Iceland: Hatari wins Söngvakeppnin 2019 with "Hatrið mun sigra"

The Icelandic broadcaster RÚV held the final of Söngvakeppnin 2019 tonight live from Laugardalshöll in Reykjavík. Five artists fought for the honour of representing Iceland at Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

In the Söngvakeppnin final there were two rounds of voting. Firstly the top two entries (50/50 televoting/jury) advanced to the superfinal: Hatari and Friðrik Ómar. After another round of voting (100% televoting) it was the band Hatari who could raise the trophy as winner of Söngvakeppnin 2019, and Icelandic representative at Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song Hatrið mun sigra.

Hatari was also the clear favourite among bookmakers and in our poll.

Hatrið mun sigra is written by Hatari themselves.

Hatari

Hatari is a techno and punk rock band from Reykjavik, Iceland. The band consists of Einar Hrafn Stefánsson, Klemens Nikulásson Hannigan and Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson.

Hatai is mostly known for their live shows with BDSM-inspired costumes, and has released five singles. They received two Reykjavík Grapevine Music Awards for Best Live Band, and were named as the winners of Iceland Airwaves in The Line Of Best Fit and other media.

Hatari describe themselves as an "anti-capitalist BDSM techno performance art group", and aims to dismantle capitalism.

Söngvakeppnin 2019

Söngvakeppnin 2019 consisted of two semi-finals and one final. The semi-finals were held in Háskólabíó and the final was in Laugardalshöll.

• Semi-final 1: 9 February 2019
• Semi-final 2: 16 February 2019
• Final: 2 March 2019

10 songs were picked to compete in Söngvakeppnin 2019 – Five songs for each Semi-final. Two songs from each Semi-final qualified to the Final, decided by a combination of public votes and an expert judging panel. RÚV had the option to award a wildcard to a fifth finalist, which went to Kristina Skoubo Bærendsen.

In the Final of Söngvakeppnin 2019 a ten-person, international panel of expert judges gave their opinions and their points, alongside the public vote and selected two songs for the Super Final. The two super finalists kept their points from the first round of voting and performed their songs again. A second round of voting decided the winner.

Iceland in Eurovision Song Contest

Iceland's debut in Eurovision Song Contest was back in 1986, and has been participating 31 times since. Best result are two second-places with Yohanna in 2009 and Selma in 1999.

Since the introduction of Semi-finals in 2004 Iceland qualified to the Grand Final 8 out of 15 times – the last four years the Grand Finals were without Iceland.

Iceland is the only Northern European country that has yet to win the Eurovision Song Contest.