Iceland 2024 - Bashar Murad - Wild West

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Iceland narrowly missed out on an opportunity to do something really very interesting at the weekend. When it was announced that the Palestinian artist Bashar Murad had declared as a contestant the frosty island nation dashed to the top of the betting in the volatile early fumes of the Eurovision betting market. Of course, the usual grumblers complained for all their usual well-trodden, ill-researched reasons, but Murad does have form in Iceland, having worked with leather-clad local heroes Hatari in the past. But when the song finally emerged it was initially a tad disappointing.

There were many who were hoping for an all out assault on the Israeli state in light of current events in Gaza. The song, however, was a more subtle affair relating to the methods Palestinian peoples have to engage upon in order to get on in life. However, the video was imbued with symbolism and colour-coding, which let us to expect that it was way deeper than we'd ever possibly imagined. Indeed, the Icelandic people took him to their hearts and  got him as far as the Söngvakeppnin superfinal and the song and performance began to get under many of our skins. He couldn't, could he?

Sadly he couldn't. Up against a well-loved local figure in her Bjork, he apparently lost narrowly in a much-criticised two song superfinal format that has cost Iceland some pretty interesting performers in the past after having topped the initial final vote. Indeed, having a system that effectively offers voters an opportunity to vote against as well as for does seem like a bit of an unusual way to do it. But them rules is them rules, and all artists knew them before they entered the contest. However we really fear that Iceland have missed a trick here in choosing a perfectly pleasant and serviceable song that may still struggle to get out of a semi over a song that could have started an international conversation. Their odds on the betting exchanges began to fall rapidly as soon as the superfinal line-up was announced and haven't especially recovered since. Missed topical opportunity of the year, we suspect.