Norway: The submission window for Melodi Grand Prix 2025 opened!

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The songs sumbission process in Norway for Melodi Grand Prix 2025 has opened!

Yesterday, the national broadcaster of Norway, NRK, announced the beginning of the songs submission process for Melodi Grand Prix 2025, the national final of the country, in order to choose the next entry of the Scandinavian kingdom at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland!

The songs submission window opened on 6th of August and is about to remain opened until 1st of September.

This year Norway was represented in Malmö by the group Gåte and the song “Ulveham” and finished once again in the last place of the grand final receiving 16 points.

https://youtu.be/YBbL8ORqNVU

Source: eurovision.tv

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United Kingdom: A1 ready for Eurovision 2025?

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Even though the next Eurovision Song Contest is ten months away, the excitement remains high.

Another chart-topping band, just like Olly Alexander, is vying to represent the United Kingdom in Eurovision 2025. One of the biggest boybands of the 1990s, A1, is here to bring some nostalgia to the Eurovision stage.

A1 member Ben Adams stated in the Daily Star’s Hot TV column that:

It would be amazing to represent the UK. Eurovision is watched by so many people, and it has been a massive launch pad for so many acts.

We’ve got a song on our next album that I think would be flipping perfect for the UK to have. Hopefully, somebody gets in contact.

Ben Adams is no stranger to the Eurovision community. Along with Gaute Ormåsen and Carl-Henrik Wahl and under the name of “Subwoolfer” represented Norway in Eurovision 2022, finishing tenth. In fact, their identities remained hidden for a year following Eurovision, as they were performing wearing masks and went with the pseudonyms Keith, Jim and DJ Astronaut.

Meanwhile Ben Adams also stated that:

Fans in the UK are starting to appreciate Eurovision after the success Sam Ryder in 2022

The UK is catching up to the rest of Europe. It has become bigger and bigger. I’ve got the Eurovision bug. I love it!

Ben’s bandmates are also keen with the idea to represent the country in Eurovision:

“I would love us to do the contest. To be able to do it would be one of the highlights of our career“, said Mark Read.

“I’ve been saying to the others for a while that Eurovision is a big thing, and we should consider doing it”, mentioned Christian Ingebrigtsen.

Who are A1?

A1 is a British-Norwegian boy band that was founded in 1998. Paul Marazzi, Christian Ingebrigtsen, Mark Read, and Ben Adams made up the original lineup. The other members are from London, while Ingebrigtsen is originally from Oslo, Norway.

In mid-1999, “Be the First to Believe,” their debut single, peaked at number six on the UK singles chart. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, they were successful on charts in the UK and other countries, especially in Southeast Asia. They had six more top 10 hits in the UK, including two number ones that were written by the band. Furthermore, in 2001 they were awarded a Brit Award for “British Breakthrough Act.”

A1 also tried to represent Norway in Eurovision in 2010, with their song “Don’t Wanna Lose You Again”, placing second in the Norwegian national selection.

Olly Alexander represented the United Kingdom in Eurovision 2024 with his song “Dizzy“. Despite the high hopes he ended up in the eighteenth place, scoring nul points from the public.

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Source: metro.co.uk

Norway: Participation in Eurovision 2025 is confirmed!

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Since the final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, questions have been aroused as to whether Norway will participate in next year’s major music competition. Now NRK has finally concluded after talks with the EBU and the new report that was published yesterday.

Now the EBU has recognized that they had problems this year and they are working to improve it. And what we’ve been told, in addition to what they’ve come out with publicly, sounds very good. So now we will work constructively and positively to get Norway into Eurovision in 2025. We will participate

says music manager for Melodi Grand Prix, Stig Karlsen.

He emphasizes that they have not received an answer to everything the EBU should do next, but that NRK’s ​​plan is now ready.

The registration deadline for next year’s competition is set for mid-September. There are so far around 16 countries registered for next year’s competition. Both Sweden and Denmark have already confirmed participation.

-We hope that the EBU ensures that the ESC is not used as a political tool, because there was quite a bit of this this year. It is also important that they become better at communicating, crisis management and security around the event.

Against the background of this year’s controversies and protests during the Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU, the organizer of the contest, promised a thorough evaluation and review of the event.

Yesterday, the EBU published a report in which they consider further measures to improve the safety of the artists. At the same time, they announced that they are creating new leadership positions in the Eurovision Song Contest, and that they have been recommended to create a crisis team that can prevent and handle crises.

