Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
Norway | |
---|---|
Member station | NRK |
National selection events | National final
Internal selection
|
Participation summary | |
Appearances | 59 (56 finals) |
Host | 1986, 1996, 2010 |
First appearance | 1960 |
Highest placement | 1st: 1985, 1995, 2009 |
Nul points | 1963, 1978, 1981, 1997 |
External links | |
NRK page | |
Norway's page at Eurovision.tv | |
For the most recent participation see Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 |
Norway has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 59 times since making its debut in 1960 and has only been absent twice since then. In 1970, the country boycotted the contest over disagreements about the voting structure, and in 2002, they were relegated. The contest is broadcast in Norway by NRK, which also broadcasts Norway's national selection competition, Melodi Grand Prix.
Before 1985, Norway's best result in the contest was Åse Kleveland's third-place in 1966. Norway's three victories in the contest were achieved by Bobbysocks in 1985, Secret Garden in 1995 and Alexander Rybak in 2009. Norway also finished second at the 1996 contest, with former Bobbysocks member Elisabeth Andreassen. Norway has finished last in eleven Eurovision finals, of which four times with "nul points". In 2019, Norway became the third televote-winning country to not win the contest (the previous ones being Italy in 2015 and Russia in 2016). Norway has a total of eleven top-five results in the contest, the latest being Margaret Berger's fourth-place in 2013.
History[]
Norway's first entrant in the contest in Nora Brockstedt in 1960, who finished fourth with the song "Voi Voi". Brockstedt returned the next year with "Sommer i Palma", this time placing seventh. Åse Kleveland then finished third in 1966 with "Intet er nytt under solen", following which Norway would fail to reach the top ten in fourteen out of their next fifteen attempts, with the exception being Bendik Singers’ seventh place finish in 1973. Before 1985, Norway had only received a top-ten score in six out of twenty-four attempts, and had finished last the same number of times.
Bobbysocks gave the country its first victory in 1985, with the song "La det swinge". Norway went on to achieve two more top five results over the next ten years, with Karoline Krüger in 1988 and Silje Vige in 1993, who both finished fifth.
Norway's second victory came in 1995 with Secret Garden's mainly instrumental Celtic-influenced ethno-piece "Nocturne". In 1996, Elisabeth Andreassen, who had won the contest as one half of Bobbysocks, returned to the contest as a solo artist, finishing in second place. In 2003, Jostein Hasselgård came fourth.
Norway won for the third time in 2009, with Alexander Rybak's hugely successful song "Fairytale". The song’s score of 387 points was the highest ever winning total under the 1975-2015 voting system, and also achieved the biggest ever margin of victory: 492 points in total were distributed between the competing countries in 2009, meaning "Fairytale" received 78.7% of the points that could be rewarded. Rybak later returned to the contest in 2018, performing "That's How You Write a Song"; he received the highest number of votes of the second semi-final, but ultimately placed fifteenth. He remains the only Norwegian entrant to have won a semi-final, as well as the only two-time semi-final winner in the history of the contest.
In 2012, Norway finished last in the final for the eleventh time. Norway has the dubious distinction of finishing last in the Eurovision final more than any other country, and along with Austria, has received "nul points" (zero points) in the contest on four occasions; in 1963, 1978, 1981 and 1997.
Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Norway has finished in the top ten seven times. Wig Wam finished ninth with "In My Dreams" in 2005, Maria Haukaas Storeng was fifth in 2008 with "Hold On Be Strong", Alexander Rybak won in 2009, Margaret Berger was fourth in 2013 with "I Feed You My Love", Carl Espen finished eighth in 2014 performing "Silent Storm", Mørland & Debrah Scarlett finished eighth in 2015 with "A Monster Like Me", Jowst and Aleksander Walmann finished tenth with "Grab the Moment" in 2017, and Keiino finished sixth in 2019 with "Spirit in the Sky", placing first with the televote. In total, Norway has eleven top-five and twenty-four top-ten finishes in the contest.
