Norway's Three Minutes

Critiquing the National Brand             The Eurovision Song Contest has been a stage for the celebration of music, culture, unity, and diversity for many decades in Europe. However, it has also existed as one other thing: a platform for the brand of a nation. Norway has performed on stage and shown what their country has to offer, while maintaining authenticity through the alignments of the performances with their national identity. The blandness and cliche of some of Norway’s performances portrays the idea of moderation that has spread across many of the Nordic States. Ultimately, Norway’s position is one without much political or economic turmoil, and there is little incentive to use the ESC as a platform to market their nation brand.             Firstly, in Blog Post 1, the aspects of Norwegian identity were determined to be largely composed of their ethnicity, cult...

The Nation on Stage “Up next, Norway!” Electricity flows through the air, singeing the crowd, most of it deriving from the Norwegian audience.  Both the performers and watchers hold their breath in anticipation for the coming show.  Since it began in 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest has drawn attention from all of Europe and beyond, from the South of Europe to the North.  Over time, the competition has not only become a haven for different cultures, but also a place where cosmopolitan ideals are displayed.  In this, Norway is able to show their tradition and heritage, and also their diversity through the talent that represents their country.  The three songs that will be analyzed, from 2009-2011, are of three different connotations, and all of them are brimming with positivity for Eurovision.             Norway’s victory in the 20 th century was taken by “Fairytale", performed by Alexander Rybak (20...

The National Self (And the Other) Norway, a country that is both beautiful in its overwhelming nature and eye-widening views as it is in its culture is one that is unique in the history of the world.  How, however, does a Norwegian know that he/she is a Norwegian?  The sense of nationalism in America is often confused with patriotism, when in fact they are two different things.  Nationalism, and the sense of national identity, can be paired with many things, which can but are not limited to common culture, religion, ethnicity, land, politics, language, customs, and symbols.  We can say that these few things allow a nation to be called a nation, but the sense of national identity is something that can only be found analyzing deeper into the country’s roots and purpose.  The true definition of a national identity can never be set in stone, unfortunately; the elements to which we respect nations to be shift much too often.  National identity, in my books,...

Welcome to my blog! This blog is for Norway's status in the Eurovision Song Contest in their recent years.  Feel free to leave any suggestions!