Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980

Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with the song "Sámiid ædnan", composed by Sverre Kjelsberg, with lyrics by Ragnar Olsen, and performed by Sverre Kjelsberg and Mattis Hætta. The Norwegian participating broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), selected its entry through the Melodi Grand Prix 1980.

Eurovision Song Contest 1980
Participating broadcaster	Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK)
Country	Norway
National selection
Selection process	Melodi Grand Prix 1980
Selection date(s)	22 March 1980
Selected artist(s)	Sverre Kjelsberg and Mattis Hætta
Selected song	"Sámiid ædnan"
Selected songwriter(s)	Sverre Kjelsberg Ragnar Olsen
Finals performance
Final result	16th, 15 points
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1979 • 1980 • 1981►

The song’s chorus, consisting of traditional Sami yoik song, was first performed publicly by Mattis Hætta and was broadcast on NRK in October 1979, in connection with the hunger strike song by Sami activists in front of the Norwegian parliament building in connection with the Alta controversy.^[1] The verse of the song also refers to this with the line "framførr tinget der dem satt, hørtes joiken dag og natt" (in front of the parliament where they sat, the yoik was heard day and night). Only Kjelsberg was credited as composer of the entry, although Hætta wrote the chorus. The song remains one of the best-remembered Norwegian entries, particularly in Norway itself.

Before Eurovision

Melodi Grand Prix 1980

Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) held the Melodi Grand Prix 1980 at its studios in Oslo, hosted by Åse Kleveland who represented Norway in 1966. The Orchestra was Conducted by Egil Monn-Inversen. Ten songs took part in the final, with the winner chosen by a 9-member jury who awarded 10 points to their favourite song down to 1 point to the least-liked. Voting was very close with only 4 points separating the top five songs. The first vote resulted in a tie for first place, so each jury member was asked to nominate their preferred song of the two, and "Sámiid ædnan" won by 5 votes to 4.^[2]

Final – 22 March 1980

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Anita Skorgan	"Stjerneskudd"	48	6
2	Jahn Teigen	"Ja"	32	9
3	Radka Toneff	"Parken"	43	8
4	Åge Aleksandersen and Sambandet	"Bjørnen sover"	61	1
5	Hilde Heltberg	"Maestro"	32	9
6	Henning Sommerro	"Auståvind"	45	7
7	Alex	"Univers"	58	3
8	Nina Askeland	"Rudi"	58	3
9	Inger Lise Rypdal	"Svart fortid"	57	5
10	Sverre Kjelsberg and Mattis Hætta	"Sámiid ædnan"	61	1

Detailed Jury Votes

Draw	Song	Ulf Dalheim	Kari Diesen d.y.	Ivar Dyrhaug	Eli Hennestad Høyland	Rune Larsen	Lillebjørn Nilsen	Kari Stokke	Magni Wentzel	Kjell Winther	Total
1	"Stjerneskudd"	7	3	4	8	7	5	2	7	5	48
2	"Ja"	9	5	3	1	4	1	1	1	7	32
3	"Parken"	1	6	10	4	1	2	6	9	4	43
4	"Bjørnen sover"	8	10	8	5	9	8	3	2	8	61
5	"Maestro"	3	2	2	7	5	3	5	4	1	32
6	"Auståvind"	4	4	5	2	8	4	9	6	3	45
7	"Univers"	10	1	1	9	6	9	4	8	10	58
8	"Rudi"	5	7	6	10	2	6	8	5	9	58
9	"Svart fortid"	2	9	7	6	3	7	7	10	6	57
10	"Sámiid ædnan"	6	8	9	3	10	10	10	3	2	61

Tie-break

Draw	Artist	Song	Ulf Dalheim	Kari Diesen d.y.	Ivar Dyrhaug	Eli Hennestad Høyland	Rune Larsen	Lillebjørn Nilsen	Kari Stokke	Magni Wentzel	Kjell Winther	Total	Place
1	Åge Aleksandersen and Sambandet	"Bjørnen sover"	X	X		X					X	4	2
2	Sverre Kjelsberg and Mattis Hætta	"Sámiid ædnan"			X		X	X	X	X		5	1

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Kjelsberg and Hætta performed 11th in the running order, following Finland and preceding Germany. The song was very unusual for Eurovision both structurally and thematically, and the stage presentation, although simple and gimmick-free, proved very memorable to viewers and frequently features in Eurovision montages. At the close of voting "Sámiid ædnan" had received 15 points, placing Norway 16th of the 19 entries.^[3] The Norwegian jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners Ireland.^[4]

Voting

Points awarded to Norway[5] Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points  Germany 5 points 4 points  Morocco 3 points  France 2 points  Netherlands 1 point

Points awarded by Norway[5] Score Country 12 points  Ireland 10 points   Switzerland 8 points  Portugal 7 points  Luxembourg 6 points  Austria 5 points  Finland 4 points  Greece 3 points  France 2 points  Italy 1 point  Denmark

References

1. Tilbake til 70-tallet, Episode 10, at 3:17.
2. ESC National Finals database 1980
3. "Final of The Hague 1980". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
4. ESC History - Norway 1980
5. "Results of the Final of The Hague 1980". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.

External links

• Full national final on nrk.no