Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Norway
Norway
Member stationNRK
National selection events
National final
Internal selection
  • 1991
Participation summary
Appearances59 (56 finals)
Host1986, 1996, 2010
First appearance1960
Highest placement1st: 1985, 1995, 2009
Nul points1963, 1978, 1981, 1997
External links
NRK page
Norway's page at Eurovision.tv
Song contest current event.png 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[]

Table key
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 Russia Moscow
2015 Composer Award "A Monster Like Me" Kjetil Mørland (m & l) Mørland & Debrah Scarlett 8 102 Austria Vienna

Winner by OGAE members[]

Year Song Performer Place Points Host city Ref.
2009 "Fairytale" Alexander Rybak 1 387 Russia 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.
19982005 Jon Ola Sand
20062009, 20122015 Stian Malme
20102011 Skjalg Solstad
2016–present Stig Karlsen

Commentators and spokespersons[]

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
2020 Marte Stokstad 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[]

See also[]

Notes and references[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Although the song was mostly performed in Norwegian, the title and line "Voi Voi" is in Northern Sami.
  2. ^ Also contains some lyrics in Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German, Irish, Hebrew, Serbo-Croatian, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian.
  3. ^ Although the song was performed mostly in Norwegian (and with joik), the title and line "Sámiid ædnan" is in Northern Sami.
  4. ^ Contained words in English in the reprise.
  5. ^ a b If a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Although the song was mostly performed in English, the title and line "Ven a bailar conmigo" is in Spanish.
  9. ^ Although the song was performed mostly in English (and with joik), the line "Čajet dan čuovgga" is in Northern Sami.
  10. ^ The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  11. ^ All conductors are of Norwegian nationality unless otherwise noted.
  12. ^ Conducted by Egil Monn-Iversen at the national finals.
  13. ^ Conducted by Helge Hurum at the national final.
  14. ^ Conducted by Egil Monn-Iversen at the national finals.
  15. ^ Also conducted the Danish entry. Fred Nøddelund conducted at the national final.
  16. ^ The song was performed without orchestral accompaniment at the national final.

References[]

  1. ^ Tangen, Anders Martinus (29 August 2021). "Datoer for MGP 2022 er klare". ESC Norge (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  2. ^ Klier, Marcus (18 May 2009). "The Eurovision 2009 Marcel Bezençon Awards". esctoday.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Winners of the Marcel Bezençon Awards 2015". eurovision.tv. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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)
  6. ^ 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)
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ "Executive Supervisor". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  9. ^ a b c "Se hele finalen her". 3 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Hondal, Victor (26 May 2012). "EBU announces voting order". ESCToday. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  13. ^ Granger, Anthony (12 May 2013). "Malmo'13: All The Spokespersons Announced". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  14. ^ Granger, Anthony (10 May 2014). "ESC'14: Voting Order Announced". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  15. ^ Doyle, Daniel (23 May 2015). "Vienna Calling: Spokespersons revealed". ESCToday. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  16. ^ Granger, Anthony (14 May 2016). "ESC'16: 42 Spokespersons Revealed For Tonight". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  17. ^ Granger, Anthony (9 May 2017). "Norway: Marcus & Martinus Announcing The Jury Points". Eurovoix. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  18. ^ Granger, Anthony (9 May 2018). "Norway: JOWST & Aleksander Walmann To Reveal Norwegian Jury Points". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  19. ^ Herbert, Emily (13 May 2019). "Norway: Alexander Rybak Revealed as Eurovision 2019 Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  20. ^ Sand, Camilla (17 April 2020). "Marte Stokstad blir ny kommentator for Eurovision Song Contest" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  21. ^ Hagen, Knut-Øyvind (17 April 2020). "Slik blir årets alternative Eurovision Song Contest". NRK (in Norwegian).
  22. ^ GP-general Per Sundnes slutter i NRK
  23. ^ – Skulle veldig gjerne hatt en seier i beltet før jeg gir meg
  24. ^ a b Gir seg som MGP-general

External links[]

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