Participation overview[]
1
|
Winner |
2
|
Second place |
3
|
Third place |
◁
|
Last place |
X
|
Entry selected but did not compete |
†
|
Upcoming |
Year | Entrant | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nora Brockstedt | "Voi Voi" | Norwegian[a] | 4 | 11 | No semi-finals | ||
Nora Brockstedt | "Sommer i Palma" | Norwegian | 7 | 10 | |||
Inger Jacobsen | "Kom sol, kom regn" | Norwegian | 10 | 2 | |||
1963
|
Anita Thallaug | "Solhverv" | Norwegian | 13 ◁ | 0 | ||
Arne Bendiksen | "Spiral" | Norwegian | 8 | 6 | |||
1965
|
Kirsti Sparboe | "Karusell" | Norwegian | 13 | 1 | ||
Åse Kleveland | "Intet er nytt under solen" | Norwegian | 3 | 15 | |||
1967
|
Kirsti Sparboe | "Dukkemann" | Norwegian | 14 | 2 | ||
1968
|
Odd Børre | "Stress" | Norwegian | 13 | 2 | ||
Kirsti Sparboe | "Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli" | Norwegian | 16 ◁ | 1 | |||
1971
|
Hanne Krogh | "Lykken er" | Norwegian | 17 | 65 | ||
1972
|
Grethe Kausland & Benny Borg | "Småting" | Norwegian | 14 | 73 | ||
1973
|
Bendik Singers | "It's Just a Game" | English, French[b] | 7 | 89 | ||
1974
|
Anne-Karine Strøm & Bendik Singers | "The First Day of Love" | English | 14 ◁ | 3 | ||
Ellen Nikolaysen | "Touch My Life (With Summer)" | English | 18 | 11 | |||
Anne-Karine Strøm | "Mata Hari" | English | 18 ◁ | 7 | |||
1977
|
Anita Skorgan | "Casanova" | Norwegian | 14 | 18 | ||
Jahn Teigen | "Mil etter mil" | Norwegian | 20 ◁ | 0 | |||
Anita Skorgan | "Oliver" | Norwegian | 11 | 57 | |||
1980
|
Sverre Kjelsberg & Mattis Hætta | "Sámiid ædnan" | Norwegian[c] | 16 | 15 | ||
1981
|
Finn Kalvik | "Aldri i livet" | Norwegian | 20 ◁ | 0 | ||
1982
|
Jahn Teigen & Anita Skorgan | "Adieu" | Norwegian | 12 | 40 | ||
1983
|
Jahn Teigen | "Do Re Mi" | Norwegian | 9 | 53 | ||
1984
|
Dollie de Luxe | "Lenge leve livet" | Norwegian | 17 | 29 | ||
1985
|
Bobbysocks | "La det swinge" | Norwegian[d] | 1 | 123 | ||
1986
|
Ketil Stokkan | "Romeo" | Norwegian | 12 | 44 | ||
1987
|
Kate Gulbrandsen | "Mitt liv" | Norwegian | 9 | 65 | ||
1988
|
Karoline Krüger | "For vår jord" | Norwegian | 5 | 88 | ||
1989
|
Britt Synnøve | "Venners nærhet" | Norwegian | 17 | 30 | ||
Ketil Stokkan | "Brandenburger Tor" | Norwegian | 21 ◁ | 8 | |||
Just 4 Fun | "Mrs. Thompson" | Norwegian | 17 | 14 | |||
1992
|
Merethe Trøan | "Visjoner" | Norwegian | 18 | 23 | ||
1993
|
Silje Vige | "Alle mine tankar" | Norwegian | 5 | 120 | Kvalifikacija za Millstreet | |
1994
|
Elisabeth Andreassen & Jan Werner Danielsen | "Duett" | Norwegian | 6 | 76 | No semi-finals | |
1995
|
Secret Garden | "Nocturne" | Norwegian | 1 | 148 | ||
1996
|
Elisabeth Andreassen | "I evighet" | Norwegian | 2 | 114 | Host country[e] | |
1997
|
Tor Endresen | "San Francisco" | Norwegian | 24 ◁ | 0 | No semi-finals | |
1998
|
Lars A. Fredriksen | "Alltid sommer" | Norwegian | 8 | 79[f] | ||
1999
|
Stig Van Eijk | "Living My Life Without You" | English | 14 | 35 | ||
2000
|
Charmed | "My Heart Goes Boom" | English | 11 | 57 | ||
2001
|
Haldor Lægreid | "On My Own" | English | 22 ◁ | 3 | ||
2003
|
Jostein Hasselgård | "I'm Not Afraid To Move On" | English | 4 | 123 | ||
2004
|
Knut Anders Sørum | "High" | English | 24 ◁ | 3 | Top 11 previous year[g] | |
2005
|
Wig Wam | "In My Dreams" | English | 9 | 125 | 6 | 164 |
2006
|
Christine Guldbrandsen | "Alvedansen" | Norwegian | 14 | 36 | Top 11 previous year[g] | |
