Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest

Norway has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 58 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.

Norway
Member stationNRK
National selection events
Participation summary
Appearances58 (55 finals)
First appearance1960
Best result1st: 1985, 1995, 2009
Nul points1963, 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

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 Song Contest finals, of which four times with "nul points". 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 1960 was Nora Brockstedt, who finished fourth. Åse Kleveland then finished third in 1966. Following Kleveland's result, Norway would fail to reach the top ten in 14 out of their next 15 attempts, the exception being Bendik Singers seventh place in 1973.

Before 1985, Norway had only reached the top five in two out of 24 attempts and had finished last six times. In 1985, Bobbysocks gave the country its first victory with the song "La det swinge" (Let It Swing). Norway went on to achieve two more top five results over the next ten years, with both Karoline Krüger in 1988 and Silje Vige in 1993, finishing 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 finish second. In 2003, Jostein Hasselgård was fourth.

Norway won for the third time in 2009, with Alexander Rybak's smash hit "Fairytale". The 2009 winning score of 387 points being the highest ever winning total under the voting system used between 1975 and 2015. It also achieved the biggest ever margin of victory. 492 points were able to be rewarded in 2009. (2009-Norway) That's 78.7% of the total points that could be rewarded.

In 2012, Norway finished last in the final for the 11th time. Norway has the two dubious distinctions of having finished last in the Eurovision final more than any other country and for having the most "nul points" (zero points) in the contest, failing to score a point four times, in 1963, 1978, 1981 and 1997. Austria has also scored "nul points" four times.

Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Norway has finished in the top ten seven times. Wig Wam finished ninth with the song "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 featuring Aleksander Walmann finished tenth with the song "Grab the Moment" in 2017 and Keiino finished sixth with the song "Spirit in the Sky" in 2019 (when they also finished first with the televote in the Grand Final). Norway has a total of 11 top five and 24 top ten results in the contest.

