[1] The contest has been broadcast in Iceland since as early as 1970, but the geographically-remote nation was prevented from competing until a stable satellite connection could be established to enable live transmission of it.

In 2018, Iceland marked their fourth consecutive non-qualification when Ari Ólafsson and the song "Our Choice" placed 19th and last in the first semi-final, standing as the country's worst result at the contest.

Iceland made its returned to the final in 2019, with Hatari and the song "Hatrið mun sigra" placing 10th with 232 points and bringing the nation back into the top 10 for the first time since 2009.

Alongside this open submission process RÚV also held discussions with experienced Icelandic songwriters inviting them to write entries for the competition.

[8] Ahead of the contest, it was reported that RÚV had signed a sponsorship deal with American streaming platform Netflix worth ISK 10,000,000, which would contribute to Söngvakeppnin 2020.

This was part of Netflix's ambitions to grow in the Nordics region and RÚV's plans to improve its media operations, as well as to better compete with international content providers.

[11][17] The songs were initially leaked on Spotify a number of hours before the official presentation on RÚV, which inadvertently revealed the artists competing in the event.

[18][19] Per the rules of the contest, all entries were required to be performed in Icelandic in the semi-finals, with artists being given a free choice on language should their song reach the final.

In each semi-final five of the ten competing acts performed and two entries determined solely by the viewing public through telephone voting progressed to the final.

[30] Following both rounds of the competition, "Think About Things" performed by Daði og Gagnamagnið emerged the winner of Söngvakeppnin 2020 and was selected as Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.

[41][42] Even before the final of Söngvakeppnin however, "Think About Things" gained great attention online and became a viral phenomenon following the release of the song's music video ahead of the contest's second semi-final.

The Swedish branch of OGAE held its event, Melfest WKND 2020 on 6 March 2020, which featured Daði og Gagnamagnið alongside a number of other acts confirmed for the 2020 contest.

A jury consisting of 10 singers that had represented Austria at Eurovision before was hired to rank each song; the best-placed entry in each semi-final advanced to the final round.

[66][67] The final on 18 April saw the Austrian public selecting its favourite act of the three qualified entries; Iceland was crowned the winner with 48% of the vote.

[71][72] Iceland was also ranked as the favourite song of both Australia and Finland, with Daði og Gagnamagnið crowned the winner of Eurovision 2020: Big Night In!

[75] Daði gave a live performance of his Eurovision song during the show held at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, subsequently finishing in second place behind Lithuania's The Roop.