Norway’s national final is getting closer and closer, and soon we will have another Eurovision contestant to add to the list! NRK has announced that the first artists who are participating in Melodi Grand Prix are going to be announced on Monday 11 January from 12:10 Central European Time.
All you need to know about MGP
Norway’s national final is always one to look forward to, and this year is no exception. This year the contest will air on several Saturdays, the first one Saturday 16 January. This broadcast will be a semi-final, where artists will perform their song for the first time in hopes of passing to the next round.
The artists competing in the Semi-Finals and their entries will be released on Monday morning ahead of their respective semi-finals. The pre-qualified artists will release their entries the day before their performance in the semi-final. There will be a new semi-final every Saturday until the Grand Finale on Saturday, February 20th. Six pre-qualified artists will go straight to the finale but will showcase their song in one of the semi-finals each.
As a new feature, a ‘wildcard’ has been added for the 2021 national final! This means that one contestant who originally did not pass the semi final is able to get into the final anyway. This wildcard will be selected by the Norwegian audience, who can vote online for their favorite non-qualifying act.
All semi-finals as well as the Grand Finale will be broadcasted from the H3 arena at Fornebu outside of Oslo. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic this will unfortunately take place without any audience. This year the show will be hosted by the same hosts from 2020, Ingrid Gjessing Linhave, Ronny Brede Aase and Kåre Magnus Bergh.
Norway in 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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