Iceland’s Head of Delegation is working behind the scenes to bring back juries to Eurovision’s two Semi-Finals just two years after they were scrapped. 

Felix Bergsson – who is also an elected member of the Eurovision Reference Group – originally backed the idea to give the public televoters ultimate control of deciding which acts qualify to the Grand Final. 

Click to read this story at a glance…

• Felix Bergsson, Iceland’s Head of Delegation and a member of the Eurovision Reference Group, is pushing to reinstate juries in the Eurovision Semi-Finals
• Although he originally supported the move to a 100% televote system, Bergsson now believes the format should be reviewed as he feels it disadvantages smaller countries
• Bergsson also highlighted his role in improving Eurovision’s professional standards and safeguarding measures, alongside ongoing efforts to make the contest more inclusive and safe for all participants

But he is now fighting to change the format again, revealing the topic is being reviewed on an annual basis. 

Speaking exclusively to The Euro Trip, Bergsson said: “It’s a constant discussion. 

“We review it very closely every year. 

“And I have my views on it: I would like to change it back, but I’m one voice within the Reference Group. 

“I think it will be changed back at some point. I think what happens is that the countries with the biggest diaspora in Europe have a bigger chance of getting through to the final. 

“We feel that we have less of a chance; a small nation like ours that doesn’t have the support. 

“I hope one day it will be changed back. I would love to have the juries back.” 

100% televote Semi-Finals were reintroduced to the contest back in 2023. 

In the last two years, Iceland has failed to qualify for the Grand Final, but the country had made it to the Saturday show in the preceding three editions of the contest which were all determined by a 50/50 split between international juries and televoters. 

“I did support it when it went through, but having seen how it goes, and knowing a little more about it, I feel it should be something we review closely,” Bergsson added. 

“It’s my personal opinion that it should be changed back.” 

Bergsson was speaking to The Euro Trip just days after the duo Væb won Iceland’s national selection Söngvakeppnin and secured the ticket to represent the country at Eurovision in Basel. 

He said he was “very proud” of all the acts that took part in the show and he’s “very happy” with the result of the show. 

Changes to Eurovision

As a part of the Eurovision Reference Group, Bergsson was instrumental in pushing through the changes announced last year to better protect artists and delegation members. 

Event organisers brought in a new Code of Conduct and a raft of safeguarding measures. 

“We’ve done a lot of work this year after the drama in Malmo,” Bergsson said. 

“We’ve done a lot of work to make Eurovision more professional, to emphasise the non-political nature of the event, and to make everybody aware of what they’re taking part in. 

“Also, we’re trying to listen to the fans, trying to listen to all the voices that feel we’ve been pushing people out, and trying to make it all inclusive, but at the same time make it very safe for the artists and everybody taking part in it.” 

Despite changes already announced, Bergsson did admit that it is “ongoing work” to achieve those goals.

Bergsson is also across the suggested change to the way the artists qualifying to the Grand Final are announced.

In December, the Co-Executive Producers of this year’s competition, Reto Peritz and Moritz Stadler, revealed exclusively to The Euro Trip that they were trying to push through an amendment to the format.

Bergsson says the suggestion is about “having less focus on the hosts and more on the artists” but ensuring it doesn’t “humiliate” people. 

But he stopped short of revealing Peritz and Stadler’s plans.