Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 explained

Year:1968
Broadcaster:Norwegian: [[NRK|Norsk rikskringkasting]]|i=no (NRK)
Country:Norway
Preselection:Melodi Grand Prix 1968
Preselection Date:2 March 1968
Entrant:Odd Børre
Song:Stress
Final Result:13th, 2 points

Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "Stress", composed by Tor Hultin, with lyrics by Ola B. Johannessen, and performed by Odd Børre. The Norwegian participating broadcaster, Norwegian: [[NRK|Norsk rikskringkasting]]|i=no (NRK), organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 1968 in order to select its entry for the contest.

"Stress" originally finished second in the Melodi Grand Prix on 3 March, but NRK chose it as the Norwegian entry when the winning song "Norwegian: Jeg har aldri vært så glad i noen som deg|i=no" was withdrawn for Eurovision by its composer amid persistent allegations that it plagiarised the 1963 hit "Summer Holiday" by Cliff Richard  - who was the 's representative in the 1968 contest.

Before Eurovision

Melodi Grand Prix 1968

Norwegian: [[NRK|Norsk rikskringkasting]]|i=no (NRK) held the Melodi Grand Prix 1968 at its studios in Oslo, hosted by Jan Voigt.

Five performers and songs took part in the final with each song sung twice by different singers, once with a small combo and once with a full orchestra. The winning song was chosen by voting from ten regional juries.[1]

MGP - 3 March 1968
DrawComboOrchestraSongPointsPlace
1Per AsplinNora Brockstedt"Nysgjerrig-Per"44
2Kirsti SparboeOdd Børre"Stress"142
3Nora BrockstedtPer Müller"Nordlys"103
4Kirsti SparboeOdd Børre"Jeg har aldri vært så glad i noen som deg"201 (W/D)
5Per MüllerPer Asplin"Ingenmannsland"25

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Børre performed 13th in the running order, following the United Kingdom and preceding . Each national jury had 10 points to distribute between the songs, and at the close "Stress" had picked up 2 points (1 each from and), placing Norway joint 13th (with and) of the 17 entries. The Norwegian jury awarded 6 of its 10 points to .[2]

The conductor of the Norwegian entry was Øivind Bergh.

Voting

Notes and References

  1. http://natfinals.50webs.com/50s_60s/Norway1968.html ESC National Finals database 1968
  2. http://www.esc-history.com/details.asp?key=234 ESC History - Norway 1968
  3. Web site: Results of the Final of London 1968 . Eurovision Song Contest . 8 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210408095811/https://eurovision.tv/event/london-1968/final/results/norway . 8 April 2021 . live.