| Year: | 1988 |
| Broadcaster: | Norwegian: [[NRK|Norsk rikskringkasting]]|i=no (NRK) |
| Country: | Norway |
| Preselection: | Melodi Grand Prix 1988 |
| Preselection Date: | 26 March 1988 |
| Entrant: | Karoline Krüger |
| Song: | Norwegian: For vår jord|i=no |
| Final Result: | 5th, 88 points |
Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 with the song "Norwegian: For vår jord|i=no", composed by Anita Skorgan, with lyrics by Erik Hillestad, and performed by Karoline Krüger. The Norwegian participating broadcaster, Norwegian: [[NRK|Norsk rikskringkasting]]|i=no (NRK), selected its entry through the Melodi Grand Prix 1988.
Norwegian: [[NRK|Norsk rikskringkasting]]|i=no (NRK) held the Melodi Grand Prix 1988 at the Château Neuf in Oslo, hosted by Dan Børge Akerø.
| Song | Composer(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Anita Kanstad | "Je ne sais pas" | Anita Kanstad, Bjørn Terje Bråthen | |
| Carsten Loly (Mannen i boksen) | "Jeg lever i en boks" | Lars Kilevold | |
| David Chocron and Band | "Mitt land, og" | David Chocron | |
| Elisabeth Moberg and Terry Heart | "Natten er din og min" | Kristian Lindeman, Trygve Hoff | |
| Iselin Alme and Tor Endresen | "Lengt" | Helge Iberg, Tove Karoline Knutsen | |
| Jahn Teigen | "Glasnost" | Jahn Teigen, Knut Meiner | |
| Jan Eggum | "Deilige drøm" | Jan Eggum | |
| Karina Hjelen and Lars Jones | "Du skal leve" | Lars Jones, Grete Moljord | |
| Karoline Krüger | "For vår jord" | Anita Skorgan, Erik Hillestad | |
| Lise Haavik | "Jeg vil elske deg" | Lise Haavik | |
| Odd Arvid Eilertsen, Tor Kjelsberg and Sverre Kjelsberg | "Åpne dører" | Odd Arvid Eilertsen, Sverre Kjelsberg, Ragnar Olsen | |
| Ola Fjellvikås | "Hei go go" | Ole Salsten, Marit Vollen | |
| Siri Gellein | "Nå" | Nissa Nyberget, Idar Lind | |
| Stig Gjendem | "Din tur" | Arne Akselvoll | |
| Tore Hansen | "Sove i natt" | Tore Hansen | |
| Trond Armand Larsen and Krist Juuhl | "Hvor er du" | Trond Armand Larsen, Krist Juuhl |
Before the final, sixteen songs took part over four semi-finals in which four songs were paired in each semi-final. The winner from each pair, chosen by a panel of 1,000 viewers, qualified for the final, along with two losing songs which were given wildcards.
The first semi-final was held on 30 January 1988. Four songs competed in pairs with the winner from each pair qualifying for the final.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Viewer Vote | Place | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Siri Gellein | "Nå" | 26.5% | 2 | Eliminated | |
| 2 | Trond Armand Larsen and Krist Juuhl | "Hvor er du" | 73.5% | 1 | Advanced | |
| Duel 2 | ||||||
| 3 | Anita Kanstad | "Je ne sais pas" | 26.4% | 2 | Wildcard | |
| 4 | Jahn Teigen | "Glasnost" | 73.6% | 1 | Advanced | |
The second semi-final was held on 13 February 1988. Four songs competed in pairs with the winner from each pair qualifying for the final.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Viewer Vote | Place | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel 1 | ||||||
| 1 | David Chocron and Band | "Mitt land, og" | 71% | 1 | Advanced | |
| 2 | Jan Eggum | "Deilige drøm" | 29% | 2 | Wildcard | |
| Duel 2 | ||||||
| 3 | Lise Haavik | "Jeg vil elske deg" | 44% | 2 | Eliminated | |
| 4 | Tore Hansen | "Sove i natt" | 56% | 1 | Advanced | |
The third semi-final was held on 27 February 1988. Four songs competed in pairs with the winner from each pair qualifying for the final.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Viewer Vote | Place | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Odd Arvid Eilertsen, Tor Kjelsberg and Sverre Kjelsberg | "Åpne dører" | 12% | 2 | Eliminated | |
| 2 | Ola Fjellvikås | "Hei go go" | 88% | 1 | Advanced | |
| Duel 2 | ||||||
| 3 | Karina Hjelen and Lars Jones | "Du skal leve" | 47% | 2 | Eliminated | |
| 4 | Iselin Alme and Tor Endresen | "Lengt" | 53% | 1 | Advanced | |
The fourth semi-final was held on 12 March 1988. Four songs competed in pairs with the winner from each pair qualifying for the final.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Viewer Vote | Place | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Stig Gjendem | "Din tur" | 23% | 2 | Eliminated | |
| 2 | Karoline Krüger | "For vår jord" | 77% | 1 | Advanced | |
| Duel 2 | ||||||
| 3 | Elisabeth Moberg and Terry Heart | "Natten er din og min" | 69% | 1 | Advanced | |
| 4 | Carsten Loly (Mannen i boksen) | "Jeg lever i en boks" | 31% | 2 | Eliminated | |
Ten songs took part in the final, with the winner chosen by voting from seven regional juries. Other participants included three-time Norwegian representative and Melodi Grand Prix regular Jahn Teigen and Tor Endresen, who would represent .[1]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Chocron and Band | "Mitt land og" | 42 | 5 | |
| 2 | Ola Fjellvikås | "Hei go go" | 54 | 3 | |
| 3 | Elisabeth Moberg and Terry Heart | "Natten er din og min" | 38 | 7 | |
| 4 | Jahn Teigen | "Glasnost" | 55 | 2 | |
| 5 | Jan Eggum | "Deilige drøm" | 16 | 10 | |
| 6 | Tore Hansen | "Sove i natt" | 41 | 6 | |
| 7 | Trond Armand Larsen and Krist Juuhl | "Hvor er du" | 18 | 9 | |
| 8 | Karoline Krüger | "For vår jord" | 65 | 1 | |
| 9 | Anita Kanstad | "Je ne sais pas" | 25 | 8 | |
| 10 | Iselin Alme and Tor Endresen | "Lengt" | 52 | 4 |
| + Detailed Regional Jury Votes | ||||||||||
| Draw | Song | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Mitt land og" | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 42 | |
| 2 | "Hei go go" | 6 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 54 | |
| 3 | "Natten er din og min" | 2 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 38 | |
| 4 | "Glasnost" | 8 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 55 | |
| 5 | "Deilige drøm" | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 16 | |
| 6 | "Sove i natt" | 12 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 41 | |
| 7 | "Hvor er du" | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 18 | |
| 8 | "For vår jord" | 7 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 65 | |
| 9 | "Je ne sais pas" | 10 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 25 | |
| 9 | "Lengt" | 4 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 52 |
On the night of the final Krüger performed 15th in the running order, following and preceding . The gentle, melodic song was given a sophisticated, understated stage presentation with Krüger seated at a grand piano. At the close of voting "Norwegian: For vår jord|i=no" had picked up 88 points (including a maximum 12 from the), placing Norway 5th of the 21 entries.[2] The Norwegian jury awarded its 12 points to .[3]