This year’s Melodi Grand Prix final takes place this Saturday 14 March and the excitement has been building all week!
The annual showpiece event, which determines Norway’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest, is truly bigger and better than ever.
Produced by public broadcaster NRK (Norsk Rikskringkasting), Melodi Grand Prix commenced in 1960 with a win for Nora Brockstedt’s Voi voi. The song went on to accomplish a fourth placing at the London-hosted Eurovision Song Contest of that year.
Norway can boast of a number of Eurovision highlights in the last decade, from Alexander Rybak’s triumph in 2009, to top ten finishes for Maria Haukaas Storeng (2008), Margaret Berger (2013) and Carl Espen (2014).
So, just HOW impressive is Melodi Grand Prix 2015 going to be?
Stage director/producer Vibeke Sørlie tells www.nrk.no that there is absolutely no shortage of ambition:
The idea was “the more, the merrier”.. We focus on creating a spectacular show, with lots of humour and history.
An approximate number of over 450 people will be involved in a record-breaking Melodi Grand Prix final, with 143 singers, a 60-piece children’s choir, the 54-man Kringkastingsorkesteret orchestra and a crew of 140 participating in the action.
The stage has 400 spotlights, with over 1,000 lamps in total, and the costume department is working around the clock to provide first class outfits and props for Saturday night.
It is also noteworthy that there is no restriction on how many people will be on stage, in contrast to the six-person rule of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Vibeke Sørlie promises that viewers will notice a difference from previous years of the show:
Melodi Grand Prix is Norway’s longest running music competition, an integral part of Norwegian television entertainment. This year we celebrate several anniversaries (the Eurovision Song Contest celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2015) and it will be reflected in production.
She continues:
It is important that the artists do not “drown” in the stage show.. The choreography will strengthen the artist and build up under their performance.
Tthe Melodi Grand Prix running order was revealed few days ago . Check out the official MGP website at nrk.no/mgp and follow the action on Facebook, Twitter (hashtag: #MGP2015) and Instagram. Silya Nimoen and Kare Magnus have the honour of presenting the show, which starts at 20:25 CET.
Watch last year’s Melodi Grand Prix winner Carl Espen perform Silent storm on the Eurovision stage below:
The 2015 Eurovision Song Contest will come from the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, on 19, 21 and 23 May. Norway contests the second semi-final on 21 May, where they will perform in the first half of the show.
