Prior to the 2020 Contest, Norway had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-nine times since their first entry in. Norway had won the contest on three occasions: in 1985 with the song "La det swinge" performed by Bobbysocks!, in 1995 with the song "Nocturne" performed by Secret Garden and in 2009 with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. Norway also had the two dubious distinctions of having finished last in the Eurovision final more than any other country and for having the most "nul points" in the contest, the latter being a record the nation shared together with Austria. The country had finished last eleven times and had failed to score a point during four contests. Following the introduction of semi-finals in, Norway has only failed to qualify on three occasions. In 2019, Norway was represented by KEiiNO with the song "Spirit in the Sky". The country placed 6th in the final with 331 points. The Norwegian national broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting, broadcasts the event within Norway and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The broadcaster has traditionally organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix, which has selected the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in all but one of their participations.
Before Eurovision
''Melodi Grand Prix 2020''
Melodi Grand Prix 2020 was the 58th edition of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix, and selected Norway's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
Format
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest, NRK decided to expand the competition with heats for the first time since 2014. The semi-final concept was based on the five regions Northern, Central, Western, Southern and Eastern Norway. Each region had its own heat where artists and songwriters from that region competed for a place in the final on 15 February 2019. In each heat, four songs were set up in two pairs, and the winners of each pair then competed in a "gold duel", with the final winner being decided by online voting. All shows were hosted by Kåre Magnus Bergh, Ingrid Gjessing Linhave and Ronny Brede Aase. Kåre Magnus Bergh hosted for the sixth time, while Ingrid Gjessing Linhave and Ronny Brede Aase hosted the show for the first time.
Final
Ten songs consisting of the five semi-final winners alongside the five pre-qualified songs competed in the final hosted by Trondheim Spektrum in Trondheim on 15 February 2020. This was the third time a Melodi Grand Prix final had been held outside of Oslo, and the first time since 1989. It was also the first time that Trondheim hosted the final. In the first round, all ten finalists performed once, after which the four best songs proceeded to the gold final. After a second voting round, the two best songs from the gold final proceeded to the gold duel. A third voting round then determined the winner of Melodi Grand Prix 2020. In every round, the Norwegian audience could cast their votes through the broadcaster's online voting system. However, due to technical problems with the online voting in the first round, the four gold finalists were determined by a thirty-member demoscopic jury panel. After the gold duel, the results of the online voting were revealed by representatives of Norway's five regions, which led to the victory of "Attention" performed by Ulrikke Brandstorp.
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2020, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Norway was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2020, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. However, due to 2019-20 pandemic of Coronavirus, the contest was cancelled.
