Norway was represented by

Anita Thallaug Anita Thallaug (born 14 February 1938) is a Norwegian actress and singer. Biography Thallaug was born in Bærum on 14 February 1938. She has featured in musicals, cinema and TV programs. Under the name Vesla Rolfsen, at the age of seven, she was ...

, with the song "Solhverv", at the

1963 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was the eighth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in London, United Kingdom. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporat ...

, which took place on 23 March in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The song was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix ( no, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It dete ...

on 10 February. Thallaug had not originally performed "Solhverv" in MGP, but was asked to become Norway's representative when the winning performer,

Nora Brockstedt Nora Brockstedt (20 January 1923 – 5 November 2015) was a Norwegian singer. In her last years, she focused more on the jazz genre, with successful albums like ''As Time Goes By'' (JazzAvdelingen, 2004) and ''Christmas Songs'' (JazzAvdelin ...

, pulled out of a third Eurovision appearance, citing a scheduling conflict with other previously-arranged engagements. It was widely rumoured however that a more plausible explanation was that Brockstedt considered "Solhverv" a substandard song, unlikely to do well in the contest, and did not wish to risk damaging her reputation with a poor result after her two earlier Eurovision performances had gained relatively respectable placings. Norway's participation in the 1963 contest also became mired in scandal when it was alleged that on the night of the contest the Norwegian jury had publicly changed their votes in order to deliver victory to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and deny

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

a rightful win.

Before Eurovision

Melodi Grand Prix 1963

The MGP was held at the studios of the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, hosted by

Odd Grythe Odd Horn Grythe (14 November 1918 – 7 February 1995) was a Norwegian radio and television personality. Personal life He was born in Lillehammer as a son of a travelling salesman. He had four older siblings. From 1955 to 1958 he was married to ...

. Five 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.

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Thallaug performed 5th in the running order, following

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and preceding

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Each national jury awarded 5-4-3-2-1 to its top five songs, and whatever reservations Brockstedt may have had about "Solhverv" proved justified, as at the close of voting the song had failed to pick up any points at all, placing Norway joint last (along with

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

who had been similarly snubbed) of the 16 entries. The Norwegian jury awarded its 5 points to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, however the circumstances surrounding the announcement of the Norwegian votes caused a huge controversy as it was suggested that they had altered their votes in order to change the outcome of the contest (see

Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 Denmark was represented by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann, with the song "Dansevise", at the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 23 March in London. "Dansevise" was chosen as the Danish entry at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix on 24 Februar ...

).ESC History - Norway 1963
/ref>

Voting

Norway did not receive any points at the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest.

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1963

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...