In Baku, Tooji from Norway finished in last place and although disappointed with the result, Norwegian broadcaster NRK are keen to bounce back in 2013 when the contest will be held in neighbouring Sweden.
Yesterday, NRK announced that the town of Steinkjer in Nord-Trøndelag will play host to the first semi-final of Melodi Grand Prix 2013 on the 19th of January 2013. It will be held at the Steinkjer Campus venue and there will be space for approximately 3,000 people in the audience; the biggest ever event there!
In order to celebrate this news, singer Jens Petter Olsen and singers from the Steinkjer Mannsangforening performed a selection of Melodi Grand Prix and Eurovision Song Contest songs after the announcement was made. The organisers are happy to be able to "put Steinkjer on the map" by arranging the first heat of Norway's national selection.
A new talent show for local acts
In order to engage young and talented acts from the areas the heats will be held, a new concept has been developed called MGP Lokal where local youths aged between 11 and 17 years old will compete in a talent competition after which 5 acts will have the honour of performing as the warm up act for the Semi-Final shows of Melodi Grand Prix.
Further details of the Norwegian national selection will be published in the coming weeks and months so stay tuned!
The dates for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest have been provisionally set as the 14th, 16th and 18th of May where the competition will be broadcast from Sweden. The city and venue are yet to be decided but stay tuned to Eurovision.tv where this information will be made available as soon as we get it!
