YLE, the Finnish national broadcaster, has confirmed the dates, host city and venue for the forthcoming edition of UMK 2022 and unveiled further details regarding the Finnish national final.
The 2022 Finnish national final aka UMK 2022 is scheduled to be held on 26 February at the Logomo Arena in Turku with a live audience, with a total of 7 acts battling for the golden ticket to Turin. The show will be broadcast live on YLE 1 and YLE Areena.
YLE will be unveiling the names of the 7 lucky potential hopefuls on 12 January via a special press conference. The songs will be premiered one by one on a daily basis from 13 January onwards.
The 2022 Finnish Eurovision act and entry will be determined via combined international jury/public televoting deliberation.
YLE received a total of 312 entries for UMK 2022 more than in 2021.
Tapio Hakanen (YLE Head of Music) says:
The artist lineup chosen for this year’s UMK is the most versatile ever. The contestants include emerging pop-stars who have been successful on streaming services, promising international export talent, an artist known by all Finns, including an artist who has appeared on a very well known music programme, a long-standing favourite whose career stretches from the 80s to today, and new names who enjoy high praise from the music industry. There was a clear increase in the number of submissions by rock bands, and we will see explosive rock energy also in the final. Now, viewers can finally experience the excitement of UMK also in a live event.
Finland at Eurovision
Finland debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961 and has won the competition once, namely in 2006 when Lordi brought the coveted trophy to home soil for the very first time with Hard Rock Hallelujah. The Nordic country has competed 54 times in Europe’s favourite television show.
In 2021 Blind Channel defended the Finnish colours at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, achieving a 6th place in the Grand Final.
Source: YLE
