Norway: More information on Melodi Grand Prix 2020 format and dates unveiled
More light has been shed on the format and the dates of the national selection through which Norway will select its Eurovision 2020 act and entry, Melodi Grand Prix 2020.
According to EscNorge.no which contacted the head of the Norwegian national selection event, Stig Karlsen, the Melodi Grand Prix 2020 will kick off with its first semi final show on January 11, with four more semi finals to follow week by week, leading to the Grand final that will take place on February 15.
Although initial reports mentioned of 40 competing songs in the national selection , that number seems to come down eventually to 20 participating entries, 10 of which will make it to the Grand final. Each semi final will see a number of 4 competing entries from a specific part of Norway. Thus we will see the Norwegian selection unfold pretty much as following:
1st semi final show : 4 entries from Northern Norway
2nd semi final show : 4 entries from Central Norway
3rd semi final show: 4 entries from Western Norway
4th semi final show : 4 entries from Eastern Norway
5th semi final show : 4 entries from Southern Norway
Grand Final: A total of 10 competing entries ( 2 qualifiers from each previous semi final show)
In each semi final round, one qualifier of the two will be determined by public voting while the second one will be selected by the jury. As the submission deadline has expired just some days ago the broadcaster has received circa 500- 600 submissions for next year’s selection.
The Eurovision story so far
Norway has been competing in the Eurovision Song contest since 1960 and has won the competition three times, in 1985, 1995 and 2009. However the country has marked some record scorings , as it has finished in the last place most times than any other country, finishing in the bottom spot of the scoreboard 11 times. A total of four times it has received zero points, while in 2009 victory it received the remarkable number 16 sets of 12 points and was voted by every single country, reaching the impressive winning score of 387 points! Norway hasn’t qualified two times in the final the last decade, in 2011 with Stella Mwangi and in 2016 with Agnete
In 2018 was represented for the second time by Alexander Rybak and his song That’s How You Write A Song, which finished in the 15th place of the grand final. This year the three member group KEiiNo with their entry “Spirit in the Sky” defended the Norwegian colors in Tel Aviv achieving a remarkable 1st place in the televoting while they finished 6th on the overall scoreboard. Lets remember KEiiNO’s energetic performance on the Expo Tel Aviv stage:
