Norway's Melodi Grand Prix is heading back to its roots!

07 November 2023 at 07:00 CET

Alessandra from Norway attending the Turquoise Carpet event at St. George’s Hall, Liverpool. Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

NRK has revealed details of their Eurovision Song Contest national finals - Melodi Grand Prix - with the series set to return where the show began, before ending with a grand final in Trondheim.

Artist Presentation: Friday 5 January
Semi-final 1: Saturday 13 January
Semi-final 2: Saturday 20 January
Semi-final 3: Saturday 27 January
Grand Final: Saturday 3 February

The Melodi Grand Prix was held for the very first time in 1960. Nora Brockstedt became the first winner of the competition with the song Voi-voi, which subsequently finished 4th at the Eurovision Song Contest held in London that year. Melodi Grand Prix took place at NRK’s own studio at Marienlyst in Oslo.

In 2024, NRK will take the competition back to its roots when the three semi-finals will take place at Marienlyst again on Saturday 13, 20 and 27 of January, while the grand final will take place on Saturday 3 February in Trondheim Spektrum.

Studio 1 and Studio 2 at Marienlyst are an integral part of Norwegian TV history, and both will be used when the artists will fight for a final place at Trondheim Spektrum in front of 8,500 people.

There will be 18 participants competing in Melodi Grand Prix 2024. Six artists will take part in each semi-final, with three advancing to the grand final.

Competing artists will be revealed at a press launch on Friday 5 January.

Stig Karlsen, Head of Music at MGP, said:

‘We are very excited about the line-up in MGP. We can promise a very high level of artists and songs. There will be big and well-known artists, there will be new shooting stars, a wide selection of genres and expressions. We have the songs that can assert themselves strongly in Europe and the world. And who knows, maybe 2024 will be the year when Norway wins the Eurovision Song Contest again!’