Norway’s Head of Delegation ‘Stig Karlsen’ has spoken with Norwegian Eurovision website ‘ESCNorge’ and has confirmed that Melodi Grand Prix 2020 will begin on January 16, 2021, with Norway selecting their act for The Netherlands on February 20, 2021.
All shows to be broadcast from H3 Arena in Fornebu
During the 2020 Melodi Grand Prix, it was revealed that five of the shows will be broadcasted from H3 Arena in Fornebu, whilst the Grand Final took place in Trondheim in the Northern part of Norway.
With all of the broadcasters making adjustments, Norway have decided to have the Semi-Finals and the Grand Final, take place at the H3 Arena in Fornebu. Norway’s Head of Delegation Stig Karlsen revealed that a bigger MGP Arena will be made:
We tear down the wall between two studios at H3 arena in Bærum, and throw out both “Skal vi danse” and “Idol”, to create a twice as large MGP arena
With the news that there will be a bigger arena, there is the aspect of whether there will be a studio audience or not. Stig Karlsen has opened up to this possibility if nothing significant until then.
There will of course be fewer people gathered physically, but we are taking action to take in the whole country along the way. It will be a different MGP season, but we do nothing halfway.
Despite all of the shows taking place in one venue, Stig Karlsen promised that a difference will be seen between the Semi-Finals and the Final.
It will be noticed that the final is the final. We’ll be pushing a few more buttons that night.
At the time of writing, the mechanics of the 2021 contest, and the artists participating is yet to be confirmed.
Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest
The Scandinavian nation debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960 with Nora Brockstedt and her song ‘Voi Voi’, which placed fourth. Since their debut, Norway has managed to win three times (1985, 1995 & 2009).
In 2020, Ulrikke won Melodi Grand Prix with her song ‘Attention’. Norway was set to perform in the First Semi-Final of this year’s contest before it was cancelled. NRK has confirmed that it has offered Ulrikke has been offered a direct qualification for the 2021 final; but declined the offer.
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