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| Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 1968 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) | |||
| Country |  Norway | |||
| Selection process | Internal selection among Melodi Grand Prix 1968 entries | |||
| Selection date | 7 March 1968 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Stress" | |||
| Artist | Odd Børre | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Placement | ||||
| Final result | 13th, 2 points | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
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Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "Stress", composed by Tor Hultin, with lyrics by Ola B. Johannessen, and performed by Odd Børre. The Norwegian participating broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 1968 in order to select its entry for the contest. The national final was won by the song "Jeg har aldri vært så glad i noen som deg" performed by both Kirsti Sparboe and Odd Børre, but when the song's composer withdrew, NRK internally selected the runner-up song as its entry for the contest.
Before Eurovision
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Melodi Grand Prix 1968
[edit]Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) held the Melodi Grand Prix 1968 on 3 March 1968 at its studios in Oslo, hosted by Jan Voigt.
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. The winning song was "Jeg har aldri vært så glad i noen som deg" performed by both Kirsti Sparboe and Odd Børre.
| R/O | Artist | Song | Points | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combo | Orchestra | ||||
| 1 | Per Asplin | Nora Brockstedt | "Nysgjerrig-Per" | 4 | 4 |
| 2 | Kirsti Sparboe | Odd Børre | "Stress" | 14 | 2 |
| 3 | Nora Brockstedt | Per Müller | "Nordlys" | 10 | 3 |
| 4 | Kirsti Sparboe | Odd Børre | "Jeg har aldri vært så glad i noen som deg" | 20 | 1 |
| 5 | Per Müller | Per Asplin | "Ingenmannsland" | 2 | 5 |
Internal selection
[edit]On 7 March, only four days after the selection, NRK announced they would select the runner-up, "Stress", as its entry for Eurovision following the withdrawal "Jeg har aldri vært så glad i noen som deg" by its composer Kari Diesen after winning the national final amid persistent allegations that it plagiarised the 1963 hit "Summer Holiday" by Cliff Richard – who would represent the United Kingdom in 1968.[1] Odd Børre was also internally selected as the artist who would perform the song at Eurovision.
At Eurovision
[edit]On the evening of the contest Børre performed 13th in the running order, following the United Kingdom and preceding Ireland. Each national jury had 10 points to distribute between the songs, and at the close "Stress" had picked up 2 points (1 each from Luxembourg and Spain), placing Norway joint 13th (with Austria and Switzerland) of the 17 entries. The Norwegian jury awarded 6 of its 10 points to Sweden.
The conductor of the Norwegian entry was Øivind Bergh.
Voting
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References
[edit]- ^ "Vinnermelodien trukket tilbake: Norsk "Stress" til London" [Winning song withdrawn: Norwegian "Stress" to London]. Østlendingen (in Norwegian). 7 March 1968. p. 2. Retrieved 25 August 2025 – via Nasjonalbiblioteket.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of London 1968". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.