YLE, the Finnish national broadcaster has announced that it has received a total of 420 entries for the 2014 Finnish Eurovision national selection UMK 2014, which is scheduled to kick off on 28 December on YLE 2.

A special jury will now shortlist the 420 songs to 12 songs, which will then fight for the golden ticket to Copenhangen at the 2014 UMK national selection.

The special jury will reveal the names of the 12 lucky hopefuls on November 4, 2013.

YLE is very pleased with the quality of the songs and mentions in today’s press release that there are many strong female voices among the the entries received, adding that there are many veteran composers as well as young and fresh composers who have entered the competition.

Krista Siegfriends won the 2013 UMK national selection and represented Finland at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest with Marry me, achieving a  24thplace in the final.

Finland debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961 and has won the event once in 2006 with Lordi’s Hard Rock Hallelujah.

Stay tuned to esctoday.com for more information on Finland, the 2014 UMK national selection and the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest.