Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) held the Melodi Grand Prix 1974 at its studios in Oslo, hosted by Vidar Lønn-Arnesen. Five songs were presented in the final with each song sung twice by different singers, once with a small combo and once with a full orchestra. The winning song was chosen by voting from a 14-member public jury who each awarded between 1 and 5 points per song. "The First Day of Love" was performed in Norwegian as "Hvor er du" at the national final and was translated into English before going to Eurovision.[1]
On the evening of the final Strøm performed 4th in the running order, following Spain and preceding Greece. The voting for 1974 reverted to the one-point-per-jury-member system and at the close of voting "The First Day of Love" had picked up only 3 points, placing Norway joint last (with Germany, Portugal, and Switzerland) of the 17 entries, the third time the country ended the evening at the foot of the scoreboard.[2][3]