Well as we say goodbye to Russia things are already starting to brew up in Norway as several newspapers report. While Alexander Rybak and his song "Fairytale" is enjoying great sucess in the itunes charts around Europe, members of parliament and NRK are working together in preparation for the annual contest which will take place in the scandinavian country next year.

Newspaper "Dagblaget" reports that the Norwegian Minister for Culture namely Mr. Trond Giske and the head of the host broadcaster NRK namely Mr. Hans-Tore Bjerkaas have agreed on a budget of 17 million euros (150 million Norwegian Kroner). This amount is far less than the amount which was used during this years' edition in Moscow but is better than the amount dedicated to the event back in 2007 when it was held in Helsinki.

The biggest daily newspaper "Afterposten" has said that the search for suitable venues has already started while it is yet to be confirmed whether Svante Stockselius will be inspecting the venues as early as next week. The collaboration between NRK and the Minister has been told by the EBU that very strict minimum demands are required of the hall. Therefore it was concluded that no new venue will be build but an existing one will be used. The EBU demands puts cities like Tromsø, Trondheim and Stavanger out of reach even if they had shown interest. The four venues which were shortlisted include Telenor Arena (Bærum near) Oslo, Vallhall in Oslo, Oslo Spektrum (home to the Eurovision Song Contest 1996) and as the last resort is the Vikingskipet in Hamar.

With regards to the preliminary dates, there have been loads of discussion due to the fact that the UEFA champions league final will be on the same date as the Eurovision Final. Therefore a solution to this will surely be found so that two of the biggest events of the year will not collide with each other.