We must communicate well with the artist and provide an understanding of what we do and how we handle this. It is very important that the artist has a good experience throughout.

Of the countries that are registered for next year we also find Israel. There were several demonstrations both in Norway and several other countries in Europe when they were allowed to participate in this year’s competition.

NRK has been clear that we do not engage in a cultural boycott. What is important to us is that Eurovision is not used as a platform for politics, and the EBU has not been able to follow this up as well. We cannot have countries that use the competition as a platform for propaganda.

source: nrk.no

Eurovision 2024: Six countries wanted to withdraw 25 minutes before the Grand Final!

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Two weeks after the Grand Final of Eurovision 2024, it became known from the Norwegian newspaper VG that six countries participating in the Saturday’s show wanted to withdraw up to twenty-five minutes before the start of the final.

The 11th of May was crucial for the contest, as reported by the newspaper, the EBU and SVT found themselves in a major critical meeting as six countries wanted to withdraw until they decided to participate.

The six countries that wanted to withdraw were the winning Switzerland, Ireland, Portugal, Norway, Greece and the United Kingdom.

Specifically, Magnus Børmark, a member of the Norwegian band Gåte, stated that:

We were considering withdrawing until the last moment. Many of us reacted to the fact that Israel had the opportunity to use Eurovision as its own political tool.

The reason the six countries wanted to withdraw was the participation of Israel and the exclusion of Joost Klein. VG writes that Israel’s participation, the extensive security measures, and the behavior of the Israeli delegation during the week were reasons for the protests,” adds Børmark:

Our common point was that we did not want to participate in Eurovision to be used and stigmatized in a war propaganda machine in Israel. We participated to create a space where we can unite in music – in a political situation where everyone chooses sides and hates each other.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Source: VG

Norway: Stig Karlsen to EBU “Stop Blaming Delegations and Artists”!

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Stig Karlsen, the Head of Delegation for Norway at Eurovision, has called on its organisers the EBU to “stop blaming” others for its own faults.

Eurovision 2024 was shrouded in controversy, with multiple countries complaining about a tense and unsafe environment at the contest. Speaking to Wiwibloggs after the Grand Final, Karlsen says that the EBU need to “be more humble and take responsibility for the damage done”.

Norway was reported to be one of several broadcasters that was threatening to withdraw from the contest this year. In an interview with Aftenposten, the guitarist of Norway’s entry for 2024, Gåte, said that “retiring was on the block until the last second”.

Karlsen, who is the man in charge of Norway’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest each year, says that the Norwegian broadcaster NRK is “already holding discussions” about what happened. The plan is to then “carry these discussions over to the EBU” when they can.

“There is no doubt that the reputation of the Eurovision Song Contest has been significantly damaged this year, and it is now crucial that the EBU quickly takes action. The EBU needs to stop blaming the delegations and artists for the scandals that surrounded Eurovision 2024, and acknowledge the core problem.”

“The reputation of Eurovision goes hand in hand with MGP and all the other national finals. What the EBU does now is crucial for the future of Eurovision and the national selections as well. However, they need to act quickly. Time is running out for the broadcasters that conduct national selections. Right now, it’s a tough task to get artists, songwriters, partners, and team members to engage and commit to the project.”

This is not the first time that Karlsen has said strong words after the end of a Eurovision. Last year, after the controversial result of Eurovision 2023, Karlsen called for the voting system at the contest to change.

Gåte represented Norway in Eurovision 2024. They qualified for the Grand Final, but finished in last place, scoring 16 points overall.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news about Eurovision 2024!

source: Wiwibloggs

Norway: NRK refers discussions of the Norwegian jury mebers to the EBU for assessment!

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Norway’s national television broadcaster, NRK, confirmed that it has sent some information, regarding discussions around the Norwegian jury’s voting to the EBU for assessment.

Daniel Owen, who was one of the Norwegian jury members, expressed his regret about Norway’s jury giving 8 points to Israel this year.

In a post on social media, he said:

“In my opinion, Israel should not be allowed to participate in Eurovision at all. Although I was not involved in the awarding of points to Israel, I would like to apologise that this was shown from the Norwegian jury”

Gunilla Süssmann, who was also part of the Norwegian jury, said:

“The fact that the jury did not choose to boycott artists is not the same as us supporting war. This was a purely professional assessment where we had to assess the best song based on our musical expertise. That is what we have done.”

