| Year: | 1989 |
| Broadcaster: | Norwegian: [[NRK|Norsk rikskringkasting]]|i=no (NRK) |
| Country: | Norway |
| Preselection: | Melodi Grand Prix 1989 |
| Preselection Date: | 11 March 1989 |
| Entrant: | Britt Synnøve Johansen |
| Song: | Norwegian: Venners nærhet|i=no |
| Final Result: | 17th, 30 points |
Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 with the song "Norwegian: Venners nærhet|i=no", composed by Inge Enoksen, with lyrics by Leiv Grøtte, and performed by Britt Synnøve Johansen. The Norwegian participating broadcaster, Norwegian: [[NRK|Norsk rikskringkasting]]|i=no (NRK), selected its entry through the Melodi Grand Prix 1989.
Norwegian: [[NRK|Norsk rikskringkasting]]|i=no (NRK) held the Melodi Grand Prix 1989 at the Forum in Stavanger, hosted by Øystein Bache. Nine songs took part in the televised final, of which three songs were selected for a "super final". The winner was decided by a five-way jury; an expert jury made up of professional musicians, a press jury, and three public juries split by age group. Other participants included Kate Gulbrandsen (who represented), three-time Norwegian representative and MGP regular Jahn Teigen and Tor Endresen, who would represent .[1] The evening had its controversies, as fan favorite Jahn Teigen failed to reach the super final, which was met by booing from the audience.[2]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heidi Halvorsen | "Beat for Beat" | Harald Græsdahl, Tore Holm | Eliminated | |
| 2 | Tor Endresen | "Til det gryr av dag" | Oddvar Ruud, Marit Vollen | Superfinalist | |
| 3 | Britt Synnøve Johansen | "Venners nærhet" | Inge Enoksen, Leiv Grøtte | Superfinalist | |
| 4 | Rune Rudberg | "Vinger over Europa" | Nick Borgen, Arve Sigvaldsen | Eliminated | |
| 5 | Ingeborg Hungnes | "En lite lys" | Svein Gundersen, Stig Nilsson | Superfinalist | |
| 6 | Ola Fjellvikås | "Min Mona Lisa" | Rolf Graf | Eliminated | |
| 7 | Kari Gjærum and Jannecke Øinæs | "Barneøyne" | Robert Morley, Eva Jansen | Eliminated | |
| 8 | Jahn Teigen | "Optimist" | Jahn Teigen, Knut Meiner, Ove Borøchstein | Eliminated | |
| 9 | Kate Gulbrandsen | "Nærhet" | Kate Gulbrandsen, Rolf Løvland | Eliminated |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Public Jury | Press Jury | Expert Jury | Total | Place | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-30 | 30-45 | 45-60 | ||||||||
| 1 | Tor Endresen | "Til det gryr av dag" | 11 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 57 | 2 | |
| 2 | Britt Synnøve Johansen | "Venners nærhet" | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 18 | 62 | 1 | |
| 3 | Ingeborg Hungnes | "En lite lys" | 12 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 56 | 3 | |
On the night of the final Synnøve performed 8th in the running order, following the and preceding . Although "Norwegian: Venners nærhet|i=no" had been tipped as a likely top 10 contender, at the close of voting it had picked up only 30 points, placing Norway a disappointing 17th of the 22 entries.[3] The Norwegian jury awarded its 12 points to the United Kingdom.[4]