was the national final format developed by RÚV in order to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The seventeen shows in the competition were broadcast on
RÚV during the television programme , hosted by
Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Gísli Einarsson. The first sixteen shows were held at the RÚV studios in
Reykjavík and the final took place at the Vetrargarðinum in
Kópavogur.
Format Thirty-three songs in total competed in , where the winner was determined after fifteen shows: eleven heats, a Second Chance round, four semi-finals and a final. Three songs competed in each heat between 6 October and 15 December 2007. The winning song from each heat qualified to the semi-finals, and a wildcard act was selected out of the two remaining non-qualifying acts. RÚV selected three of the eleven wildcards to compete in the Second Chance round on 12 January 2008, and the winning song qualified to the semi-finals. Three songs competed in each semi-final on 19 January 2008, 26 January 2008, 2 February 2008 and 9 February 2008, and the top two songs qualified to the final which took place on 23 February 2008. The results of all shows, including the wildcard selection, were determined by 100% public televoting. The televoting for the wildcard selection in each heat took place via radio on
Rás 2 for a week, with the results being announced during the Rás 2 radio programme .
Competing entries On 10 July 2007, RÚV opened the submission period for interested songwriters to submit their entries until the deadline on 3 September 2007. Songwriters were required to be Icelandic, possess Icelandic citizenship or have permanent residency in Iceland by 1 October 2007, and had the right to submit up to three entries. • Andrea Gylfadóttir •
Barði Jóhannsson • Guðmundur Jónsson • Gunnar L. Hjálmarsson (Dr. Gunni) •
Hafdís Huld Þrastardóttir • Magnús Eiríksson • Magnús Þór Sigmundsson • Margret Kristin Sigurðardóttir •
Svala Björgvinsdóttir Among the competing artists were previous Icelandic Eurovision entrants
Pálmi Gunnarsson, who represented as part of
ICY, Einar Ágúst Víðisson, who represented as part of
August and Telma, and
Birgitta Haukdal, who represented .
Shows Heats The eleven heats took place between 6 October 2007 and 12 January 2008 where three acts presented their entries in each heat. The winning entry voted upon solely by public televoting qualified directly to the semi-finals, while one of the two remaining acts was awarded a wildcard following a separate televote.
Second Chance Three of the eleven wildcards were selected to compete in the Second Chance round, which were announced on 6 January 2008. The three acts presented their entries in the Second Chance round on 12 January 2008 where "Hvar ertu nú?" performed by Dr. Spock was voted upon solely by public televoting to proceed to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals The four semi-finals took place on 19 January, 26 January, 2 February and 9 February 2008. In each semi-final three acts presented their entries, and the top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final.
Birgitta Haukdal, who was scheduled to perform her song with
Magni Ásgeirsson in the first semi-final, did not appear during the show as she was on holiday.
Final The final took place on 23 February 2008 where the eight entries that qualified from the preceding four semi-finals competed.
Eurobandið performed their entry in Icelandic in the heat and semi-final, however, they presented their entry in English in the final. In addition to the performances of the competing artists, the show was opened by a medley featuring past Icelandic Eurovision entrants performing their songs.
Ratings Promotion Euroband made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "This Is My Life" as the Icelandic Eurovision entry. On 24 April, Euroband was one of the guest performers of
1995 Icelandic Eurovision entrant Björgvin Halldórsson's
Jólagestir Björgvins concert which was held at the
Circus Building in
Copenhagen, Denmark. On 25 April, Euroband performed during the
UKEurovision Preview Party event which was held at the
Scala Club in
London, United Kingdom and hosted by
Paddy O'Connell. == At Eurovision ==