Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Finland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since its debut in 1961. Finland won the contest for the first – and to date only – time in 2006 with Lordi and their song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". The country's best result before then was achieved by Marion Rung with the song "Tom Tom Tom" in 1973, which placed sixth.
| Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
|---|---|
| |
| Participating broadcaster | Yleisradio (Yle) |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 56 (48 finals) |
| First appearance | 1961 |
| Highest placement | 1st: 2006 |
| Host | 2007 |
| Related articles | |
| Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu | |
| External links | |
| Yle Eurovision page | |
Finland's page at Eurovision.tv  | |
 For the most recent participation seeFinland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 | |
Finland has finished last in the contest eleven times, receiving nul points in 1963, 1965 and 1982. Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Finland has failed to reach the final eight times. In 2014, the country had its best result in eight years when Softengine with "Something Better" finished 11th, a result that would be surpassed by Blind Channel with "Dark Side", which came sixth in 2021, and later by Käärijä with "Cha Cha Cha", which won the public vote and came second overall in 2023, the latter of which is Finland's second best result to date.
History
Before its 2006 victory, Finland was considered by many to be the under-achiever of the Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to its 2006 win, Finland had placed last a total of eight times, once with nul points after the introduction of the current scoring method. Finland's entry in 1982, "Nuku pommiin" by Kojo, was one of only fifteen songs since the modern scoring system was implemented in 1975 to score no points. Due to poor results, Finland was relegated from taking part in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003.[1][2]
In 2006, Finland won the contest with the band Lordi and their song "Hard Rock Hallelujah", an entry that stood out from the Europop that had dominated the competition. The song scored the highest number of points in the history of the contest, with 292, a record that was later broken by Norway's Alexander Rybak in 2009.[3]
In 2015, Finland finished last in the first semi-final with the shortest-ever Eurovision song, the one minute and 27 seconds "Aina mun pitää" performed by Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät.[4] Finland reached the final for the first time in four years in 2018, with Saara Aalto placing 25th. After a non-qualification in 2019 with Darude and Sebastian Rejman, Blind Channel placed sixth in 2021, followed by a 21st place for The Rasmus in 2022 and a second place for Käärijä in 2023, the latter of which is Finland's second best result to date.[5]
All of Finland's entries were in English between 1973 and 1976, and since 2000 (with the exceptions of 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2023); both of these periods allowed submissions in any language. Finland's entries in 1990 and 2012 were in Swedish, which is an official language in the country alongside Finnish. All of Finland's other songs have been in Finnish.
Participation overview
| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| ◁ | Last place |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
| † | Upcoming event |
Hostings
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Helsinki | Hartwall Areena | Jaana Pelkonen and Mikko Leppilampi |  |
Awards
Marcel Bezençon Awards
| Year | Category | Song | Performer | Final | Points | Host city | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Fan Award | "Addicted to You" | Laura | 20 | 24 |  Tallinn |
|
| 2006 | Press Award | "Hard Rock Hallelujah" | Lordi | 1 | 292 |  Athens |
|
| 2011 | Press Award | "Da Da Dam" | Paradise Oskar | 21 | 57 |  Düsseldorf |
Related involvement
Conductors
| Year | Conductor[lower-alpha 4] | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | George de Godzinsky | [10] | |
| 1962 | |||
| 1963 | |||
| 1964 | |||
| 1965 | |||
| 1966 | Ossi Runne | [lower-alpha 5] | |
| 1967 | |||
| 1968 | |||
| 1969 | |||
| 1971 | [11] | ||
| 1972 | |||
| 1973 | |||
| 1974 | |||
| 1975 | |||
| 1976 | |||
| 1977 | |||
| 1978 | [lower-alpha 6] | ||
| 1979 | |||
| 1980 | [12] | ||
| 1981 | Henrik Otto Donner | [lower-alpha 7] | |
| 1982 | Ossi Runne | ||
| 1983 | |||
| 1984 | |||
| 1985 | |||
| 1986 | |||
| 1987 | |||
| 1988 | |||
| 1989 | |||
| 1990 | Olli Ahvenlahti | [lower-alpha 8] | |
| 1991 | |||
| 1992 | |||
| 1993 | |||
| 1994 | |||
| 1996 | |||
| 1998 | |||
Commentators and spokespersons
| Year | Finnish commentator | Swedish commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Aarno Walli | No broadcast | Did not participate | |
| 1961 | Poppe Berg | |||
| 1962 | ||||
| 1963 | ||||
| 1964 | ||||
| 1965 | ||||
| 1966 | ||||
| 1967 | ||||
| 1968 | ||||
| 1969 | ||||
| 1970 | No broadcast | Did not participate | ||
| 1971 | Heikki Seppälä | No spokesperson | ||
| 1972 | ||||
| 1973 | Erkki Pohjanheimo | |||
| 1974 | Matti Paalosmaa | Aarre Elo | ||
| 1975 | Heikki Seppälä | Kaarina Pönniö | ||
| 1976 | Vesa Nuotio | Erkki Vihtonen | ||
| 1977 | Erkki Toivanen | Kaarina Pönniö | ||
| 1978 | ||||
| 1979 | Anja-Maija Leppänen | |||
| 1980 | Heikki Harma, Aarre Elo | |||
| 1981 | Ossi Runne | Annemi Genetz | ||
| 1982 | Erkki Toivanen | Solveig Herlin | ||
| 1983 | Erkki Pohjanheimo | |||
| 1984 | Heikki Seppälä | |||
