The confetti has barely settled on Eurovision 2026 and Finland’s broadcaster Yle has already switched focus to the Eurovision Song Contest 2027 next May. Once again the Finnish broadcaster will return to Tampere for UMK27.
UMK27 submissions open in August
Next February the national selection for Finland’s Eurovision representative will return. On February 20 UMK27 will be held in the Nokia Arena in Tampere. This marks the fourth occasion in which the selection has taken place in the city. Applications for song submissions will open August 17 and close August 23. Further details on artists and the selection process to follow in the coming months.
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Making their Eurovision debut in 1961 with the entry ‘Valoa Ikkunassa’ by Laila Kinnunen, Finland has not always found life in the contest easy. Finland didn’t have a smooth start at Eurovision, placing last three times in the 1960s. Marion Rung was Finland’s first success, placing 6th in 1973 with ‘Tom Tom Tom’ – this remained as Finland’s best result until 2006.
Before the turn of the millennium, Finland placed last a further five times while they placed in the top ten on only three occasions. Finally, their fortunes changed in 2006 when Lordi won the contest in Athens with ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’ – their only victory to this date. Since the revamp to the UMK format the Nordic nation are on a six-year qualification streak and have achieved two top ten results, including a runner-up spot in Liverpool 2023 for Käärijä with, ‘Cha Cha Cha’.
This year it was the turn of Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen to represent Finland. During the Vienna contest, the duo have reached the Grand Final of Eurovision 2026 and remain a front-runner for the crystal microphone.
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