Stig Karlsen, who was the Head of Deligation for Noway this year, said on NR that Daniel Owen’s words might have caused a brench of the rules:

“We want to emphasize that the jury must judge the song, artist and performance without being colored by politics or other non-musical matters. With Daniel Owen’s statement, it may look like we have a rule violation. Information about the case was yesterday sent from NRK to the EBU for assessment”

The EBU has not yet made an official statement about the situation.

Norway participated in Eurovision 2024 with the band Gåte and the song “Ulveham”, finnishing in the 25th place – last – in the Grand Final of the Contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBbL8ORqNVU&pp=ygUSdWx2ZWhhbSBnYXRlIGZpbmFs

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Source: Eurovoix

Norway : Gåte considered withdrawing from Eurovision Grand Final!

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Only 2 days after the end of the Grand Final of Eurovision 2024, it was reported through the Norwegian media that the Norwegian band Gåte was almost to withdraw from the Grand Final.

The guitarist of the band, Magnus Børmark, told;

Withdrawning was on our plans until the last second. We eventually had constructive talks with the EBU. Things were just good enough for it to be implemented.

Magnus Børmark says that there was a strong confrontation with the organiser, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). He believes the artists were forced into a political role and were involuntarily given the responsibility of carrying out an extremely complicated conflict.

 

Norway participated in Eurovision 2024 with the band Gåte and the song “Ulveham”, finnishing in the 25th place – last – in the Grand Final of the Contest.

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Source: aftenposten.no

Eurovision 2024: Switzerland is the big winner of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest!

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The 68th Eurovision Song Contest has been history for a few minutes now, with the big winner being Switzerland represented by Nemo and the song “The Code“.

In a contest marked by drama and a lot of backstory, Swittzerland emerged as the winner with 591 points.

Twenty-six countries took part in tonight’s show, aiming to succeed Loreen and Sweden as the reigning Eurovision Song Contest champions.

The show

Malmö Arena was the venue for the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in the Swedish city of Malmö.

The presenters of tonight’s show, as of all the shows, were Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman.

The 25 participating countries that took part in the Grand Final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest were:

 

R/O COUNTRY ARTIST SONG
1 Sweden Marcus & Martinus “Unforgettable”
2 Ukraine alyona alyona & Jerry Heil “Teresa & Maria”
3 Germany Isaak “Always on the Run”
4 Luxembourg Tali “Fighter”
6 Israel Eden Golan “Hurricane”
7 Lithuania Silvester Belt “Luktelk”
8 Spain Nebulossa “Zorra”
9 Estonia 5miinust & Puuluup “(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi”
10 Ireland Bambie Thug “Doomsday Blue”
11 Latvia Dons “Hollow”
12 Greece Marina Satti “Zari”
13 United Kingdom Olly Alexander “Dizzy”
14 Norway Gåte “Ulveham”
15 Italy Angelina Mango “La noia”
16 Serbia Teya Dora “Ramonda”
17 Finland Windows95man “No Rules!”
18 Portugal Iolanda “Grito”
19 Armenia Ladaniva “Jako”
20 Cyprus Silia Kapsis “Liar”
21 Switzerland Nemo “The Code”
22 Slovenia Raiven “Veronika”
23 Croatia Baby Lasagna “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”
24 Georgia Nutsa Buzaladze “Firefighter”
25 France Slimane “Mon amour”
26 Austria Kaleen “We Will Rave​”

Results

The final ranking of the 25 finalists of Eurovision 2024 was as follows:

The vote of the juries was as follows:

The votes of the public were as follow:

  1. Croatia 337
  2. Israel 327
  3. Ukraine 307
  4. France 227
  5. Switzerland 226
  6. Ireland 136
  7. Italy 104
  8. Greece 85
  9. Armenia 82
  10. Lithuania 58
  11. Sweden 49
  12. Cyprus 44
  13. Estonia 33
  14. Serbia 32
  15. Finland 31
  16. Latvia 28
  17. Luxembourg 20
  18. Georgia 19
  19. Germany 18
  20. Portugal 13
  21. Slovenia 12
  22. Spain 11
  23. Austria 5
  24. Norway 4
  25. United Kingdom 0

Half of the final result came from the votes of the juries who voted last night and half from the TV audiences across Europe who voted for their favourite songs a few hours ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO_qJf-nW0k

What did you think of the final results of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest?