2007
|
Guri Schanke | "Ven a bailar conmigo" | English[h] | Failed to qualify | 18 | 48 | |
2008
|
Maria Haukaas Storeng | "Hold On Be Strong" | English | 5 | 182 | 4 | 106 |
2009
|
Alexander Rybak | "Fairytale" | English | 1 | 387 | 1 | 201 |
2010
|
Didrik Solli-Tangen | "My Heart Is Yours" | English | 20 | 35 | Host country[e] | |
2011
|
Stella Mwangi | "Haba Haba" | English, Swahili | Failed to qualify | 17 | 30 | |
2012
|
Tooji | "Stay" | English | 26 ◁ | 7 | 10 | 45 |
2013
|
Margaret Berger | "I Feed You My Love" | English | 4 | 191 | 3 | 120 |
2014
|
Carl Espen | "Silent Storm" | English | 8 | 88 | 6 | 77 |
2015
|
Mørland & Debrah Scarlett | "A Monster Like Me" | English | 8 | 102 | 4 | 123 |
2016
|
Agnete | "Icebreaker" | English | Failed to qualify | 13 | 63 | |
2017
|
JOWST | "Grab the Moment" | English | 10 | 158 | 5 | 189 |
2018
|
Alexander Rybak | "That's How You Write a Song" | English | 15 | 144 | 1 | 266 |
2019
|
KEiiNO | "Spirit in the Sky" | English[i] | 6 | 331 | 7 | 210 |
2020
|
Ulrikke | "Attention" | English | Contest cancelled[j] X | |||
2021
|
Tix | "Fallen Angel" | English | 18 | 75 | 10 | 115 |
2022
|
TBD 19 February 2022 †[1] | Upcoming † |
Hostings[]
Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Bergen | Grieghallen | Åse Kleveland |
1996 | Oslo | Oslo Spektrum | Ingvild Bryn and Morten Harket |
2010 | Oslo | Telenor Arena | Nadia Hasnaoui, Haddy N'jie and Erik Solbakken |
Songs of Europe[]
Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | Mysen | Momarken | Rolf Kirkvaag and Titten Tei |
Awards[]
Marcel Bezençon Awards[]
Year | Category | Song | Composer(s) lyrics (l) / music (m) |
Performer | Final | Points | Host city | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Press Award | "Fairytale" | Alexander Rybak (m & l) | Alexander Rybak | 1 | 387 | Moscow | |
2015 | Composer Award | "A Monster Like Me" | Kjetil Mørland (m & l) | Mørland & Debrah Scarlett | 8 | 102 | Vienna |
Winner by OGAE members[]
Year | Song | Performer | Place | Points | Host city | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | "Fairytale" | Alexander Rybak | 1 | 387 | Moscow |
Related involvement[]
Conductors[]
Year | Conductor[k] | Musical Director | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Øivind Bergh | N/A | [5] | |
1961 | ||||
1962 | ||||
1963 | ||||
1964 | Karsten Andersen | |||
1965 | Øivind Bergh | |||
1966 | ||||
1967 | ||||
1968 | ||||
1969 | ||||
1971 | Arne Bendiksen | [l] | [6] | |
1972 | Carsten Klouman | |||
1973 | ||||
1974 | Frode Thingnæs | |||
1975 | Carsten Klouman | |||
1976 | Frode Thingnæs | [m] | ||
1977 | Carsten Klouman | |||
1978 | ||||
1979 | Sigurd Jansen | [n] | ||
1980 | [7] | |||
1981 | ||||
1982 | ||||
1983 | ||||
1984 | ||||
1985 | Terje Fjærn | |||
1986 | Egil Monn-Iversen | [o] | ||
1987 | Terje Fjærn | N/A | ||
1988 | Arild Stav | [p] | ||
1989 | Pete Knutsen | |||
1990 | ||||
1991 | ||||
1992 | Rolf Løvland | |||
1993 | ||||
1994 | Pete Knutsen | |||
1995 | Geir Langslet | |||
1996 | Frode Thingnæs | |||
1997 | Geir Langslet | N/A | ||
1998 |
Additionally, there was an orchestra present at the 1999 national final, conducted by Geir Langslet (the winning song, however, was presented without orchestral accompaniment) and at the 2015 national final, conducted by Anders Eljas.
Heads of delegation[]
Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1998–2005 | Jon Ola Sand | |
2006–2009, 2012–2015 | Stian Malme | |
2010–2011 | Skjalg Solstad | |
2016–present | Stig Karlsen |
Commentators and spokespersons[]
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2012) |
Year | Commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1960 | Erik Diesen | Kari Borg Mannsåker | |
1961 | Leif Rustad | Mette Janson | |
1962 | Odd Grythe | Kari Borg Mannsåker | |
1963 | Øivind Johnsen | Roald Øyen | |
1964 | Odd Grythe | Sverre Christophersen | |
1965 | Erik Diesen | ||
1966 | Sverre Christophersen | Erik Diesen | |
1967 | Erik Diesen | Sverre Christophersen | |
1968 | Roald Øyen | ||
1969 | Sverre Christophersen | Janka Polanyi | |
1970 | No commentator | Did not participate | |
1971 | Sverre Christophersen | No spokesperson | |
1972 | Roald Øyen | ||
1973 | John Andreassen | ||
1974 | Sverre Christophersen | ||
1975 | |||
1976 | Jo Vestly | ||
1977 | John Andreassen | ||
1978 | Bjørn Scheele | Egil Teige | |
1979 | Egil Teige | Sverre Christophersen | |
1980 | Knut Aunbu | Roald Øyen | |
1981 | Sverre Christophersen | ||
1982 | Bjørn Scheele | Erik Diesen | |
1983 | Ivar Dyrhaug | ||
1984 | Roald Øyen | Egil Teige | |
1985 | Veslemøy Kjendsli | Erik Diesen | |
1986 | Knut Bjørnsen | Nina Matheson | |
1987 | John Andreassen and Tor Paulsen | Sverre Christophersen | |
1988 | John Andreassen | Andreas Diesen | |
1989 | Sverre Christophersen | ||
1990 | Leif Erik Forberg | ||
1991 | John Andreassen and Jahn Teigen | ||
1992 | John Andreassen | ||
1993 | Leif Erik Forberg | ||
1994 | Jostein Pedersen | ||
1995 | Annette Groth | ||
1996 | Jostein Pedersen | Ragnhild Sælthun Fjørtoft | |
1997 | |||
1998 | |||
1999 | |||
2000 | Marit Åslein | ||
2001 | Roald Øyen | ||
2002 | Did not participate | ||
2003 | Roald Øyen | ||
2004 | Ingvild Helljesen | ||
2005 | |||
2006 | |||
2007 | Per Sundnes | Synnøve Svabø | |
2008 | Per Sundnes and Hanne Hoftun | Stian Barsnes-Simonsen | |
2009 | Synnøve Svabø | ||
2010 | Olav Viksmo-Slettan | Anne Rimmen | |
2011 | Nadia Hasnaoui | ||
2012 | |||
2013 | Tooji | ||
2014 | Margrethe Røed | ||
2015 | |||
2016 | Elisabeth Andreassen | ||
2017 | Marcus & Martinus | ||
2018 | Aleksander Walmann and Jowst | ||
2019 | Alexander Rybak | ||
Not announced before cancellation | |||
2021 | Marte Stokstad | Silje Skjemstad Cruz |
Supervisors[]
List of supervisors of Melodi Grand Prix, better known as MGP-general or GP-general in Norway:
- Per Sundnes (c. 2007–2012)[22]
- (2013–2015)[23]
- Jan Fredrik Karlsen (2016–2017)[24]
- (2018–present)[24]
Gallery[]
Anne-Karine Strøm performing "Mata Hari" in The Hague (1976)
Bobbysocks performing "La det swinge" in Gothenburg (1985)
Guri Schanke performing "Ven a bailar conmigo" in Helsinki (2007)
Maria Haukaas Storeng performing "Hold On Be Strong" in Belgrade (2008)
Didrik Solli-Tangen performing "My Heart Is Yours" in Oslo (2010)
Margaret Berger performing "I Feed You My Love" in Malmö (2013)
Carl Espen performing "Silent Storm" in Copenhagen (2014)
Mørland & Debrah Scarlett performing "A Monster Like Me" in Vienna (2015)
Agnete performing "Icebreaker" in Stockholm (2016)
Jowst performing "Grab the Moment" in Kyiv (2017)
Alexander Rybak performing "That's How You Write a Song" in Lisbon (2018)
Keiino performing "Spirit in the Sky" in Tel Aviv (2019)
Tix performing "Fallen Angel" in Rotterdam (2021)
See also[]
- Melodi Grand Prix
- Norway in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
- Norway in the Eurovision Young Dancers – A competition organised by the EBU for younger dancers aged between 16 and 21.