| 1985 | Heikki Harma, Kari Lumikero | Annemi Genetz | ||
| 1986 | Solveig Herlin | |||
| 1987 | Erkki Toivanen | |||
| 1988 | Erkki Pohjanheimo | |||
| 1989 | Heikki Harma | |||
| 1990 | Erkki Pohjanheimo, Ossi Runne | |||
| 1991 | Erkki Pohjanheimo | Heidi Kokki | ||
| 1992 | Erkki Pohjanheimo, Kati Bergman | Solveig Herlin | ||
| 1993 | Erkki Pohjanheimo, Kirsi-Maria Niemi | |||
| 1994 | ||||
| 1995 | Erkki Pohjanheimo, Olli Ahvenlahti | Did not participate | ||
| 1996 | Erkki Pohjanheimo, Sanna Kojo | Solveig Herlin | ||
| 1997 | Aki Sirkesalo, Olli Ahvenlahti | Did not participate | ||
| 1998 | Maria Guzenina, Sami Aaltonen | Marjo Wilska | ||
| 1999 | Jani Juntunen | Did not participate | ||
| 2000 | Pia Mäkinen | |||
| 2001 | Jani Juntunen, Asko Murtomäki | Did not participate | ||
| 2002 | Maria Guzenina, Asko Murtomäki | Thomas Lundin | Marion Rung | |
| 2003 | Did not participate | |||
| 2004 | Markus Kajo, Asko Murtomäki | Anna Stenlund | ||
| 2005 | Jaana Pelkonen, Asko Murtomäki, Heikki Paasonen | Jari Sillanpää | ||
| 2006 | Nina Tapio | |||
| 2007 | Ellen Jokikunnas, Asko Murtomäki, Heikki Paasonen | Laura Voutilainen | ||
| 2008 | Jaana Pelkonen, Asko Murtomäki, Mikko Peltola | Mikko Leppilampi | ||
| 2009 | Tobias Larsson | Jari Sillanpää | ||
| 2010 | Jaana Pelkonen, Asko Murtomäki | Johanna Pirttilahti | ||
| 2011 | Tarja Närhi, Asko Murtomäki | Eva Frantz, Johan Lindroos | Susan Aho | |
| 2012 | Tarja Närhi, Tobias Larsson | Mr. Lordi | ||
| 2013 | Aino Töllinen, Juuso Mäkilähde | Kristiina Wheeler | ||
| 2014 | Sanna Pirkkalainen, Jorma Hietamäki | Redrama | ||
| 2015 | Aino Töllinen, Cristal Snow | Krista Siegfrids | ||
| 2016 | Mikko Silvennoinen | Jussi-Pekka Rantanen | ||
| 2017 | Jenni Vartiainen | |||
| 2018 | Anna Abreu | |||
| 2019 | Mikko Silvennoinen, Krista Siegfrids | Christoffer Strandberg | ||
| 2021 | Mikko Silvennoinen | Katri Norrlin | ||
| 2022 | Aksel Kankaanranta | |||
| 2023 | Bess |
Photogallery
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See also
- Finland in the Eurovision Dance Contest – Dance version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
- Finland in the Eurovision Young Dancers – A competition organised by the EBU for younger dancers aged between 16 and 21.
- Finland in the Eurovision Young Musicians – A competition organised by the EBU for musicians aged 18 years and younger.
Notes
- Contains one line in English
- In 2009, Finland qualified through the back-up jury selection.
- The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- All conductors are of Finnish nationality unless otherwise noted.
- Conducted by George de Godzinsky at the national final.
- Conducted by Risto Hiltunen at the national final.
- Only year between 1966 and 1989 where Finland participated and Ossi Runne was not their conductor; he instead provided television commentary. Runne still conducted at the national final.
- Conducted by Ossi Runne at the national final.
References
- "From 'Pump-Pump' to 'Cha Cha Cha': Finland's vibrant Eurovision history". eurovision.tv. 2023-08-09. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
- Travers, Paul (2021-05-20). "Remembering when Lordi won Eurovision and took monsters to the…". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
- Mills, Matt (2023-05-05). "Hard rock hallelujah! How metal found an unlikely home at Eurovision". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
- Nagesh, Ashitha (2015-11-06). "This band's members have Down's syndrome and they're raising awareness with rock". Metro. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
- Robertson, Ben (2023-02-25). "How UMK Became The Must Watch National Final". ESC Insight. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
- Adams, William Lee (2023-10-03). "UMK 2024: Finland's Eurovision selection includes 'all-time best group of entries' as it moves to Tampere's Nokia Arena". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
- "Marcel Bezençon Awards". eurovision.tv. July 2019. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- "Winners of the Marcel Bezençon Awards". eurovision.tv. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- "Finland wint 'You're A Vision Award 2023' voor meest opvallende Songfestivaloutfit". Songfestival.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 93–101. ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
- Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 142–168. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
- Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
- "Susan Aho ilmoittaa Suomen pisteet Euroviisujen finaalissa" [Susan Aho announces Finland's points in the Eurovision finals]. Yle (in Finnish). 9 May 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- Herbert, Emily (24 April 2019). "Finland: Krista Siegfrids Joins Mikko Silvennoinen in the Eurovision Commentary Booth". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- "Eurovision 2019 Spokespersons – Who will announce the points?". eurovisionworld.com. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- "Yle tarjoaa ison joukon euroviisuihin liittyviä ohjelmia toukokuussa - viisuhuuma huipentuu suoriin lähetyksiin Rotterdamista". yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2021-04-12.
- Remes, Henkka. "Viisukupla – Eurovisionsbubblan arvioi tämän vuoden biisit kaksikielisesti". yle.fi (in Finnish). Yleisradio. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
- "Finland: Bess Revealed as Spokesperson for Eurovision 2023". Eurovoix. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
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