YLE, the Finnish national broadcaster, has unveiled the date, venue and host city for the forthcoming edition of the Finnish national final- UMK.

UMK 2024 is set to be held on Saturday 10 February at the Nokia Arena in Tampere. The 2023 Finnish Eurovision runner up Kaarija will be gracing the event as a special guest during the opening and interval of the show along with other popular Finnish pop acts.

A total of seven acts will be battling at UMK 2024 for the golden ticket to Eurovision 2024. YLE will be unveiling the names of the seven competing  acts on Wednesday 10 January 2024, whilst the competing songs will be released every day from 11-19 January 2024.  The  Finnish national broadcaster received a total of 419 songs for UMK 2024/ Eurovision 2024.

Ville Vilén (Creative Director YLE) says:

The Contest for New Music UMK has become a real music institution, which absolutely deserves a much bigger venue. Turku has been such an amazing UMK city for so many years – we’re very grateful for that. This year, the UMK train is heading north, and I think that Tampere and Nokia Arena are the perfect venue for a major Eurovision event. Now’s the time for a really big show and a Eurovision atmosphere that will blow the roof off!

Anssi Autio ( UMK Executive Producer ) says:

Looking back over the entire 13-year history of UMK, I can say that we’re now in a better position than ever before. In the eyes of our Finnish and international audience, UMK has become an unparalleled hit factory and source of top-tier entertainment, whose move to a bigger venue is also served by the massive increase in Eurovision’s popularity.

Tapio Hakanen (UMK Jury Chairperson) says:

It’s amazing to see how Finnish artists and songwriters, from newcomers to national favourites, are all jumping into the UMK fray. This year, we’re seeing what has to be the all-time best group of entries, which will end up being a truly sensational final seven. Among the finalists we have a talented artist’s first 90s-style dance song, a power song by a true vocal talent, perhaps the best song of an indie favourite’s career, two big name performers doing a surprising duo with a serious refrain, a thunderous rock anthem by a world-touring band, a seriously intense song from one of the most listened-to artists in Finland, and a hard-hitting club banger by a well-known artists making a comeback. This year, viewers will be getting an extremely high-energy UMK in an even bigger arena!

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 56 times in Europe’s favorite television show.

In 2023 Kaarija represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest with his entry ‘Cha Cha Cha’, achieving an honorable 2nd placing in the Grand Final in Liverpool.

Source: YLE
Photo credit: YLE