Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song " Tell Me!" written by

Örlygur Smári Örlygur Smári (born ) is an Icelandic producer/composer. Biography Smári was born in Iceland, Europe. Smári wrote Iceland's Eurovision Song Contest 2000 entry Tell Me!. He also wrote the song This Is My Life, which was the Icelandic entry ...

and Sigurður Örn Jónsson. The song was performed by August and Telma, which are the artistic names of singers Einar Ágúst Víðisson and Telma Ágústsdóttir. The Icelandic entry for the 2000 contest in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

was selected through the national final ''Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2000'', organised by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). Five songs competed in the selection which was held on 26 February 2000. "Hvert sem er" performed by Einar Ágúst Víðisson and Telma Ágústsdóttir emerged as the winner exclusively through public televoting. The song was later translated from Icelandic to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Tell Me!". Iceland competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 13 May 2000. Performing as the opening entry for the show in position 2, Iceland placed twelfth out of the 24 participating countries, scoring 45 points.

Background

Prior to the 2000 Contest, Iceland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirteen times since its first entry in 1986. Iceland's best placing in the contest to this point was second, which it achieved in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

with the song "All Out of Luck" performed by

Selma Selma may refer to: Places *Selma, Algeria *Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada *Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons United States: *Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches *Selma, Arkansas *Selma, Cali ...

. The Icelandic national broadcaster, Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), broadcasts the event within Iceland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Between 1995 and 1999, Iceland opted to internally select their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. For 2000, RÚV announced along with their participation confirmation that a national final would be used for the first time since 1994 to select the Icelandic entry.

Before Eurovision

Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2000

''Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2000'' took place on 26 February 2000 at the RÚV studios in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

during the television programme ''Stutt í spunann'', hosted by Hjálmar Hjálmarsson and

Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

, where five entries competed. The winner, "Hvert sem er" performed Einar Ágúst Víðisson and Telma Ágústsdóttir, was determined solely by televoting. The song was performed in English at the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled " Tell Me!".

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the seven countries with the lowest average result in the past five contests competed in the final on 13 May 2000. Iceland was set to perform in position 12, following the entry from

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and before the entry from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and finished in twelfth place with 45 points. The show was broadcast in Iceland on

RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization. Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional cent ...

with commentary by

Gísli Marteinn Baldursson Gísli Marteinn Baldursson (born 26 February 1972) is an Icelandic television host and a former politician. He is known for hosting the talk shows ''Laugardagskvöld með Gísla Marteini'' and ''Vikan með Gísla Marteini'' as well as the Icelandic ...

. The Icelandic spokesperson, who announced the Icelandic votes during the show, was Ragnheiður Elín Clausen.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Iceland and awarded by Iceland in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Denmark in the contest.ESC History - Iceland 2001
/ref>

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2000

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...