Finland: Artists for UMK 2026 announced
The seven artists competing at Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2026 have been announced. Their songs will be released one at a time in the coming days starting tonight
491 songs were received by Finland's public broadcaster YLE, all hoping to make the cut and compete at Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), the country's national selection process for Eurovision 2026.
Seven songs have been shortlisted and will be performed on 28 February during UMK's one-night show:
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2026
Lineup
The seven songs for UMK 2026 will be released between 14 and 22 January at 23:00 CET.
We'll update this article, as well as Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2026, when the songs are released···
The UMK songs and artists were once again chosen by several juries this year. The strongest influence came from a professional jury chaired by Tapio Hakanen, Head of Yle Music.
Alongside the professional jury, five audience juries also took part in the selection process. These groups represented a wide range of backgrounds and fields. The jury model introduced last year was considered a success and has therefore been used again.
After reviewing a large number of submissions, seven songs and artists have been selected to compete in UMK.
Chair of the professional jury, Tapio Hakanen, says:
– This season’s artist and song lineup includes a charismatic performer making their debut release at UMK, an artist representing a very current sound, an internationally in-demand crowd-pleaser, a pioneer of their genre, a compelling duo of two distinctive performers, a dramatic pop track by a stunning vocalist, and a striking ballad from an internationally oriented artist.
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2026
The winner of the Contest for New Music UMK, and Finland’s next Eurovision representative, will be chosen on 28 February at the UMK 2026, held at the Nokia Arena in Tampere. The final will be broadcast for international audiences from Yle Areena starting at 20:00 CET. The broadcast will also include English-language commentary.
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Finland debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961, and has participated ever since, except six years, mostly because of previous years' poor results.
The Finnish have won the competition once, in 2006, with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah," performed by Lordi. Since then, Finland's best result is a 2nd place finish in 2023.
Since the introduction of the Semi-finals in 2004, Finland has qualified for the Grand Final 13 out of 21 times.
