 At the close of voting, it had received 3 points, placing 22nd (equal last) in a field of 23.Due to the rapidly expanding contest, the decision was taken to restrict entry to the 2002 Contest to the countries that had finished in the top 15 of the 2001 Contest, plus the countries that had been excluded from the 2001 event due to a low five-year point average from 1996–2000; neither group included Iceland which was therefore relegated from the 2002 Contest.As a "passive country" (one which broadcasts the Contest without participating in it), Iceland was permitted to return to the fold in 2003.