Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966


Norway was represented by Åse Kleveland, with the song '"Intet er nytt under solen", at the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 5 March in Luxembourg City. "Intet er nytt under solen" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 5 February.

Final

The MGP was held at Centralteatret in Oslo, hosted by Øivind Bergh. Five performers and songs took part in the final with each song sung twice by different singers, once with a small combo and once with a full orchestra. The winning song was chosen by voting from ten regional juries.
DrawComboOrchestraSongPointsPlace
1Wenche MyhreKirsti Sparboe"Lørdagstripp"64
2Grynet MolvigAnita Thallaug"Ung og forelsket"73
3Kirsti SparboeÅse Kleveland"Gi meg fri"112
4Åse KlevelandGrynet Molvig"Intet er nytt under solen"221
5Anita ThallaugWenche Myhre"Vims"45

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Kleveland performed 6th in the running order, following Yugoslavia and preceding Finland. "Intet er nytt under solen" was an unusual and adventurous song for Eurovision at the time, with a sophisticated, atmospheric instrumental arrangement. Kleveland was the first female performer in Eurovision to appear on stage with a guitar. She was also the first female performer to appear in trousers rather than a dress or skirt. Voting was by each national jury awarding 5-3-1 to their top 3 songs, and at the close "Intet er nytt under solen" had picked up 15 points, placing Norway third of the 18 entries. This was Norway's best Eurovision showing at the time, and would remain so until the victory of Bobbysocks! in 1985. Kleveland went on to present the 1986 contest in Bergen, the first to be hosted by Norway.