Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Country Norway
National selection
Selection processMelodi Grand Prix 2024
Selection date(s)
  • Semi-finals:
  • 13 January 2024
  • 20 January 2024
  • 27 January 2024
  • Final:
  • 3 February 2024
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2023 • 2024

Norway is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) is organising the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2024 between January and February 2024 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2024 contest.

Background

Prior to the 2024 contest, Norway has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty-two times since its first entry in 1960.[1] Norway has won the contest on three occasions: in 1985 with the song "La det swinge" performed by Bobbysocks!, in 1995 with the song "Nocturne" performed by Secret Garden and in 2009 with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. Norway also has the two dubious distinctions of having finished last in the Eurovision final eleven times, more than any other country, and for having received nul points (zero points) four times, the latter being a record shared with Austria. Following the introduction of semi-finals for 2004, Norway has finished in the top ten ten times. In 2023, "Queen of Kings" performed by Alessandra qualified to the final and placed fifth, the best result for the country in ten years.[1]

The Norwegian national broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), broadcasts the event within Norway and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. NRK confirmed its intention to participate at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in April 2023, as it opened a songwriting camp for the national final Melodi Grand Prix, which has selected the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in all but one of its participations.[2]

Before Eurovision

Melodi Grand Prix 2024

Melodi Grand Prix 2024 is the 62nd edition of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix (MGP) which will select Norway's entry for the 2024 contest. The competition consists of three semi-finals on 13, 20 and 27 January 2024 at the NRK studios in Marienlyst, and a final on 3 February 2024 at Trondheim Spektrum.[3] In each semi-final, six songs compete and the top three entries are selected to proceed to the final.[3][4]

Submissions were open between 9 June and 31 August 2023, with the list of 18 selected entries announced on 5 January 2024.[3][5]

Calls for boycott

The inclusion of Israel in the list of participants for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis resulting from the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war sparked controversy in Norway as well as several other participating countries, with increasing calls and petitions for broadcasters to boycott the event. Charlo Halvorsen, head of entertainment at NRK, initially stated that the broadcaster was following the decisions of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU),[6][7] ultimately commenting that it would not seek a "cultural boycott" of Israel in order not to "compromise [its] integrity" in response to demonstrations outside of NRK's headquarters on 5 January 2024, during the presentation of the MGP contestants.[8][9] Another demonstration took place before the first semi-final of the event on 13 January, reiterating the calls for the exclusion of Israel in light of the number of casualties among journalists since the outbreak of the war; one of the protesters, identified as Oslo city council member Jorunn Folkvord, broke in during the live broadcast saying that "Norway can do more".[10]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final will progress to the final. On 30 January 2024, an allocation draw will be held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country will perform in; the EBU splits up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Norway". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Grace, Emily (11 April 2023). "Norway: Melodi Grand Prix 2024 Songwriting Camp Begins In Oslo". Eurovoix. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Norway's Melodi Grand Prix is heading back to its roots!". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Tangen, Anders Martinius (21 October 2023). "Mona Berntsen er ny sceneregissør for MGP og det bli finale 3.februar" [Mona Berntsen is the new stage director for MGP, and the final will be on February 3]. ESC Norge (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Stephenson, James (9 June 2023). "Norway: Submissions Open For Melodi Grand Prix 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  6. ↑ Losen, Sofie (5 December 2023). "Alessandra Mele - Kjærlighet er sterkere enn hat" [Alessandra Mele: Love is stronger than hate]. Se og Hør (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Stephenson, James (6 December 2023). "Norway: NRK is 'Following What the EBU Decides' on Israel". Eurovoix. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Edland, Gyrid Friis; Visker, Nora; Christensen, Siri B.; Hoen, Espen Sjølingstad (5 January 2024). "Demonstrasjon utenfor NRK før MGP-slipp: Ingen sier noe" [Demonstration outside NRK before release of MGP artists: "Nobody says anything"]. VG (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Katsoulakis, Manos (6 January 2024). "Norway: NRK will not boycott Israel's entry in Eurovision 2024!". Eurovisionfun. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  10. ↑ Tjoflot, Eirin (13 January 2024). "Raudt-politikar kuppa MGP-sendinga" [Red Party politician takes over the MGP broadcast] (in Norwegian Nynorsk). NRK. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Van Dijk, Sem Anne (13 December 2023). "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Allocation Draw on January 30". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
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