KEiiNO was the preferred entry among the foreign juries – but Gåte ran away with the victory.
Trondheim Spektrum Saturday 3 February at 22:51
With the song “Ulveham”, the group Gåte went all the way to the top during this year’s MGP final.
Thus it will also be Gåte who will represent Norway in Eurovision – which will be held in Malmö in May.
– Fantastic! Says the band from the stage after the countdown has been completed.
VG’s reviewer Tor Martin Bøe rolled the dice on the artists’ final numbers further down in the case!
ESCAPE WITH THE VICTORY: Gåte won the MGP final with the song “Ulveham”. Photo: Ole Martin Wold / NTB
– Think I might pass out
After the group has performed the winning song once more, they talk about their victory:
– It was so exciting, it wasn’t certain that we would win, says the vocalist in Gåte, Gunnhild Sundli.
– I thought that now I think I might pass out, she says.
EXCITING: Gunnhild Sundli in Gåte, says she was not sure who would win. Photo: Ole Martin Wold / NTB
Along the way, KEiiNO was in the lead, with the most points from the international jury. Nevertheless, Gåte came away with the victory – six points ahead of KeiiNO.
Before the grand final, it became known that NRK changes the voting system. Now the people’s jury will decide mostly.
The public votes count for 60 percent, while the points from the international juries count for 40 percent.
Gåte now hopes to be able to perform larger concerts abroad in the future:
– That would be absolutely fantastic!
– In Norwegian?
– Of course!
KEiiNO with «Damdiggida».
Star-studded show
During the program several Norwegian artists paid tribute to Swedish Eurovision winners through the years; Marion Ravn, Hanne Krogh, Elisabeth Andreassen, Ulrikke Brandstorp, Alexander Rybak and TIX, with a clearly visible Palestinian flag painted on the forearm.
And finally, the icing on the cake – Carola herself who performed two of her MGP songs “Främling” and “Fångad av en stormvind”.
– A moment worth capturing
Project manager for MGP, Mads Tørklep says NRK has tried to hide the fact that the star is in Trondheim:
– We have done our best to hide Carola from everyone. We had even placed Carola in a different hotel from the crew and artists, to avoid suspicion. But we have to admit that there are now starting to be a bit too many clues that point her in the direction of the MGP final, he says before tonight’s final.
– Without revealing in detail what Carola will do, I can reveal that she may appear on the screen tonight. And I can say that it will be a moment worth capturing.
Acts outside the spectrum
Over 100 protesters have turned up outside Trondheim Spektrum before tonight’s final. They protest against Israel’s participation in Eurovision, and want NRK to work for Israel’s exclusion from the competition.
Also read: The MGP finalists sing out about the Israel dispute
Margrethe Guldal Einarsen is the spokesperson for the action group for Palestine in Trondheim, which holds an action outside Spektrum.
– We are holding a silent commemoration outside Trondheim Spektrum to remember the Palestinians who have died in the ongoing war, says Guldal Einarsen.