Björgvin Halldórsson, Ed Welch and Jón Örn Marinósson. The song was performed by Bo Halldórsson, who was internally selected by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) in December 1994 to represent Iceland at the 1995 contest in Dublin, Ireland. The Icelandic song, "Núna", was presented to the public on 19 April 1995 during the television programme Á tali hjá Hemma Gunn.

Iceland competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 13 May 1995. Performing during the show in position 7, Iceland placed fifteenth out of the 23 participating countries, scoring 31 points.

Background

See main article: Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the 1995 contest, Iceland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nine times since its first entry in 1986.[1] Iceland's best placing in the contest to this point was second, which it achieved in 1994 with the song "Eitt lag enn" performed by Stjórnin. In 1996, Iceland placed twelfth with the song "Nætur" performed by Sigga.

The Icelandic national broadcaster, Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), broadcasts the event within Iceland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Since 1986, Iceland has used a national final to select their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. For 1995, RÚV opted to internally select the Icelandic entry for the first time.[2]

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

The Icelandic entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was selected internally by RÚV in collaboration with music publisher Skífuna. On 8 December 1994, Björgvin Halldórsson (under the stage name Bo Halldórsson) was announced as the Icelandic representative.[3] Halldórsson previously attempted to represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest on multiple occasions by competing in their national finals between 1986 and 1990 as well as in 1992, among them which included a second place in 1986 with the song "Ef".[4]

The song Bo Halldórsson would perform, "Núna", was presented to the public on 19 April 1995 during the television programme Á tali hjá Hemma Gunn, hosted by Hermann Gunnarsson.[5] The song was composed by Halldórsson himself and Ed Welch with lyrics by Jón Örn Marinósson, and was selected by votes from two focus group, one consisting of music professionals and one consisting of members of the public, from more than 20 entries created by Halldórsson and composers invited by RÚV.[6] [7]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the bottom nine countries of the 1994 contest were permitted to compete in the final on 13 May 1995.[8] Iceland was one of the top sixteen countries in the 1994 contest and thus was permitted to participate. On 9 December 1994, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Iceland was set to perform in position 7, following the entry from Russia and before the entry from Austria.[9] The Icelandic conductor at the contest was Frank McNamara and Iceland finished in fifteenth place with 31 points.[10]

The contest was broadcast in Iceland on RÚV with commentary by Jakob Frímann Magnússon.[11] The Icelandic spokesperson, who announced the Icelandic votes, was Áslaug Dóra Eyjólfsdóttir.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Iceland and awarded by Iceland in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Norway in the contest.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Iceland Country Profile. EBU. 3 October 2014.
  2. Web site: Bo Halldórsson . 2024-05-05 . eurovision-spain.com . es.
  3. News: 1994-12-08 . Bjöggi Halldórs í Eurovision . 2024-05-05 . Tíminn . 2 . is.
  4. Web site: Bo Halldórsson . 2024-05-05 . Six on Stage.
  5. News: 1995-04-19 . Hemmi kveður að þessi sinni . 2024-05-05 . Morgunblaðið . 66 . is.
  6. Web site: Eurovision 1995 Iceland: Bó Halldórsson - "Núna" . 2024-05-05 . Eurovisionworld . en-gb.
  7. News: 1995-04-03 . Sigurlagið nær tilbúið . 2024-05-02 . Dagblaðið Vísir . 21 . is.
  8. Web site: Dublin 1995 – Eurovision Song Contest . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221015182302/https://eurovision.tv/event/dublin-1995 . 15 October 2022 . 2 November 2022 . European Broadcasting Union.
  9. Book: Roxburgh, Gordon . Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest . 2020 . Telos Publishing . 978-1-84583-163-9 . Four: The 1990s . Prestatyn, United Kingdom . 210–212.
  10. https://eurovision.tv/event/dublin-1995/final Final of Dublin 1995
  11. News: 11 May 1995 . Dagskrá – laugurdagur 13/5 . Schedule – Saturday 13/5 . 11 October 2022 . . 1, 4 . is . Timarit.is.
  12. http://www.esc-history.com/details.asp?key=754 ESC History - Iceland 1995
  13. Web site: Results of the Final of Dublin 1995 . European Broadcasting Union . 17 April 2021 . http://web.archive.org/web/20210417073410/https://eurovision.tv/event/dublin-1995/final/results/iceland . 17 April 2021 . live.