Iceland's Real Eurovision Entry Was The Polar Opposite Of Fire Saga In 'Eurovision'

Every year, Eurovision manages to capture the collective attention of the internet with its lineup of artists all desperately trying to one-up each other with one grandiose performance after another. However, this year will be the first without a Eurovision competition (due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic). In that absence rises Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, a Netflix comedy premiering on June 26 that lampoons the already over-the-top performances that define the show. At the film's center is Fire Saga, a band that would be right at home in the real Eurovision competition — mostly thanks to the many inspirations the filmmakers had to draw from. But is Eurovision's Fire Saga actually based on a real band?

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga follows two Iceland-based Eurovision hopefuls, Lars (Will Ferrell) and Sigrid (Rachel McAdams), who are collectively known as Fire Saga, a rock band trying to make it big and move on from their small fishing town made up of people who don't believe in them. Among those doubters is Lars' father, Erick (Pierce Brosnan), whose disappointment hounds Lars as he strives to become a popular musician. Eventually, as the trailer shows, Fire Saga make it into Eurovision — albeit by default — and are tasked with representing their home country of Iceland on this worldwide stage.

While the film is an entirely fictitious story about a fictional band, they drew heavily from the real world competition. Ferrell even brought his own firsthand knowledge of the competition, having traveled to the final performance of Eurovision 2018. While there, he met the organizers of the competition, who gave Ferrell their blessing to go ahead with the film, according to BBC's report of his trip. What's more, Ferrell also reportedly met with the competitors, which undoubtedly provided some measure of inspiration for the characters and events as shown in Eurovision.

Though Fire Saga doesn't really exist — and there's no hard facts about who the band or its members are based on — there are a few former Eurovision competitors whose acts and style are equally as wild. Take, for example, Iceland's representatives at Eurovision 2019: Hatari, whose industrial bondage aesthetic captured the attentions of not just Eurovision fans, but the internet in general. If you're looking for more Eurovision after streaming the film, watching Hatari is definitely the right place to start.