Eurovision 2025 will be hosted in Basel, Switzerland thanks to Nemo winning last year’s competition with their song The Code.
26 countries will now compete in the Grand Final at St Jakobshalle as they await for the 69th winner to be crowned.
Two semi-finals took place to narrow the competition down, but Switzerland alongside the “Big Five ” countries – United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany and Spain – were guaranteed a place in the final.
Iceland made their Eurovision debut in 1986, and have since competed 36 times only missing out in 1998 and 2002.
They have yet to win, and the country’s best result is second place, which it achieved with All Out of Luck by Selma in 1999 and Is It True? by Yohanna in 2009.
Iceland’s representative at this year’s Eurovision is electronic music duo Væb. The band consists of brothers Hálfdán Helgi Matthíasson and Matthías Davíð Matthíasson.
They made their debut in 2022 with their studio album Væb tékk, which was preceded by a couple of successful singles.
Væb participated in Söngvakeppnin, the national selection method for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song Bíómynd in 2024, however, they finished in fourth place, before trying again this year and winning.
When it was first announced that they would be representing Iceland, they took to their Instagram and said: “We are Væb and we’re competing for Iceland in Eurovision. Yes, for some reason that’s happening”.
Unfortunately, the duo aren’t a favourite to win Eurovision 2025 according to Ladbrokes with odds of 200/1.
The lyrics for
The song is performed in Icelandic. Here are the lyrics and the English translation.
Róandi hér, róandi þar
Rowing today, rowing tonight
Róa í gegnum öldurnar
Rowing to where the stars are bright
Það getur ekkert stoppað mig af
And nothing’s ever stopping me now
Róandi hér, róandi þar
Rowing today, rowing tonight
Róa í gegnum öldurnar
Rowing to where the stars are bright
Það getur ekkert stoppað mig af
And nothing’s ever stopping me now
Ég set spýtu ofan á spýtu
I cut up a tree
Og kalla það bát
And made me a boat
Ef ég sekk í dag
And when I get wet
Er það ekkert mál
Well I’ll still be afloat
Með árar úr stáli
For hours and hours
Sem duga í ár
I pull at the oars
Stefni á Færeyjar
I’m heading for heaven
Já, eg er klár
I’ll make it of course
Ég er með vesti fyrir belti og vatnshelda skó
I’m strapped in this craft
því að veðrið það er erfitt ég er kominn með nóg
In my waterproof boots
Through the sleet and the snow
In my silver wetsuit
Er sjórinn opnast koma öldurnar
The tide is high, the sea is pouring in
Ég er einn á bát að leita af betri stað
I’ll sail alone to where I’ve never been
Ég er ekki ennþá búin að missa allt
Cos I’m feeling lucky and I’m gonna win
En við setjum seglin upp og höldum aftur af stað
(So) I’ll just adjust the rudder and be sailing again
Róandi hér, róandi þar
Rowing today, rowing tonight
Róa í gegnum öldurnar
Rowing to where the stars are bright
Það getur ekkert stoppað mig af
And nothing’s ever stopping me now
Róandi hér, róandi þar
Rowing today, rowing tonight
Róa í gegnum öldurnar
Rowing to where the stars are bright
Það getur ekkert stoppað mig af
And nothing’s ever stopping me now
Ég er ennþá á bát
It didn’t tip up
Sjáðu þetta vá
I’m still in the boat
Stoppa í Grænlandi?
Heading for Greenland
Já ég er down
And somewhere remote (God damn!)
Stýri á sjó ég er kapteinn
Steering out at sea, I’m the captain!
Kallaðu mig Gísli Marteinn
Call me Gísli Marteinn.
Margir mánuðir síðan ég sá síðast sól
Week after week under stormy grey sky
Vil eyða restinni af lífinu hér út á sjó
Gonna stay on the sea til the day that I die
Er sjórinn opnast koma öldurnar
The tide is high, the sea is pouring in
Ég er enn á bát að leita af betri stað
I’ll sail alone to where I’ve never been
Ég er ekki ennþá búin að missa allt
Cos I’m feeling lucky and I’m gonna win
En við setjum seglin upp og höldum aftur af stað
(So) I’ll just adjust the rudder and be sailing again
Róandi hér, róandi þar
Rowing today, rowing tonight
Róa í gegnum öldurnar
Rowing to where the stars are bright
Það getur ekkert stoppað mig af
And nothing’s ever stopping me now
Eurovision Grand Final airs on Saturday 17th May at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.