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Bets: The latest odds before the Grand Final!

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The 68th Eurovision Song Contest, which has been marred by drama like no other, will conclude in a few hours from now, culminating in the elimination of the Netherlands from the Grand Final this morning.

Amidst an atmosphere of tension and unprecedented toxicity, we take a look at the betting companies’ odds regarding each country’s chances of winning this year’s contest, as well as their chances of being in the Top 10.

Croatia in pole position

With Croatia as the early favourites, the Eurovision 2024 final will take place this evening. The country that has been in first place more than any other has the best chance of winning just hours before the curtain falls on this year’s contest. The supersonic Baby Lasagna is very close to giving Croatia their first win as an independent nation in their Eurovision appearance. Right now, you can place bets on the Croats’ maiden victory at odds between 1.83 and 2.25.

Second is Israel, which is right on Croatia’s heels and sees its odds of victory remain largely unchanged from our analysis yesterday. Thus, Israel’s Eurovision 2024 win is being played at odds between 2.8 and 4.

In third place, gaining ground after last night’s performance, are Nemo and Switzerland. Switzerland and Nemo‘s victory is now being bet at odds between 4.5 and 5.5, up from 6 to 9 at the time of writing our analysis yesterday.

Up two places for Ireland and down one for France, who complete the top five. The possibility of Ireland winning is now offered between 17 and 23. On the other hand, France‘s odds of victory have risen compared to yesterday, now offered between 15 and 26.

Ukraine has dropped to sixth place, having lost three places in the last two days. With the odds on offer having risen significantly, currently as much as 34 times the stake is returned on a Ukrainian victory in Malmo.

In seventh place is Italy, who lost even more ground after last night’s performance at Jury Rehearsal. Between 21 and 51 is being played on the possibility of Angelina Mango winning.

A one place rise for Greece, which moved up one place compared to our analysis yesterday, “taking advantage” of the exclusion of the Netherlands. A possible victory of “ZARI” and Marina Satti is currently being played at odds between 81 and 251, with no change at all compared to yesterday.

Finland has moved up to ninth place, while Sweden completes the top ten, returning inside the Top 10 for the first time in many months. Both Finland and Sweden are both playing at a maximum odds of 251, exactly the same as ninth-placed Greece as well as the UK and Armenia, who are in 11th and 12th place.

Top 10

Of particular interest is one of the most popular markets for betting companies, that of entering the Top 10. Looking at the table below, it can be seen that bookers largely consider entry into the top 10 to be assured for a large proportion of the countries involved in the Grand Final.

The presence of four countries in the top 10 is considered a given. Croatia, Switzerland, Ukraine and Israel are “given a place” in the top 10, with bookies offering this possibility at odds of under 1.10.

France and Italy are almost taken for granted that they too will have a place in the top 10 at Eurovision 2024, with this possibility returning between 1.14 and 1.20 times the stake.

With the six spots in the Top 10 looking largely taken, four spots remain, with Ireland considered the seventh most likely to take a spot in the top ten at odds of 1.57.

Greece also has a very strong chance of a place inside the Top 10, being eighth in the table below and also the last country to offer odds of less than 2. In fact, a place inside the Top 10 for Marina Satti returns up to 1.91 times the stake.

Beyond that, the Netherlands‘ elimination from the grand final “opens up a spot” within the Top 10 that was considered by many to be a lock. Automatically, it opens the way for two more spots for the top 10 of the ranking. Thus, Sweden is considered the ninth most likely to make the top ten and Armenia the tenth most likely. Both are being played at odds close to 2.5.

Conclusions

We are only a few hours away from the most dramatic final in Eurovision history, which has been tainted by the events of the last few days in Malmö. Leaving aside everything that has marked the contest so far, tonight’s final is the most controversial of all time, where no one can accurately predict what will happen. All possibilities are open and no outcome will come as a surprise.

Which country do you think will win the 68th Eurovision Song Contest?

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

Breaking News: Alessandra withdrew from being the Norwegian spokesperson!

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Alessandra Mele was scheduled to hand out points on behalf of Norway during tonight’s final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Now, however, Dagbladet has confirmed that she is withdrawing from that task.

Channel host Ingvild Helljesen takes over the task.

Source: Dagbladet

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