Contestants

Table key
1
Winner
2
Second place
3
Third place
Last place
X
Entry selected but did not compete
Year Artist Language Title Final Points Semi Points
Nora Brockstedt Norwegian[lower-alpha 1] "Voi Voi" 4 11 No semi-finals
Nora Brockstedt Norwegian "Sommer i Palma" 7 10
Inger Jacobsen Norwegian "Kom sol, kom regn" 10 2
Anita Thallaug Norwegian "Solhverv" 13 ◁ 0
Arne Bendiksen Norwegian "Spiral" 8 6
Kirsti Sparboe Norwegian "Karusell" 13 1
Åse Kleveland Norwegian "Intet er nytt under solen" 3 15
Kirsti Sparboe Norwegian "Dukkemann" 14 2
Odd Børre Norwegian "Stress" 13 2
Kirsti Sparboe Norwegian "Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli" 16 ◁ 1
Hanne Krogh Norwegian "Lykken er" 17 65
Grethe Kausland & Benny Borg Norwegian "Småting" 14 73
Bendik Singers English, French[lower-alpha 2] "It's Just a Game" 7 89
Anne-Karine Strøm & Bendik Singers English "The First Day of Love" 14 ◁ 3
Ellen Nikolaysen English "Touch My Life (With Summer)" 18 11
Anne-Karine Strøm English "Mata Hari" 18 ◁ 7
Anita Skorgan Norwegian "Casanova" 14 18
Jahn Teigen Norwegian "Mil etter mil" 20 ◁ 0
Anita Skorgan Norwegian "Oliver" 11 57
Sverre Kjelsberg & Mattis Hætta Norwegian[lower-alpha 3] "Sámiid ædnan" 16 15
Finn Kalvik Norwegian "Aldri i livet" 20 ◁ 0
Jahn Teigen & Anita Skorgan Norwegian "Adieu" 12 40
Jahn Teigen Norwegian "Do Re Mi" 9 53
Dollie de Luxe Norwegian "Lenge leve livet" 17 29
Bobbysocks Norwegian "La det swinge" 1 123
Ketil Stokkan Norwegian "Romeo" 12 44
Kate Gulbrandsen Norwegian "Mitt liv" 9 65
Karoline Krüger Norwegian "For vår jord" 5 88
Britt Synnøve Norwegian "Venners nærhet" 17 30
Ketil Stokkan Norwegian "Brandenburger Tor" 21 ◁ 8
Just 4 Fun Norwegian "Mrs. Thompson" 17 14
Merethe Trøan Norwegian "Visjoner" 18 23
Silje Vige Norwegian "Alle mine tankar" 5 120 Kvalifikacija za Millstreet
Elisabeth Andreassen & Jan Werner Danielsen Norwegian "Duett" 6 76 No semi-finals
Secret Garden Norwegian "Nocturne" 1 148
Elisabeth Andreassen Norwegian "I evighet" 2 114 Host country[lower-alpha 4]
Tor Endresen Norwegian "San Francisco" 24 ◁ 0 No semi-finals
Lars A. Fredriksen Norwegian "Alltid sommer" 8 79[lower-alpha 5]
Stig Van Eijk English "Living My Life Without You" 14 35
Charmed English "My Heart Goes Boom" 11 57
Haldor Lægreid English "On My Own" 22 ◁ 3
Jostein Hasselgård English "I'm Not Afraid To Move On" 4 123
Knut Anders Sørum English "High" 24 ◁ 3 Top 11 previous year[lower-alpha 6]
Wig Wam English "In My Dreams" 9 125 6 164
Christine Guldbrandsen Norwegian "Alvedansen" 14 36 Top 11 previous year[lower-alpha 6]
Guri Schanke English[lower-alpha 7] "Ven a bailar conmigo" Failed to qualify 18 48
Maria Haukaas Storeng English "Hold On Be Strong" 5 182 4 106
Alexander Rybak English "Fairytale" 1 387 1 201
Didrik Solli-Tangen English "My Heart Is Yours" 20 35 Host country
Stella Mwangi English, Swahili "Haba Haba" Failed to qualify 17 30
Tooji English "Stay" 26 ◁ 7 10 45
Margaret Berger English "I Feed You My Love" 4 191 3 120
Carl Espen English "Silent Storm" 8 88 6 77
Mørland & Debrah Scarlett English "A Monster Like Me" 8 102 4 123
Agnete English "Icebreaker" Failed to qualify 13 63
JOWST English "Grab the Moment" 10 158 5 189
Alexander Rybak English "That's How You Write a Song" 15 144 1 266
KEiiNO English[lower-alpha 8] "Spirit in the Sky" 6 331 7 210
Ulrikke English "Attention" Contest cancelled[lower-alpha 9] X

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

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 DiesenKari Borg Mannsåker
1961 Leif RustadMette Janson
1962 Odd GrytheKari Borg Mannsåker
1963 Øivind JohnsenRoald Øyen
1964 Odd GrytheSverre Christophersen
1965 Erik Diesen
1966 Sverre ChristophersenErik Diesen
1967 Erik DiesenSverre Christophersen
1968 Roald Øyen
1969 Sverre ChristophersenJanka Polanyi
1970 No commentatorDid not participate
1971 Sverre ChristophersenNo spokesperson
1972 Roald Øyen
1973 John Andreassen
1974 Sverre Christophersen
1975
1976 Jo Vestly
1977 John Andreassen
1978 Bjørn ScheeleEgil Teige
1979 Egil TeigeSverre Christophersen
1980 Knut AunbuRoald Øyen
1981 Sverre Christophersen
1982 Bjørn ScheeleErik Diesen
1983 Ivar Dyrhaug
1984 Roald ØyenEgil Teige
1985 Veslemøy KjendsliErik Diesen
1986 Knut BjørnsenNina Matheson
1987 John Andreassen and Tor PaulsenSverre Christophersen
1988 John AndreassenAndreas 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 PedersenRagnhild 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 SundnesSynnøve Svabø
2008 Per Sundnes and Hanne HoftunStian Barsnes-Simonsen
2009 Synnøve Svabø
2010 Olav Viksmo-SlettanAnne 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 StokstadNot announced before cancellation
2021 Marte Stokstad

Supervisors

List of supervisors of Melodi Grand Prix, better known as MGP-general or GP-general in Norway:

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. If a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Although the song was mostly performed in English, the title and line "Ven a bailar conmigo" is in Spanish.
  8. Although the song was performed mostly in English (and with joik), the line "Čajet dan čuovgga" is in Northern Sami.
  9. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

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