Contest year
- Host City
- Oslo, Norway
- Venue
- Oslo Spektrum
- Final Date
- May 18, 1996
- Entries
- 23
- A one-off, non-televised audio-only qualifying round was introduced to cut 30 entries to 23, eliminating Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Macedonia, Romania and Russia; Germany’s shock exclusion remains its only absence, and Macedonia’s attempt is not counted as an official debut.
- Hungary and Finland tied for the last slot, with Finland advancing on a higher individual jury score.
- NRK also rebranded the show as “Eurosong ’96” and pioneered CGI/chroma-key voting graphics.
- Ireland won a record-extending seventh title, while a Spanish vote mix-up briefly misallocated points between the Netherlands and Poland.
- via Wikipedia
Presenters
Ingvild Bryn, Morten Harket
Ireland – The Voice 
