Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Finland entered the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 after hosting the 2007 contest in Helsinki. To select their entry for the contest, Yleisradio Oy (Yle) held a national selection, Euroviisut 2008. The winner was Teräsbetoni with the song "Missä miehet ratsastaa" (Where the men ride), composed by band member Jarkko Ahola.

Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Country Finland
National selection
Selection processEuroviisut 2008
Selection date(s)Semi-finals
8 February 2008
15 February 2008
22 February 2008
Second Chance
1 March 2008
Final
1 March 2008
Selected entrantTeräsbetoni
Selected song"Missä miehet ratsastaa"
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (8th, 79 points)
Final result22nd, 35 points
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2007 • 2008 • 2009►

Teräsbetoni went to Belgrade for Finland with the song, performing 16th in the first semi-final on 20 May. They received 79 points, placing 8th in a field and qualifying for the final on 24 May. At the final they performed 7th, however they could only manage to receive 35 points, coming 22nd of 25.

Before Eurovision

Euroviisut 2008
Main article: Euroviisut 2008

Euroviisut 2008 was the national final that selects Finland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The competition consisted of five shows that commenced with the first of three semi-finals on 8 February 2008, a Second Chance round on 1 March 2008 and concluded with a final also on 1 March 2008. The semi-final shows were held at the Tohloppi Studios in Tampere, while the Second Chance round and the final were held at the Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki. The five shows were hosted by Heikki Paasonen and Jaana Pelkonen.

Semi-finals and Second Chance
  • The first semi-final took place on 8 February 2008. "Valaise yö" performed by Kari Tapio and "Cupido" performed by Movetron qualified directly to the final, while "Broken Flower" performed by Hanna Marsh and "Pleasure" performed by Crumbland advanced to the Second Chance round.
  • The second semi-final took place on 15 February 2008. "Jos en sua saa" performed by Kristian Meurman and "Milloin" performed by Mikael Konttinen qualified directly to the final, while "Battlefield of Love" performed by Ninja and "Kanna minut" performed by Jippu advanced to the Second Chance round.
  • The third semi-final took place on 22 February 2008. "Can't Save Me" performed by Cristal Snow and "Missä miehet ratsastaa" performed by Teräsbetoni qualified directly to the final, while "Sinua varten" performed by Jenna and "Virginia" performed by Vuokko Hovatta proceeded to the Second Chance round.
  • The Second Chance round took place on 1 March 2008. "Pleasure" performed by Crumbland and "Virginia" performed by Vuokko Hovatta qualified to the final.

Final

The final took place on 1 March 2008 where the eight entries that qualified from the preceding three semi-finals and Second Chance round competed. The winner was selected over two rounds of public voting. In the first round, the top three entries were selected to proceed to the second round: "Can't Save Me" performed by Cristal Snow, "Missä miehet ratsastaa" performed by Teräsbetoni and "Valaise yö" performed by Kari Tapio. In the second round, "Missä miehet ratsastaa" performed by Teräsbetoni was selected as the winner.[1]

First Round – 1 March 2008
Draw Artist Song Result
1 Movetron "Cupido" Eliminated
2 Kristian Meurman "Jos en sua saa" Eliminated
3 Cristal Snow "Can't Save Me" Advanced
4 Mikael Konttinen "Milloin" Eliminated
5 Teräsbetoni "Missä miehet ratsastaa" Advanced
6 Kari Tapio "Valaise yö" Advanced
7 Crumbland "Pleasure" Eliminated
8 Vuokko Hovatta "Virginia" Eliminated
Second Round – 1 March 2008
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Cristal Snow "Can't Save Me" 26.5% 3
2 Teräsbetoni "Missä miehet ratsastaa" 38.9% 1
3 Kari Tapio "Valaise yö" 33.9% 2

At Eurovision
Teräsbetoni performing "Missä miehet ratsastaa" at the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

Since Finland had come in 17th in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, Teräsbetoni were obliged to perform their song in one of the two semi-finals of the 2008 contest.[2] The EBU split up countries with a friendly voting history into the two different semi-finals, to give a better chance to other countries to win. On 28 January 2008, the EBU held a special draw which determined that Finland would be in the first semi-final, held on 20 May 2008.[3] performed 16th, following The Netherlands and preceding the Romania. Finland qualified to the final, placing 8th in the semi-final and scoring 79 points.

In the final they performed 8th following Israel and preceding Croatia. They finished 22nd with 35 points.

Points Awarded by Finland[4]
Points Awarded to Finland (Semi-Final 1)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points Awarded to Finland (Final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Commentators and spokespersons

The commentators for the event were Jaana Pelkonen, Mikko Peltola and Asko Murtomäki in Finnish and Thomas Lundin in Swedish. the spokesperson announcing the votes was Mikko Leppilampi[5]

References
  1. Klier, Marcus (2007-03-01). "Finland decided: Teräsbetoni to Eurovision!". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  2. Viniker, Barry (2007-09-28). "Eurovision: 2 semi finals confirmed!". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  3. Viniker, Barry (2008-01-28). "The Eurovision Song Contest semi final draw". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
  4. Eurovision Song Contest 2008
  5. Schacht, Andreas. "Mikko and Jaana are back!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
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