According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The
European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 20 January 2014, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Iceland was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 6 May 2014, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show. Once all the competing songs for the 2014 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Iceland was set to perform in position 5, following the entry from
Sweden and before the entry from
Albania. The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Iceland on
RÚV and
Rás 2 with commentary by Felix Bergsson. The Icelandic spokesperson, who announced the Icelandic votes during the final, was Benedict Valsson.
Semi-final Pollapönk took part in technical rehearsals on 28 April and 2 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 5 and 6 May. This included the jury show on 5 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. The Icelandic performance featured the members of Pollapönk dressed in pink, blue, yellow and red outfits, joined on stage in a band set-up by two backing vocalists dressed in orange and purple outfits. The LED screens transitioned between bright white and red colours and cubes, with bright block colours appearing on the stage floor. The performance was concluded with the members of the band using their bodies to spell the word "LOVE" with the third line of the E being the neck of a guitar. The backing vocalists that joined Pollapönk were
Óttarr Proppé, a
Bright Future party politician and
member of the Icelandic parliament, and Snæbjörn Ragnarsson, bassist from Icelandic Viking metal band
Skálmöld. At the end of the show, Iceland was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Iceland placed eighth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 61 points.
Final Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Iceland was drawn to compete in the first half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Iceland was subsequently placed to perform in position 4, following the entry from
Azerbaijan and before the entry from
Norway. Pollapönk once again took part in dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Pollapönk performed a repeat of their semi-final performance during the final on 10 May. Iceland placed fifteenth in the final, scoring 58 points.
Voting Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final. Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Iceland had placed twelfth with the public televote and fifteenth with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Iceland scored 46 points, while with the jury vote, Iceland scored 59 points. In the first semi-final, Iceland placed ninth with the public televote with 50 points and eighth with the jury vote, scoring 68 points. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Iceland and awarded by Iceland in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
Points awarded to Iceland Points awarded by Iceland Detailed voting results The following members comprised the Icelandic jury: • Hildur Þórhallsdóttir (jury chairperson)singer, musician, music teacher •
Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir (Yohanna)performer, singer, songwriter, represented
Iceland in 2009 • Kjartan Guðbergssonsound engineer • Fridrik Jonssonsinger, songwriter, television host •
Ragnheiður Gröndalsinger, songwriter, lyricist, pianist, vocal teacher ==References==