With the Eurovision Song Contest fast approaching, Icelandic fans of the annual event have been given cause for concern because an ongoing legal strike has left the country’s participation in doubt.
Reykjavik District Council workers have long since overseen and verified the voting process of the North Atlantic island’s professional Eurovision jury; however, they, along with other legal workers in the country, are on strike over a longstanding legal dispute regarding salaries.
Umbrella group for many of Iceland’s unions the Icelandic Association of Academics has said that with no sign of the dispute being resolved in the near future the strike could end up jeopardising Iceland’s participation in the annual event, which this year is due to take place in the Austrian capital Vienna in May.
The nation’s Eurovision team is currently looking into other options to ensure their participation, but with the contest just a few weeks away they know they will have to act fast.
The country’s representative this year is Maria Olafsdottir after her song Unbroken won the voting contest. Iceland has never been victorious at the annual event but it has picked up second place on two occasion – the same number of times it has come in last position.