Egill Helgason | |
|---|---|
 Egill in 2014 | |
| Born | 9 November 1959 Iceland |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1981–present |
Egill Helgason (born 9 November 1959) is an Icelandic journalist and television presenter. [1] [2] [3]
Egill Helgason | |
|---|---|
| Egill in 2014 | |
| Born | 9 November 1959 Iceland |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1981–present |
Egill Helgason (born 9 November 1959) is an Icelandic journalist and television presenter. [1] [2] [3]
Egill Helgason began his career in journalism in print media, in newspapers such as Tíminn and Helgarpósturinn. He studied journalism in Paris in 1986-1987, at the international Journalistes en Europe.
In 1988 Egill started moving into television, first with a series on different aspects of Icelandic nationality called Mannlegi þátturinn. Later he became a reporter at RÚV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, and later at the independent Stöð 2.
In 1999 Egill started a political talk show called Silfur Egils at a newly founded television station called Skjár einn. [4] The show quickly became very popular and influential, with Egill interviewing guests both in Icelandic and English, and occasionally in other languages.
In 2007 the show moved to Stöð 2 due to differences with the owners of Skjár einn. [5] In 2007 Silfur Egils moved again, now to RÚV. [6] During the Icelandic economic crash it became a center of the heated debates going on in the country, with Egill also inviting foreign guests such as the French prosecutor Eva Joly to his show, Nobel prize winning economists such as Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz and social critics Noam Chomsky and Slavoj Zizek, as well as Julian Assange, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Carl Bildt.
At RÚV Egill also started a television show on books, named Kiljan. It is a weekly program on books, blending literary criticism and interviews with authors. Among noted authors who have appeared on the show are Michel Houellebecq, Dave Eggers, David Mitchell, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Nawal El Saadawi, Alice Walker and Dan Brown. Kiljan has been running since 2007.
Egill has made documentary series on historical subjects. Vesturfarar (Westward Bound, 2014) was a ten part series on the Icelandic emigration to Canada and the US from 1873 to 1914. [7] Steinsteypuöldin (The Age of Concrete, 2016) is in five parts, recounting how Reykjavík was built after a terrible fire in 1915 which devastated the center of town, than mainly built from timber. [8] Kaupmannahöfn, höfuðborg Íslands (Copenhagen, capital of Iceland, 2017) is the story of the long relationship between Iceland and Copenhagen, for a long time the de facto capital of the country. [9]
Egill is presently working on a series called Siglufjörður, saga bæjar (Siglufjörður, the story of a town). It recounts how an isolated village in the north of Iceland became a great hub of activity, creating great riches, due to herring fishing which took off in 1903, and than the subsequent crash when the herring finally disappeared in 1967.
Egill has won numerous Eddas, annual awards given by The Icelandic Film and Television Academy. [10]
Egill has been active on the internet since February 2000 when he started a blog on a now defunct website called Strikið. Egill has since kept on blogging, later on Vísir, Eyjan and now on a website called DV/Eyjan. He writes about different topics, politics, international affairs, literature, history, travel and music – which is another passion of Egill. He has also written a lot about Greece, being a noted philellene who spends time in Greece every year. [11]
Sjónvarp Símans, formerly SkjárEinn (ScreenOne), is an Icelandic television channel owned by Síminn.
Þórhallur Gunnarsson is an Icelandic actor and television personality. Þórhallur has a B.A. degree in acting from the Iceland Academy of the Arts and an M.A. degree in television journalism from Goldsmiths, University of London. He was employed on a permanent basis at Borgarleikhúsið theater in Reykjavík from 1996 to 2000 and has worked for RÚV radio, and the Icelandic television channels Sjónvarpið, Skjár einn, and Stöð 2. Þórhallur was head of television of RÚV, as well as serving as the editor and host of Sjónvarpið's highly rated news/talk show Kastljós. Additionally, he has taught acting and engaged in work as a director. He is currently the head of TV productions at the Icelandic production company Syn
Television in Iceland is currently composed of the public broadcasting service of RÚV, five free-to-view channels and a number of subscription channels provided by private broadcasters. Broadcasts began in 1955 when the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) started an English-language television service broadcasting from Naval Air Station Keflavik, which operated until 2006. The first Icelandic-language television broadcasts started in September 1966 with the launch of RÚV, originally called Sjónvarpið. In 1986 the first privately owned TV station, Stöð 2, began broadcasts. In recent years the emergence of foreign internet streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ has seen shift from domestic providers provide similar on demand streaming services such as Síminn Premium and Stöð 2+.
