Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 with the song "Mata Hari", composed by Frode Thingnæs, with lyrics by Philip Kruse, and performed by Anne-Karine Strøm. The Norwegian participating broadcaster, (NRK), organised the national final 1976 in order to select its entry for the contest. This was a third Eurovision appearance in four contests for Strøm (after and ).
(NRK) held the 1976 at in Oslo, hosted by Jan Voigt. 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 which was conducted by Helge Hurum. The winning song was chosen by voting from ten regional juries.
On the night of the final Strøm performed 9th in the running order, following the and preceding . At the close of voting "Mata Hari" had picked up only 7 points, placing Norway last of the 18 entries, the fourth time the country had finished the evening at the foot of the scoreboard. The Norwegian jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners the United Kingdom.