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Eurovision Song Contest 1977
Participating broadcaster	Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK)
Country	Norway
National selection
Selection process	Melodi Grand Prix 1977
Selection date(s)	19 February 1977
Selected artist(s)	Anita Skorgan
Selected song	"Casanova"
Selected songwriter(s)	Svein Strugstad Dag Nordtømme
Finals performance
Final result	14th, 18 points
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1976 • 1977 • 1978►

Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with the song "Casanova", composed by Svein Strugstad, with lyrics by Dag Nordtømme, and performed by Anita Skorgan. The Norwegian participating broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), selected its entry through the Melodi Grand Prix 1977. This was the first of three Eurovision appearances (and a further uncredited fourth) for Skorgan.

Before Eurovision

Melodi Grand Prix 1977

Format

The format of Melodi Grand Prix 1977 was a lot less centralised than in previous editions. It consisted of each county being assigned to one of five districts with each district providing their own entries to a final. The final would then have six songs, one from each district but two from the district with the Eastern counties. Each district was able to dictate the format of their own semi-finals. These semi-finals were broadcast on regional radio. The North, South, West, and Central Districts had semi-finals with four songs each, while the Eastern District had six songs in their semi-final.

Competing Entries

Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) opened a submission period for entries which lasted from 16 November 1976 until 10 December 1976. Interested artists were required to send their entries not to NRK but to their respective District Offices. A total of 348 entries were received by the districts and a 3-member jury in each district chose the entries for their district's semi-final.

Regional semi-finals

North

The competing entries of the Northern District semi-final were broadcast on 14 January 1977, in a show hosted by Leif Erik Forberg, after which the public was able to send in postcard votes until 19 January 1977. The four entries were recorded by either Turid Pedersen or Kristen Lyngedal and were accompanied by Kurt Samuelsen's quartet, who also arranged all four competing entries. The winner of the semi-final was announced on 21 January 1977.

Central

The competing entries of the Central District semi-final were broadcast on 14 January 1977, after which the public was able to send in postcard votes until 19 January 1977. The winner of the semi-final was announced on 21 January 1977.

West

The competing entries of the Western District semi-final were broadcast twice, on 13 January and 17 January 1977, after which the public was able to send in postcard votes until 19 January 1977. All four entries were recorded by either Ellen Margrethe Johansen or Helge Nilsen and were arranged by Brødrene Thue. The winner of the semi-final was announced on 21 January 1977.

South

The competing entries of the South District semi-final were broadcast on 10 January 1977, in a show hosted by Julius Hougen, after which the public was able to send in postcard votes until 19 January 1977. All four entries were recorded by either Hans Petter Hansen or Magne Høyland and were arranged by Håkon Berge. The winner of the semi-final was announced on 21 January 1977.

East

The competing entries of the East District semi-final were broadcast on 13 January 1977, after which the public was able to send in postcard votes until 19 January 1977. The entries were recorded by Benny Borg, Nora Brockstedt, and Kirsti Sparboe, with Roy Hellvin's quartet, who also arranged all six competing entries. Around 1300 votes were received and the winners of the semi-final were announced on 21 January 1977.

Final

Prior to the final, the entries were broadcast two at a time in the show Lørdagslag on 29 January, 5 February, and 12 February 1977. The final was held during a special edition of Lørdagslag on 19 February 1977. The competition took place the studios of NRK studios in Oslo and was hosted by Vidar Lønn-Arnesen. The Orchestra was conducted by Carsten Klouman. Every song, with the exception of "Sang", was performed by a different singer than in the regional radio semi-finals. The results were decided by regional juries consisting of 8 to 10 members each.

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Skorgan performed 5th in the running order, following Austria and preceding Germany. Like the previous year's Norwegian entry "Mata Hari", "Casanova" was an uptempo song with a disco-style arrangement, but for a second year the national juries showed that this was not the type of song they were looking for. At the close of voting "Casanova" had picked up only 18 points, placing Norway joint 14th (with Portugal) of the 18 entries. The Norwegian jury awarded its 12 points to Ireland.

Postcards controversy

On the night of the broadcast, many viewers wondered why they were merely shown panning shots over the audience in between the songs, rather than the postcard-style clips of the next performers which had become traditional in the 1970s. It later transpired that the planned postcards had been filmed by the BBC during a night out for all the performers at a London nightclub, but when they were previewed NRK had objected as in several of the clips Skorgan could be seen drinking alcohol – at 18 years old she was below the age for legal alcohol consumption in Norway (although not in the United Kingdom) – and behaving in a manner which NRK deemed inappropriate. The Swedish delegation also complained that their performers had been caught on film conducting themselves in a less than exemplary way. As there was insufficient time or opportunity left to film a different set of postcards for all the participating countries, the BBC was left with no option but to scrap them completely.

