Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) is a full member of the
European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the
Eurovision Song Contest. It has participated in the contest representing Iceland since its in 1986, 20 years after RÚV was founded. Iceland's best result in the contest is second place, which it has achieved twice: in with the song "
All Out of Luck" performed by
Selma, beaten by 's "
Take Me to Your Heaven" by
Charlotte Nilsson, and in with "
Is It True?" performed by
Yohanna, beaten by 's "
Fairytale" by
Alexander Rybak. However, Iceland's worst result in the contest is last place, which has been achieved four times to date: in when "
Það sem enginn sér" by
Daníel Ágúst received 0 points, in when "
Angel" by
Two Tricky received 3 points, in when "
Our Choice" by
Ari Ólafsson received 15 points in the first semi final, and in when "
Scared of Heights" by
Hera Björk received 3 points in the first semi final. With the introduction of semi-finals in , Iceland automatically qualified for the final that year due to
Birgitta's eighth place the previous year. In , Iceland reached the final for the first time since then, with "This Is My Life" by
Euroband. Iceland qualified for the final in seven consecutive contests between and before failing to qualify for the final from to . In ,
Hatari brought the country back to the final for the first time since 2014, finishing tenth, which was followed by a fourth-place finish for
Daði og Gagnamagnið in , Iceland's joint-second best result to date, and a 23rd-place finish for
Systur in . Further non-qualifications came in and .
VÆB brought the country back to the final in
2025 breaking the countries two year non qualification streak. They finished 25th in the final, receiving zero points by the juries.
RÚV withdrew from
2026 due to Israel's inclusion. Despite these mixed fortunes, Iceland is the second most successful country never to have won the contest (behind only ).
Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir has participated five times (as a member of a group in
1990 and
1992, as a solo artist in
1994, and as a background vocalist in
1991 and
2006).
Hera Björk has also participated five times (as a backing vocalist in
2008,
2009 and
2015, and as a solo artist in
2010 and
2024). Stefán Hilmarsson has participated twice (as a member of a group in
1988 and in a duo with Eyfi in
1991), as have
Selma Björnsdóttir (
1999 and
2005),
Eiríkur Hauksson (as a member of a group in
1986 and as a solo artist in
2007; Eiríkur has additionally participated for Norway in
1991 as a member of
Just 4 Fun).
Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson entered as a solo artist in
2004 before participating in a duo with
Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir in
2012; Greta Salóme later entered as a solo artist in
2016. == Participation overview ==