- Norway in the Eurovision Young Musicians – A competition organised by the EBU for musicians aged 18 years and younger.
Notes and references[]
Notes[]
- ^ Although the song was mostly performed in Norwegian, the title and line "Voi Voi" is in Northern Sami.
- ^ Also contains some lyrics in Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Irish, Hebrew, Serbo-Croatian, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian.
- ^ Although the song was performed mostly in Norwegian (and with joik), the title and line "Sámiid ædnan" is in Northern Sami.
- ^ Contained words in English in the reprise.
- ^ a b If a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year.
- ^ Spain originally gave its 12 points to Israel and 10 to Norway. After the broadcast it was announced that Spanish broadcaster wrongly tallied the votes and Germany should have got the top mark – 12 points – instead of being snubbed, as it happened. The mistake was corrected and so Germany was placed 7th over Norway. Israel and Norway both received 2 points less than originally and Croatia, Malta, Portugal, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Estonia and Turkey all received one point less than indicated during the broadcast.
- ^ a b According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the Grand Final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
- ^ Although the song was mostly performed in English, the title and line "Ven a bailar conmigo" is in Spanish.
- ^ Although the song was performed mostly in English (and with joik), the line "Čajet dan čuovgga" is in Northern Sami.
- ^ The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ All conductors are of Norwegian nationality unless otherwise noted.
- ^ Conducted by Egil Monn-Iversen at the national finals.
- ^ Conducted by Helge Hurum at the national final.
- ^ Conducted by Egil Monn-Iversen at the national finals.
- ^ Also conducted the Danish entry. Fred Nøddelund conducted at the national final.
- ^ The song was performed without orchestral accompaniment at the national final.
References[]
- ^ Tangen, Anders Martinus (29 August 2021). "Datoer for MGP 2022 er klare". ESC Norge (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ Klier, Marcus (18 May 2009). "The Eurovision 2009 Marcel Bezençon Awards". esctoday.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ "Winners of the Marcel Bezençon Awards 2015". eurovision.tv. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ Cobb, Ryan (21 April 2017). "Analysing ten years of OGAE voting: "Underneath the fan favourite bias is a worthwhile indicator"". escxtra.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Volume One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 93–101. ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
{{cite book}}
:|volume=
has extra text (help) - ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 142–168. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
{{cite book}}
:|volume=
has extra text (help) - ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Volume Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
{{cite book}}
:|volume=
has extra text (help) - ^ "Executive Supervisor". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ a b c "Se hele finalen her". 3 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ Norli, Kristin (18 May 2009). "Klagerekord mot Svabø" [Complaint record against Svabø]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Granger, Anthony (20 February 2020). "Norway: Olav Viksmo-Slettan Steps Down as Commentator After Ten Contests". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ Hondal, Victor (26 May 2012). "EBU announces voting order". ESCToday. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (12 May 2013). "Malmo'13: All The Spokespersons Announced". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (10 May 2014). "ESC'14: Voting Order Announced". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ Doyle, Daniel (23 May 2015). "Vienna Calling: Spokespersons revealed". ESCToday. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (14 May 2016). "ESC'16: 42 Spokespersons Revealed For Tonight". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (9 May 2017). "Norway: Marcus & Martinus Announcing The Jury Points". Eurovoix. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (9 May 2018). "Norway: JOWST & Aleksander Walmann To Reveal Norwegian Jury Points". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ Herbert, Emily (13 May 2019). "Norway: Alexander Rybak Revealed as Eurovision 2019 Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ Sand, Camilla (17 April 2020). "Marte Stokstad blir ny kommentator for Eurovision Song Contest" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ Hagen, Knut-Øyvind (17 April 2020). "Slik blir årets alternative Eurovision Song Contest". NRK (in Norwegian).
- ^ GP-general Per Sundnes slutter i NRK
- ^ – Skulle veldig gjerne hatt en seier i beltet før jeg gir meg
- ^ a b Gir seg som MGP-general
External links[]
- Melodi Grand Prix
- Points to and from Norway eurovisioncovers.co.uk
- Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
- Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest
- Melodi Grand Prix