NRK, the Norwegian national broadcaster, has unveiled the MGP 2026 date, host city and venue.
Melodi Grand Prix will travel to the north of Norway, namely to Lillehammer, the former winter Olympic city. This is the very first time that Lillehammer hosts the Norwegian national final.
The 2026 Norwegian national final aka MGP 2026 is scheduled to be held on Saturday 28 February at the Hakon Arena in Lillehammer.
A total of 10 acts will battle for the golden ticket to Eurovision 2026. Nine finalists will be determined by NRK whilst the 10th finalist will be determined by the Norwegian public via radio duels which will feature 8 acts, one of them will become the 10th MGP 2026 finalist after the public’s deliberation.
The MGP 2026 hosts will be unveiled in mid- December.
- 19/01/2026- NRK presents the 9 finalists via a live press conference
- 20/01/2026- Duels kick off and run throughout the week
- 26//01/2026- 10th act is announced and all 10 competing songs are released
- 28/02/2026- MGP 2026 Grand Final
Mads Torklep (MGP 2026 Project Manager) says:
Lillehammer is the ideal MGP city. The local commitment that we know they are good at mobilizing and this is perfect for Norway’s largest music show. We have already had a number of conversations with local entities and notice that they have a burning desire to create a unique framework for the event. Lillehammer is a city we associate with great moments, and maybe it will be ‘the best MGP finals ever’.
Circa 1,500 songs were under consideration for MGP 2026, this will be the 2nd year for Tarjei Strom as the music director of MGP but it is the first year where he has selected the songs.
Tarjei Strom (MGP 2026 Music Director) says:
The work on the 2026 final has been both intense and incredibly inspiring. The level of both this year’s submitted entries and what we have collected ourselves is impressively high and says a lot about the breadth and quality of Norwegian music today.
Now we are left with an incredible final heat that we are very proud of and that I look forward to sharing with the whole country in the new year.
