Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Finland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 53 times since its debut in 1961. Finland won the contest for the first time in 2006 with Lordi's "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 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member station | Yle |
| National selection events | National final
Internal selection
|
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 53 (45 finals) |
| First appearance | 1961 |
| Best result | 1st: 2006 |
| Nul points | 1963, 1965, 1982 |
| External links | |
| YLE page | |
| Finland's page at Eurovision.tv | |
 Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | |
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 finished 11th. In 2015, Finland finished last in the first semi-final with the shortest-ever Eurovision entry, "Aina mun pitää" performed by Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät.
History
Before the 2006 victory, Finland was considered by many as the ultimate under-achiever of Eurovision. Prior to its triumph, it 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 instituted in 1975 to earn no points. (Norway had placed last eleven times and scored zero points four times, but had also won twice before 2006). Due to low results, Finland was excluded from the contest in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003. 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. Finland reached the final for the first time in four years in 2018, with Saara Aalto placing 25th.
In 2006, Finland won with the band Lordi and its song Hard Rock Hallelujah, an entry different from the mainstream Europop that dominated the competition. The song broke records scoring the highest number of points in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, with 292. The record was eventually broken by Norway in 2009, with 387.
All of Finland's entries were in English between 1973 and 1976 and again since 2000 (except in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2015); both of these periods allowed submissions in any language. Two entries, 1990 and 2012, were in Swedish, which is an official language in Finland alongside Finnish. All of Finland's other songs have been in Finnish.
Contestants
1 |
Winner |
3 |
Third place |
◁ |
Last place |
X |
Entry selected but did not compete |
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 Voutilainen | 20 | 24 |  |
|
| 2006 | Press Award | "Hard Rock Hallelujah" | Lordi | 1 | 292 |  |
|
| 2011 | Press Award | "Da Da Dam" | Paradise Oskar | 21 | 57 |  |
Related involvement
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 |
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
- If a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year.
- In 2009, Finland qualified through the back-up jury selection.
- The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
- "Marcel Bezençon Awards". eurovision.tv. 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.
- "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.
External links
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