A previous Eurovision contestant who missed out on the chance to perform live in the final will finally get the chance to sing on Europe's biggest stage. Dadi Freyr represented Iceland in the 2021 competition with his song '10 years' after his 2020 Eurovision hopes were dashed when the Covid-19 outbreak cancelled the competition.
But after entering again in 2021, even being tipped as favourite to win, a member of his band Dadi og Gagnamagnid tested positive for Covid and they were unable to perform live in the finale. A recorded performance was aired and the band came in fourth, behind winners Måneskin.
On Saturday, May 13, Freyr will finally get to live out his dreams on the Eurovision grand final stage in Liverpool, though not as one of the contestants. Instead he will sing a "Liverpool song" and has promised a potential cameo from his wife.
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This year's Eurovision Song Contest - the 67th in its history - is being held in Liverpool in partnership with last year's winner Ukraine. Eurovision bosses announced last year the event would not be held in Kyiv due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and it was announced in August the UK would instead host the event.
Freyr's 2021 entry '10 years' proved popular with audiences and has since racked up more than 37 million listens on Spotify. Today (May 11) he performed in Liverpool in front of an ice cream van where his wife and fellow band member Arny Fjola Asmundsdottir handed out free ice-creams.
He spent two hours taking selfies with Eurovision fans from across the world who queued for pictures. He said: “Liverpool’s great. It’s pretty cool to see how far people are coming from.”
Freyr said he was tipping Iceland’s entry Dilja to win this year’s Eurovision. Asked if he had any words of advice for this year’s contestants, he said: “Just go and have the best song and sing the best and have the best act and get the most points, that’s the most important.”
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