Melodi Grand Prix, commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norsk Melodi Grand Prix, is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1960.
Oslo Spektrum is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in east central Oslo, Norway, that opened in December 1990. It is currently owned and operated by Nova Spektrum, formerly Norges Varemesse. Oslo Spektrum is primarily known for hosting major events such as the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert, the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, and concerts by artists of national and international fame.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Alvedansen" written by Kjetil Fluge, Christine Guldbrandsen and Atle Halstensen. The song was performed by Christine Guldbrandsen. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2006 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. 18 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals, a Last Chance round and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 4 February 2006 where the winner was determined over two rounds of public televoting. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of public televoting, "Alvedansen" performed by Christine Guldbrandsen was selected as the winner with 77,568 votes.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "In My Dreams" written by Trond "Teeny" Holter. The song was performed by the band Wig Wam. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2005 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Eight entries competed in a show that took place on 5 March 2005 and the winner was determined over two rounds of public televoting. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of public televoting, "In My Dreams" performed by Wig Wam was selected as the winner with 75,667 votes.
"Ven a bailar conmigo" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, performed in English and Spanish by Guri Schanke.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 with the song "Living My Life Without You" written and performed by Stig Andre van Eijk under the artistic name Van Eijk. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 1999 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 1999 contest in Jerusalem, Israel. Eight entries competed in a show that took place on 27 February 1999 and the winner, "Living My Life Without You" performed by Van Eijk, was determined by the votes from a five-member jury panel and a regional televote.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "My Heart Is Yours" written by Hanne Sørvaag and Fredrik Kempe. The song was performed by Didrik Solli-Tangen. In addition to participating in the contest, the Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2009 with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. NRK organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2010 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo. 21 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals, a Last Chance round and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 6 February 2010 where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, "My Heart Is Yours" performed by Didrik Solli-Tangen was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from four regional jury groups and a public televote.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "I'm Not Afraid to Move On" written by Arve Furset and VJ Strøm. The song was performed by Jostein Hasselgård. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their withdrawal in 2002 as one of the bottom six countries in the 2001 contest. NRK organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2003 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia. Twelve entries competed in a show that took place on 1 March 2003 and the winner was determined over two rounds of public televoting. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of public televoting, "I'm Not Afraid to Move On" performed by Jostein Hasselgård was selected as the winner with 78,460 votes.
Melodi Grand Prix, the Norwegian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, began in 1960, the year of Norway's debut in the contest. It has been held almost every year since.
The Bendik Singers were a four-member Norwegian vocal group, brought together by singer and composer Arne Bendiksen to participate in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selection, Melodi Grand Prix, in 1973.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "On My Own" written by Ole Henrik Antonsen, Tom-Steinar Hanssen and Ole Jørgen Olsen. The song was performed by Haldor Lægreid. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2001 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2001 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. Twelve entries competed in a show that took place on 24 February 2001 and the winner was determined over two rounds of voting from a five-member jury panel and a regional televote. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the superfinal. In the second round of voting, "On My Own" performed by Haldor Lægreid was selected as the winner.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Alltid sommer" written by David Eriksen and Linda Andernach Johansen. The song was performed by Lars A. Fredriksen. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 1998 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 1998 contest in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Eight entries competed in a show that took place on 27 February 1999 and the winner, "All I Ever Wanted " performed by Lars A. Fredriksen, was determined by the votes from a six-member jury panel and a regional televote. The song was later translated from English to Norwegian for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Alltid sommer".
Norway was represented by Ellen Nikolaysen, with the song "Touch My Life ", at the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 22 March in Stockholm. "Touch My Life " was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 25 January. Nikolaysen had previously sung for Norway as a member of the Bendik Singers in 1973 and had also provided backing vocals for Anne-Karine Strøm in 1974.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Silent Storm" written by Josefin Winther. The song was performed by Carl Espen. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2013 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. 15 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals and a final. Nine entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 15 March 2014 where the winner was determined over two rounds of public televoting. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of public televoting, "Silent Storm" performed by Carl Espen was selected as the winner with 53,712 votes.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "A Monster Like Me" written by Kjetil Mørland. The song was performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2015 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Eleven entries competed in a show that took place on 14 March 2015 and the winner was determined over two rounds of public televoting. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of public televoting, "A Monster Like Me" performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett was selected as the winner with 88,869 votes.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Icebreaker" written by Agnete Johnsen, Gabriel Alares and Ian Curnow. The song was performed by Agnete. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2016 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 27 February 2016 and the winner was determined over two rounds of public televoting. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of public televoting, "Icebreaker" performed by Agnete was selected as the winner with 166,728 votes.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Grab the Moment" written by Joakim With Steen and Jonas McDonnell. The song was performed by Jowst, which is the artistic name of music producer Joakim With Steen, with unaccredited vocals from Aleksander Walmann. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2017 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 11 March 2017 and the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, the combination of votes from ten international jury groups and a public televote selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected "Grab the Moment" performed by Jowst as the winner with 46,064 votes.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "That's How You Write a Song" written and performed by Alexander Rybak, who had previously represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 and won with the song "Fairytale". The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2018 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 10 March 2018 and the winner was determined over three rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, the combination of votes from ten international jury groups and a public televote selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected the top two entries to advance to the competition's third round—the Gold Duel. In the third round of voting, a public televote again selected "That's How You Write a Song" performed by Alexander Rybak as the winner with 306,393 votes.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Spirit in the Sky", written by Tom Hugo Hermansen, Fred-René Buljo, Alexandra Rotan, Henrik Tala, Alex Olsson and Rüdiger Schramm. The song was performed by the group Keiino. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2019 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 2 March 2019 and the winner was determined over three rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, the combination of votes from ten international jury groups and a public vote selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, a public vote exclusively selected the top two entries to advance to the competition's third round—the Gold Duel. In the third round of voting, a public vote again exclusively selected "Spirit in the Sky" performed by Keiino as the winner with 231,937 votes.
Norway originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2020 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The competition was won by Ulrikke with the song "Attention". However, the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.
