Format

In each semi-final, five of the ten competing acts performed, and the two entries which were determined solely by the viewing public through telephone voting and the newly introduced RÚV Stjörnur app progressed to the final.^[13] As per the rules of the competition, an additional optional qualifier could be selected by the contest organisers from among the non-qualifying acts, which would also progress to the final. This option was subsequently invoked by the organisers, meaning that a total of five acts qualified for the final.

In the final, two rounds of voting determined the winning song: in the first round, the votes of the viewing public through telephone voting and the votes of a ten-member international jury panel determined two entries which would progress to the second round. The public and jury each accounted for 50% of the result in the first round, with the rankings of each jury member being converted to match the total number of televotes cast by the public. In the second round, a further round of televoting will be held, with the winner determined by aggregating the results of the first round to the votes received in the second round.

Competing entries

Between 29 August and 4 October 2022, RÚV opened the period for interested songwriters to submit their entries. Songwriters did not have any particular requirement to meet, and the process was open to all.^[10] The broadcaster received 132 submissions at the closing of the deadline.^[14] The ten competing entries were revealed on 28 January 2023.^[15]

Semi-finals

Two semi-finals took place on 18 and 25 February 2023.^[16][17] In each semi-final, five of the ten competing acts performed, and two entries progressed to the final, determined solely by the viewing public through telephone voting and the RÚV Stjörnur app.^[18] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, a number of guest performances were also featured during the two shows. The first semi-final featured a performance from Friðrik Dór Jónsson.^[13] The second semi-final featured performances from Ragnhildur Gísladóttir [is], Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson, Guðlaug Sóley Höskuldsdóttir [is], and Sveinbjörns Thorarensen [is].^[19] In addition, an optional qualifier was selected by the contest organisers from among the non-qualifying acts, which also progressed to the final.^[20]

Final

The final took place on 4 March 2023 and featured the four qualifiers and the wildcard from the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, all competing entries were required to be performed in Icelandic; however, entries competing in the final were required to be presented in the language they would compete with in the Eurovision Song Contest. Langi Seli og Skuggarnir decided to perform their entry in Icelandic while the other four entries decided to perform their entry in English.^[21] In addition to the competing entries, the 2022 Icelandic representatives Systur and 2022 Norwegian representatives Subwoolfer performed as interval acts.^[22] Gaute Ormåsen, a member of Subwoolfer, was also part of the jury panel.