Voting

Points awarded to Norway Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points  Belgium  Italy 4 points 3 points  Luxembourg 2 points  Portugal  United Kingdom 1 point  Sweden

Points awarded by Norway Score Country 12 points  Ireland 10 points   Switzerland 8 points  Finland 7 points  United Kingdom 6 points  Belgium 5 points  Israel 4 points  Greece 3 points  France 2 points  Austria 1 point  Monaco

References

1. ^ "«Melodi Grand Prix» kommer i ny vri" ["Melodi Grand Prix" comes with a new twist]. Sandefjords Blad. 8 November 1976. p. 9. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
2. ^ "Melodi Grand Prix: Mange i Bergen vil prøve seg" [Melodi Grand Prix: Many in Bergen want to try their hand]. Bergens Arbeiderblad. 6 December 1976. p. 3. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
3. ^ "Mange bidrag til Melodi Grand Prix" [Many contributions to Melodi Grand Prix]. Fredriksstad Blad. 17 December 1976. p. 3. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
4. Berg, Kare (14 December 1976). "36 Melodier Skal Konkurrere" [36 Melodies Shall Compete]. Rogalands Avis. p. 20. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
5. "40 Grand Prix melodier er nå sendt inn!" [40 Grand Prix tunes have now been submitted!]. Tidens Krav. 14 December 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
6. "25 innkomne bidrag til NRK i Tromsø" [25 contributions received for NRK in Tromsø]. Fremover. 15 December 1976. p. 6. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
7. "Ca. 350 bidrag til Melodi Grand Prix" [Approx. 350 entries for Melodi Grand Prix]. Telemark Arbeiderblad. 17 December 1976. p. 5. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
8. ^ "Lokal Grand Prix 14. og 17 januar" [Local Grand Prix 14 and 17 January]. Bergens Arbeiderblad. 7 January 1977. p. 12. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
9. ^ "Vestlandsk Grand Prix-finale i dag" [Vestland Grand Prix final today]. Bergens Arbeiderblad. 13 January 1977. p. 20. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
10. ^ "Melodi Grand Prix i Lokalradioen" [Melodi Grand Prix on local radio]. Østlendingen. 10 January 1977. p. 13. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
11. "To av de seks..." [Two of the six...]. Rjukan Arbeiderblad. 21 January 1977. p. 4. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
12. ^ Melodi Grand Prix 1977 (Television production) (in Norwegian). NRK. 19 February 1977.
13. ^ "Proff-seier til Gibostad" [Professional victory for Gibostad]. Harstad Tidende. 22 January 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
14. ^ "Robåtrock vant i Bergen" [Robåtrock won in Bergen]. Bergens Arbeiderblad. 22 January 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
15. ^ "«Ikke mitt bord» går til landsfinalen" ["Ikke mitt bord" goes to the national final]. Tromsø. 22 January 1977. p. 9. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
16. ^ "I den lokale" [In the local]. Sør-Trøndelag. 25 January 1977. p. 3. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
17. ^ "Bergens-vokalist i finalen?" [Bergen vocalist in the final?]. Bergens Arbeiderblad. 8 February 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
18. ^ Berg, Kare (11 January 1977). "«Mellomspill i regn» best - men generelt skuffende" ["Mellomspill i regn" best - but generally disappointing]. 3. pp. Rogalands Avis. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
19. ^ "«Make Love - Not War» og «Sang» til Grand Prix-finalen" ["Make Love - Not War" and "Sang" for the Grand Prix Final]. Arbeiderbladet. 21 January 1977. p. 2. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
20. ^ "N-Norges Melodi Grand Prix klar" [N-Norge's Melodi Grand Prix ready]. Nordlys. 7 January 1977. p. 8. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
21. ^ "Lovende opptakt til Melodi Grand Prix" [Promising prelude to Melodi Grand Prix]. Tidens Krav. 13 January 1977. p. 8. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
22. "Triste greier synes jeg" [Sad stuff I think]. Nordland's Future. 15 January 1977. p. 3. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
23. "Hverken verre eller bedre" [Neither worse nor better]. Harstad Tidende. 14 January 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
24. ^ "Melodi Grand Prix-forslag i lokalradioen på fredag" [Melodi Grand Prix proposal on local radio on Friday]. Aura Avis. 13 January 1977. p. 8. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
25. "«Tidig» tidigst av Grand Prix-melodiene" ["Tidig" earliest of the Grand Prix tunes]. Bergens Arbeiderblad. 14 January 1977. p. 16. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
26. "Lokalen" [The Local]. Rogalands Avis. p. 15. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
27. "Seks finalemelodier i lørdags-lag i TV" [Six final tunes in Lørdags-lag on TV]. Bergens Arbeiderblad. 6 January 1977. p. 17. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
28. "Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
29. ESC History - Norway 1977
30. ^ "Results of the Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.

External links

• Full national final on nrk.no

• Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977
• Melodi Grand Prix by year
• 1977 in Norwegian music
• 1977 in Norwegian television