The competition has been carried out since 1950; in the first year, it was called
Miss Reykjavík (Ungfrú Reykjavík). Since 1955, the contest has taken place under the current name Miss Iceland. In the past, there were six regional preliminary contests in each of the five rural regions and in the capital
Reykjavík. 20 to 24 candidates, three to four from each region, take part in the finals. Iceland is one of the most successful countries at the Miss World pageant with three victories, a record for a nation with a population of less than half million people. In 2023, Jorge Esteban and Manuela Ósk Harðardóttir took the brand of Ungfrú Ísland in Iceland after the original organizers abandoned the brand back in 2018 in order to adopt a new format for Miss World in
Miss World Iceland.
2013 applicants Rafn Rafnsson, the new chief executive of the Miss Iceland contest, "in hopes of diversifying the field of contestants beyond the statuesque blonde with striking blue eyes that has become the Icelandic stereotype", said "There is no Miss Iceland stereotype..." One week later, in response to Rafnsson's statement, 1,300 people applied to become Miss Iceland, including several nontraditional candidates, such as: • Sigríður Guðmarsdóttir, 48, a female governmental minister in Reykjavík • Þórdís Elva Þorvaldsdóttir, a writer and actress In response to the increase of nontraditional applicants, Rafnsson said, "We have to follow the rules set by the international contest." This "means rejecting any applicants younger than 18 or older than 24. In addition to the age limits, contestants must be unmarried, childless and, of course, female." Íris Telma Jonsdóttir, Iceland's 2012
Miss World contestant, "has the unfortunate job of sifting through applications for the coming Miss Iceland contest and the publicity stirred by feminists has even sparked an abnormally high influx of legitimate hopefuls. That means she has a lot more reading to do before selecting the field of 25 women who will actually compete for a chance to move on to Miss World." ==Miss Universe Iceland==