"I evighet" (; "For eternity") was the entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1996 The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the 41st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 18 May 1996 at the in Oslo, Norway. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (NRK) and presented by Ingvild Bryn and ...

, performed in Norwegian by

Elisabeth Andreassen Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen (; born 28 March 1958), also known simply as Bettan, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest. Career Her talent was discovered in 1979 by Swedish musician an ...

. The song reached number 13 on the chart in Norway. In Israel it peaked on number 1. It was performed twelfth on the night, following 's

Maarja-Liis Ilus Maarja-Liis Ilus, sometimes better known by her performing name Maarja (born 24 December 1980) is an Estonian pop musician and presenter. She has represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest twice. She was only 15 when she participated in ...

and

Ivo Linna Ivo Linna (born 12 June 1949 in Kuressaare) is an Estonian singer. Eurovision Song Contest and Eesti Laul He represented Estonia alongside Maarja Liis Ilus in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 in Oslo with the song " Kaelakee Hääl" (The Sound ...

with "

Kaelakee hääl "Kaelakee hääl" ("Voice of the necklace") is a song performed by Maarja-Liis Ilus and Ivo Linna that represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. The composer was and the lyrics were written by . In the Estonian preselection Eurolaul, t ...

" and preceding 's Dan Ar Braz & L'Héritage des Celtes with " Diwanit bugale". At the close of voting, it had received 114 points, placing 2nd in a field of 23. "I evighet" was translated into Swedish, with the lyrics being co-written by Torhild Nigar, Elisabeth Andreassen and

Åsa Jinder Åsa Tindra Jinder (born 9 October 1963) is a Swedish nyckelharpa player, composer, producer, songwriter, author and lecturer. She has scored Sverigetopplistan, album chart successes in Sweden. She lives in Stockholm. 2006-2017 she lived in Acktj ...

and the title remaining the same. An English-language release (titled "Eternity") was also made. In 1998, the song was re-written in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

as "Wir sind dabei", as part of the hundredth anniversary celebrations for the German sporting federation. The re-titled "Wir sind dabei" was adopted as the official song of this celebration, held in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, with Andreassen performing it frequently and in a number of different language versions. This version is unique among the translations as it focuses on the positive aspects of sport, rather than the original theme of the eternity of love. It was succeeded as Norwegian representative at the 1997 contest by

Tor Endresen Tor Lars Oskar Endresen (born 15 June 1959) is a Norwegians, Norwegian singer and composer. He has entered the Norwegian song selection for the Eurovision Song Contest numerous times, but has only won it once, and represented Norway in the Euro ...

with "

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Charts

References

{{authority control Elisabeth Andreassen songs Eurovision songs of 1996 Eurovision songs of Norway Sporting songs 1996 songs Polydor Records singles 1996 singles Number-one singles in Israel