Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-four times since its first entry in . Norway had won the contest on three occasions: in 1985 with the song "La det swinge" performed by Bobbysocks!, in 1995 with the song "Nocturne" performed by Secret Garden and in 2009 with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. Norway also had the two dubious distinctions of having finished last in the Eurovision final more than any other country and for having the most "nul points" (zero points) in the contest, the latter being a record the nation shared together with Austria. The country
Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 to boycott the contest in December 2008. This was after talks between GPB and the contest organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), as well as the victory for Georgia at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008, in which Russia gave their top marks to Georgia. In February 2009, an online campaign "Boycott MoscowVision" emerged calling on the public broadcaster not to participate in the song contest. In its third year of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, the Georgian public broadcaster GPB opted to organise a public national final again. Singers and songwriters could send in their songs until February