The Eurovision Song Contest 1985 was the 30th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, following the country's victory at the 1984 contest with the song "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" by Herreys.
The 1985 edition of A Song for Europe was held at the BBC Television Centre in Studio 1 on 9 April, hosted by a suited Terry Wogan. The theme music was Te Deum. The BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of John Coleman as conductor accompanied all the songs, but despite performing live, the orchestra was off-screen, behind the set.
Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song "La det swinge". Elisabeth went by the surname Andreasson until 1994.
Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen, also known simply as Bettan, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Norway has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 61 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.
"La det swinge" is a Norwegian-language song by the pop duo Bobbysocks!. It was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 and Norway's first victory in the contest. The song is a tribute to dancing to old rock 'n' roll heard on the radio. Befitting the subject matter, the song itself is written in an old-fashioned style, with a memorable saxophone melody starting the song. The melody arrangement is in retro style, containing elements of contemporary 1980s music and throwbacks to the 1950s. Following their win, the single peaked at number one in the Norwegian and Belgian singles chart, and entered the charts in various countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Following Herreys' victory in the previous year, Sweden were the hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985. The venue chosen for the show was the country's second city, Gothenburg.
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.
Germany was represented by the band Wind, with the song "Für alle", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. "Für alle" was the winner of the German national final, held on 21 March. This was the first of three appearances by Wind at Eurovision; they would also represent Germany in 1987 and 1992.
Denmark was represented by Hot Eyes, with the song "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. "Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?" was chosen as the Danish entry at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix on 9 March. This was the second consecutive Eurovision appearance for Kirsten & Søren.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "My Heart Goes Boom" written by Tore Madsen and Morten Henriksen. The song was performed by the group Charmed. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2000 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 4 March 2000 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, "My Heart Goes Boom" performed by Charmed was selected as the winner.
Norway was represented by Elisabeth Andreassen, with the song '"I evighet", at the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 18 May at the Oslo Spektrum, following Secret Garden's victory for Norway in Dublin the previous year. "I evighet" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 30 March. This was the last of four Eurovision appearances as a main performer by Andreassen, a record shared with Lys Assia, Fud Leclerc, Valentina Monetta and Peter, Sue and Marc.
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 Åse Kleveland, with the song "Intet er nytt under solen", at the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 5 March in Luxembourg City. "Intet er nytt under solen" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 5 February.
Ireland was represented by Maria Christian, with the song "Wait Until the Weekend Comes", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. "Wait Until the Weekend Comes" was chosen as the Irish entry at the national final on 27 March.
Norway was represented by the Bendik Singers, with the song "It's Just a Game", at the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 7 April in Luxembourg City. "It's Just a Game" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 17 February.
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.
Israel was represented by the artist Izhar Cohen, with the song "Olé, Olé", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. "Olé, Olé" was the winner of the Israeli national final, held on 28 March. This was the second time Cohen was in the Eurovision Song Contest, the previous time Cohen was in the ESC was in 1978 with Alphabeta with the song A-Ba-Ni-Bi.
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