Norway Holds the Record for Most Last Places in Eurovision History

MAY 15 2000 · 12:25

Norway (statistical) · "N/A" · Norway · 2000 Language: N/A · Venue: N/A · Host: N/A, N/A · Type: deep cut · Broadcast: streaming era Norway holds a peculiar Eurovision record: most last-place finishes. Eleven in total across the contest's history, as of 2026. Including Jahn Teigen's 1978 zero points and Stella Mwangi's 2011 semi-final elimination. Norway has embraced its bottom-of-the-table reputation — Eurovision losses are regularly joked about on Norwegian broadcaster NRK. 'Last place' has become culturally affectionate rather than humiliating. And Norway has also won three times (Bobbysocks 1985, Secret Garden 1995, Rybak 2009) — making the country simultaneously one of Eurovision's biggest losers and winners. Context Norwegian Eurovision self-deprecation is unusually well-developed. Norwegian journalist Helge Jørstad wrote a 2013 book 'Aldri så galt' ('Never That Bad') documenting Norwegian Eurovision failure as national character. The Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix selection often deliberately leans into risk. Legacy The Norwegian nul-points cultural position is frequently cited in Nordic studies of Eurovision identity — different countries relate to losing differently. Norway's three wins mean the 'most last places' stat is more a running gag than a genuine underperformance narrative. Jahn Teigen remains the foundational Norwegian Eurovision loser-hero.