Even before televote champions KEiiNO gave Norway something to celebrate, we’ve known that the Scandi nation was planning something special for Melodi Grand Prix 2020. Now more details have emerged about broadcaster NRK’s plans for the 60th anniversary edition of its iconic national final.
Back in March, NRK confirmed that MGP 2020 will involve an expanded format. Rather than just having the one grand final show, Norway’s national final will include FIVE semi-finals.
Each semi-final will be themed around artists from five regions of the country: Northern Norway, Central Norway, Western Norway, Eastern Norway and Southern Norway.
From the semi-finals, ten acts will progress to the grand final. Five will be chosen by a professional jury and five during the semi-finals, with one act advancing from each heat based on televoting alone.
Swedish fan site ESCSverige now reports that a 40 acts will compete in MGP 2020. This makes a total of eight acts per semi-final. The site also says that the MGP 2020 grand final will be held some time in March, at the usual location of the Oslo Spektrum arena.
However, closer to home, Norwegian fan site escNorge has a slightly different timetable. They report that the weekly semi-finals will begin on Saturday 11 January, leading to the grand final on 15 February.
escNorge also reports that each semi-final will contain around five entries, with an estimated total of about 30 songs competing in the 2020 edition — significantly less than the alternate figure of 40.
While it is expected that the grand final will be held in Oslo, the locations for the semi-finals have not been confirmed yet. Fans have speculated that the show may use a Melodifestivalen-style national tour for semi-final show locations.
However MGP boss Stig Karslen told escNorge that it’s a matter of deciding “Should we use more resources on television content versus more resources on transport, logistics, accommodation and travel in connection with moving a large production around? What will give Norway’s TV viewers the greatest payout?”
It’s important to note that broadcaster NRK has currently not publicly confirmed any details about how many acts will compete at Melodi Grand Prix 2020, where the shows will be held or what dates the shows will be broadcast.
The entry period for Melodi Grand Prix 2020 is still open and will close at the end of this month, 31 July 2019.
What do you think? Would you like to see the MGP semi-finals filmed in the regions? Who would you like to see enter the 2020 national final? Tell us your thoughts below!
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Very Excited!
They were the biggest surprise of the contest. They won the televote and NOBODY at wiwibloggs was paying attention to them. Same with Macedonia and the juries!
Good. I also want Australia Decides and Germany national finals to have semi finals next year like Sweden and France. Let’s be honest. Even if you don’t like these rich countries, they can really do good shows with money if they’re willing to do it.
I am a bit nervous about there being so much emphasis being put on the televote. I understand why they are doing it, but let’s be honest – sometimes the televoters pick some real garbage.
juries this year wanted mr. unicorn so they’re doing it for their good. also it’s the NATIONAL representative not the international juries’ representative
I to think those years when Vivi was in charge were the best for Norway this decade. She had an eye for finding songs and artists that were both artistic and commercial, and great of course. In 2013 Norway was the best of the Nordic countries so of course it didn’t win. I feel like after her it’s been hit or miss. Some have been good, others not so much. They either do well or do terribly bad. Feels like whoever is in charge sometimes forget it’s a contest and that you have to find a song to compete with.… Read more »
I don’t know why people have to insult other countries as a way to support its own favorite… Norway has its charm, Sweden also have it… musically i really prefer Sweden, and in eurovision i usually prefer Sweden, but this year my absolutely favorite was at the beginning, Norway… both are countries that works a lot for eurovision. We also cannot pretend to say that Swedish placement are just “hype”, is a country that if you like it or not, is doing a great job in eurovision, and is a really important country in music industry… i wish all the… Read more »
I hope that KEiiNO enter Melodi Grand Prix (MGP) again next year. There is no way that a Eurovision jury will (or rather, should) disregard them again, after having won the televote this year. Given that several past MGP winners have returned to participate at subsequent MGP editions, and because KEiiNO are probably the biggest Eurovision fans to have ever participated at Eurovision, I am hopeful that they will return to participate in a future edition of MGP again. I would be equally as happy if Alexandra Rotan returned to participate with Stella Mwangi. Stella’s win at MGP in 2011… Read more »
Together with Iceland and Denmark I really want Norway to do well. I always look to see what their finals come up with. Sweden always seems to get the hype but I personally prefer the other Nordic countries to do well.
Same. If Norway sends good songs, they are way better than what Sweden sends. On the other hand: If they send bad songs, they are truly bad. I prefer that over eternal mediocrity any day.
Sweden hate before we have chosen: STUPID
I was talking in general, about Eurovision history. I’m always hoping to be positively surprised. Not by you, of course, but by your country’s choice. You yourself obviously only have the one record you’ll keep spinning until the final day. STUPID. I mean, I bet even Christer would seek refuge from you.
No hate intended at all. Iove most things about Sweden. Just relating to Eurovision I prefer the underdogs to do well. I feel that they somewhat live in the shadow of the music powerhouse that is Sweden.
With Vivi in charge, we achieved a 4th place and two 8th places which is very respectable. The last years we’ve had a NQ (poor Agnete, I think she deserved to qualify but not surprised really), another top ten, Rybak with his song that I didn’t like at all and a sixth place this year so I do think we’ve been pretty strong this decade to be honest, although we have to take Tooji’s last place and Stella’s NQ into consideration. Now I would love to see some our stars do Eurovision like Astrid S or Aurora but I don’t… Read more »
2013 and 2015 were the best of their respective years, in my opinion. In Eurovision, not only in MGP. I think it’s all about getting the right song writers to submit their good songs, not their sloppy rejects from some songwriting camp. 2016 could have been avoided by choosing “Afterglow”, though.
Well, if they receive hundreds of entries, it makes sense they add the semifinals to give people the chance to listen to more songs rather than shortlisting just a dozen of them.
I’m genuinely disappointed for Norway. I did not like their entry AT ALL and I was STUNNED they managed to win the televote, never saw that one coming. Which is all the more reason they should have won! They were robbed of having a victory in each of the last four decades. Really, they were robbed blind. And yes, Sweden getting all this undeserved air time without winning anything, while they were shown for a couple of seconds and not even acknowledged as the televote winners makes this infinitely worse. While I prefer brief, one night only NFs, I hope… Read more »
One word: epic! 🙂
I still do think that it was worthy to mention them as the televote winners at the contest. The new system of announcing the televotes was, in general, a mess, since you could not really understand who won the televotes etc.
You know, as long as the quality of our national final gets significantly better than what it has been for the last years, I don’t mind this really. We’ve sent some respectable entries the last years with «Spirit In The Sky» being the little gem out of them all. The best years were 2013-2015 when Vivi Stenberg was in charge, which in my opinion resulted in some really strong entries to Eurovision.
The bigger the national Final is the worse the result would be!
Like eesti laul 2016, supernova 2017, nmgp 2016
UK, Germany = small and bad
Funny how Norway archieves great results and makes their NF even better whilst the UK gets terrible results and makes their NF even worse.
The difference is that Melodi Grand Prix is a public TV institution dating back decades. The BBC has never settled on a particular annual songfest from the get-go.
1. Logical to have it only staying in one place, if that’s his perspective.
2. Leaning more towards 30 song (6 songs per semi) rather than 40 (8 songs per semi), but that’s a bit small for a semifinal (except if this is Iceland).
3. Assuming only two per semi will be picked for the final. It could be three but 10 songs seems better than 15.
4. No news whether there would be wildcard shows or not. I mean we can have one for show for third semi placers and people would pick two of them to go through.