Vísir was an Icelandic newspaper founded in December 1910 by Einar Gunnarsson, originally only distributed in and around Reykjavík. In 1967, Jónas Kristjánsson became its editor. In 1975, he left the paper after a conflict with the ownership group of on his editorial policy and founded Dagblaðið.
Egill "Gillz" Einarsson is an Icelandic television personality, radio show host, fitness coach, motivational speaker, DJ and singer. As a musician, he was part of the dance act Merzedes Club in 2008 where he was known as Gillz and Gillzenegger. After the break-up he has continued as a disc jockey known as DJ MuscleBoy. His advice, his videos and his writings have received widespread criticism, including accusations of misogyny, promotion of rape, and racism.
The 5th Edda Awards were held on 10 October 2003 at Nordica Hótel in Reykjavik. The awards were hosted by TV presenters Eva María Jónsdóttir and Sverrir Þór Sverrisson (Sveppi). The latter was the previous year's Best Television Personality. 15 awards were given plus the Icelandic Film and Television Academy's Honorary Award.
Hreinn Beck is a film and television producer, academic and political activist who has advocated for reduced restrictions on copyright and patents.
Trapped is an Icelandic television mystery drama series, created by Baltasar Kormákur and produced by RVK Studios. Broadcast in Iceland on RÚV started on 27 December 2015. Co-written by Sigurjón Kjartansson and Clive Bradley, the first series of ten episodes follows Andri Ólafsson, the chief of police in a remote town in Iceland, solving the murder of a former townsman whose mutilated corpse is recovered by fishermen. The series was directed by Kormákur, Baldvin Z, Óskar Thor Axelsson and Börkur Sigthorsson.
Hörður Felixson was an Icelandic multi-sport athlete. He was part of the Iceland national football team between 1958 and 1963, playing 11 matches. He was a member of Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur where he won several national championships and Cup titles. Hörður also played handball for several years, both with the Iceland national handball team and KR, where he won the national championship in 1958.
Sigrún Davíðsdóttir is an Icelandic journalist and writer. She became the London correspondent for the Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV in 2000 and has been nominated as RÚV's Reporter of the Year. She is particularly noted for her coverage, since the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis, of financial crime, tax avoidance, and corruption, documented through her blog Icelog. She has, however, published a wide variety of books alongside her journalism.
On 29 May 1947, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft of Flugfélag Íslands crashed on Hestfjall on the west side of Héðinsfjörður, a fjord in northern Iceland. All 25 people on board were killed. It is the deadliest air accident in Iceland.
Jónas Kristjánsson was an Icelandic writer, newspaper journalist and editor. He was one of the most influential people in the Icelandic newspaper history during the second half of the 20th century and was one of the strongest spokespersons for moving the newspapers publications away from the political parties.
Ellert Björgvinsson Schram is an Icelandic former footballer and politician.
Arna Sigríður Albertsdóttir is an Icelandic handcyclist. Formerly a multi-sport athlete, she took up handcycling after being paralyzed in a skiing accident in 2006. In 2015, she became the first Icelandic athlete to compete in the UCI World Championships and in 2021, she became the first Icelander to participate in handcycling at the Paralympics.
Haraldur Ingi "Halli" Þorleifsson is an Icelandic entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist, and musician. The founder of the company Ueno and the 2019 Icelandic businessman of the year, he sold his company to Twitter in 2021, then worked for Twitter until 2023.
Kári Egilsson is an Icelandic recording artist, songwriter, singer and keyboard player. Kári works in different genres, pop music, jazz and he is also a trained classical musician.
Einar Örn Birgisson was an Icelandic footballer and businessman. He played football for several years in Iceland and Norway, winning the Icelandic championship and Icelandic Cup in 1999 with KR. In November 2000, he was murdered by his business partner and former teammate Atli Helgason.
Ingvi Hrafn Jónsson is an Icelandic news reporter and television host. He is known for his career as the news director for RÚV and Stöð 2 and later for his TV station ÍNN.
Dóra Takefusa is an Icelandic actress, TV presenter and producer. She is known for her film roles in Einkalíf, Veggfóður and Bak við tjöldin and later as a TV presenter at Skjár einn. She is the half-sister of former footballer Björgólfur Takefusa.
