Norway has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 62 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 Norwegian participant broadcaster in the contest is Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), which select its entrant with the national competition Melodi Grand Prix.
| Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
|---|---|
| |
| Participating broadcaster | Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 62 (59 finals) |
| First appearance | 1960 |
| Highest placement | 1st: 1985, 1995, 2009 |
| Host | 1986, 1996, 2010 |
Participation history
| |
| Related articles | |
| Melodi Grand Prix | |
| External links | |
| NRK page | |
Norway's page at Eurovision.tv  | |
 For the most recent participation seeNorway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 | |
Before 1985, Norway's best result in the contest was a third-place with "Intet er nytt under solen" by Åse Klevelandin1966. Norway's three victories in the contest were achieved by "La det swinge" by Bobbysocksin1985, "Nocturne" by Secret Gardenin1995, and "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybakin2009. Norway also finished second at the 1996 contest, with "I evighet" by former Bobbysocks member Elisabeth Andreassen. Norway has finished last in twelve Eurovision finals, of which four times with "nul points". Norway has a total of 12 top-five results in the contest, the latest being a fifth place with "Queen of Kings" by Alessandrain2023.
Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. It has participated in the contest representing Norway since its fifth edition in 1960.
NRK's first entrant in the contest was "Voi Voi" performed by Nora Brockstedtin1960, who finished fourth; Brockstedt would return the next year with "Sommer i Palma", this time placing seventh. "Intet er nytt under solen" by Åse Kleveland then finished third in 1966, following which Norway would fail to reach the top ten in fourteen out of their next fifteen attempts, with the exception being seventh place finish with "It's Just a Game" by the Bendik Singersin1973. 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 Krügerin1988 and Silje Vigein1993, 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 and his 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.
In2024, Norway finished last in the final for the twelfth 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 eight times. Wig Wam finished ninth in 2005, Maria Haukaas Storeng was fifth in 2008, Alexander Rybak won in 2009, Margaret Berger was fourth in 2013, Carl Espen finished eighth in 2014, Mørland and Debrah Scarlett finished eighth in 2015, Jowst finished tenth in 2017, Keiino won the public vote and finished sixth overall in 2019, Subwoolfer finished tenth in 2022, and Alessandra finished fifth in 2023. In total, Norway has 12 top-five and 27 top-ten finishes in the contest.
| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| ◁ | Last place |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
| † | Upcoming event |
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Bergen | Grieghallen | Åse Kleveland |
| 1996 | Oslo | Oslo Spektrum | Ingvild Bryn and Morten Harket |
| 2010 | Telenor Arena | Nadia Hasnaoui, Haddy N'jie and Erik Solbakken |
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Mysen | Momarken | Rolf Kirkvaag and Titten Tei |
| 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
|
| Year | Song | Performer | Place | Points | Host city | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Fairytale" | Alexander Rybak | 1 | 387 | Moscow
|
| Year | Conductor[d] | 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 | [e] | [6] | |
| 1972 | Carsten Klouman | |||
| 1973 | ||||
| 1974 | Frode Thingnæs | |||
| 1975 | Carsten Klouman | |||
| 1976 | Frode Thingnæs | [f] | ||
| 1977 | Carsten Klouman | |||
| 1978 | ||||
| 1979 | Sigurd Jansen | [g] | ||
| 1980 | [7] | |||
| 1981 | ||||
| 1982 | ||||
| 1983 | ||||
| 1984 | ||||
| 1985 | Terje Fjærn | |||
| 1986 | Egil Monn-Iversen | [h] | ||
| 1987 | Terje Fjærn | N/A | ||
| 1988 | Arild Stav | [i] | ||
| 1989 | Pete Knutsen | |||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1991 | ||||
| 1992 | Rolf Løvland | |||
| 1993 | ||||
| 1994 | Pete Knutsen | |||
| 1995 | Geir Langslet | |||
| 1996 | Frode Thingnæs | [j] | ||
| 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.
| Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–2005 | Jon Ola Sand | |
| 2006–2009, 2012–2015 | Stian Malme | |
| 2010–2011 | Skjalg Solstad | |
| 2016–present | Stig Karlsen [no] |
List of supervisors of Melodi Grand Prix, better known as MGP-general or GP-general in Norway:
| Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| c. 2007–2012 | Per Sundnes | |
| 2013–2015 | Vivi Stenberg | |
| 2016–2017 | Jan Fredrik Karlsen | |
| 2018–present | Stig Karlsen [no] |
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| 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 | 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 | |
| 2022 | Tix | ||
| 2023 | Ben Adams | ||
| 2024 | Ingvild Helljesen[k] |
