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RÚV announces changes to Söngvakeppnin 2011
In a letter to the Association of Icelandic songwriters; Páll Magnússon, the managing director of Icelandic television broadcaster RÚV has announced that all entries to Söngvakeppnin 2011 shall be performed entirely in Icelandic - claiming that it's an Icelandic song contest intended for the entertainment of Icelandic television viewers.
The statement has recieved mixed feelings amongst the Icelandic public, who for the most part support and prefer the Icelandic Eurovision entires to be performed in English.
To the relief of many, the letter goes on to say;
"However, while Söngvakeppnin is still the method for choosing the nation's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, RÚV will remain true to it's obligations by providing financial support towards the translation of the entry - should that be the wish of the chosen entrant."
Whether 2011 will see Iceland performing in its native Icelandic for the first time since Paul Oscar's 1997 entry Minn hinnsti Dans remains a mistery for now.
Follow esctoday.com's coverage of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest for the answer to this question and many more!
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I'd love it if Iceland would send in a song in their native language. I'm dying to see and hear that! Who knows, maybe they can win the contest once they decide to go back to their roots? Iceland & Hera deserved so much better this year. I can't believe and just don't quite understand that Europe almost completely ignored the song in the final. Well, if it is any solace, you guys got the most points from us Belgians so I'm very happy about that. 
Iceland & Belgium seem to be great allies in the recent years, I hope this alliance keeps on growing and stays strong in the future! 
ICELAND should be the host of ESC 2011. PERIOD!
Hera's poor result was deffinitely the scandal of this ESC.
Iceland was my favourite this year and deserved a much higher placing.
That's great to hear they'll be singing in their native language!! Sounds really cool and they're alphabet intrigues me somewhat. My fave Icelandic entries ever (1988, 1992 and 1997) have all been in Icelandic!! 
.
we love Lena!!!
[ur]http://www.esc-lyrics.blogspot.com/
it would be perfect to see countrys and languages from all over europe following Iceland.
Danish
Swedish
Finish
Norwegian
Dutch
German
Polish
French
Flemish
Irish
Spanish
Portuguese
Italian (I Love this language, if only they would be back)
Greek
Serbian
I would love to see all singing in their native language!!
David
Thanks a lot! 
I would like to see them in ESC as well!
Natasha participated in Piosenka dla Europy twice, so why not maybe she will participate again! I would like to see Kasia Cerekwicka too! And from those who participated in Polish NF already: Margo, Izabela Kopec, Janusz Radek..... I would like PIN to enter finally and of course again like this year Iwona Wegrowska!
I hope it won't be intertnal selection, coz I love Piosenka dla Europy festival!
@ Marko from Serbia
Our broadcaster TVP haven't announced nothing about ESC in 2011 yet....
I think Poland'll take part in ESC '11, because Germany are our neighbors....
Only one news from Poland that Radek Brzózka (he was Spokesperson in 2007 and 2008) want to take part in the next polish preselection....
Polish people want to see Edyta Górniak, Doda, Agnieszka Chylińska or Natasza Urbańska as participant from Poland (but I think this is only dream, because ESC isn't very popular in Poland ;( )
Builder
No, I haven't been there but it is a place I plan to visit in the future.
I always thought this was the case, as recently as 2007 Erikkuur whatshisname originally performed Icelandic before changing to English. Maybe I'm confused somewhere, or they changed it only the past 2 years and now want to reverse the decision.
Icelandic is such a beautiful and interesting language. I love most of the ESC songs sung in icelandic, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, brilliant!
Togravus, yes it is
Have you been there?
David
Please tell e do you have some infos that my favorite ESC country Poland will stay in contest next year? I really hope it will!
And hope to see NF again, with several AMAZING songs in both Polish and English language and Iwona Wegrowska 
participated there!
I suppose that it is Isafjordur 
I'm interesting in Iceland in general...
I think RUV 'll choose songs mixed (English and Icelandic)
Builder
Is that Ísafjörður on your avatar?
Luis, yes indeed i thought that cos it was about icelandic language- misunderstanding corrected. But first time i read belarussian is homespoken mostly.... :-O
Builder, did you think I was talking about Icelandic being a home language? I was talking about Belarusian.
Great. I must've been mistaking it for something else then. I have heard some Belarusian songs in the preselections, but none of them have won. :/ I hope you choose a song in that language soon.
Good luck, next year, Island!
"Yes, it is a language. But it's mostly a "spoken at home" language I read once"
Ha? Where did you read that? Well i can verify that is a myth. We communicate with this language 100%
I love when countries sing in their native language its just much more european I'd love if we would send an entry in Irish it would be so much better (as long as its not another old fashioned song!)
Oh, please, please, PLEASE! I want to hear this language again. :-)
Yes, it is a language. But it's mostly a "spoken at home" language I read once. 
I hope the winner decides to sing in Icelandic, but if they don't oh well. I just hope it won't have any super silly lyrics.
I think the Icelandic language sounds wonderul and can be really a benefit for them in the contest. However I think this rule is kinda strange, as a song can sound totally different if they change it to English for ESC. However I am all for native languages in the contest for variety and just to stop it from being commerical in the bad sense of commerical.
Also to those saying singers should have the choice as they might be more comfortable singing in a foregin language seems rather stupid to me. If you aren't comfortable singing in your native tongue than what are you comfortable singing in !?!? It's more often than not that the choice is making people be less comfortable which is evident with Belarus this year, they couldn't speak English and were singing in English making it sound awful/painful. Whereas it might have actually sounded in tune if they sang in Belarussian (if that is a language) .
Ana, and several other users, the singers will sing in Icelandic in the preselection and will get to choose what language they'll perform in at Eurovision. The article even says that if the artist does want to make an English version then the broadcaster will help.
I don't support this decision! The participants should be free to choose with which language they want to sing ( ... feel comfortable with )!
http://zepias.blogs.sapo.pt/
I'm sure something like:
"Let's all sing about Socrates
the Hercules of the soul
who everybody loves and admires..etc"
sounded sooo much better in Icelandic!!
Good decision. Why sing in English - look back in history you dont need to. Maybe one day we will have a Welsh entry singing for the UK - it couldnt do worst!!
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