YLE, the Finnish broadcaster, has revealed the names of the judges and hosts for UMK 2014, Finland’s national selection show, as well as the venue.

All four of the judges from last year’s selection will return for next year, with a variety of backgrounds. The list includes Toni Wirtanen, Redrama, Aija Puurtine and Tomi Saarinen.

The jury

Toni Wirtanen, vocalist, songwriter and guitarist in the rock group Apulanta.

Multi-award winning rap artist Redrama, who has had a number of top ten hits in the Finnish charts in a career spanning over a decade.

Aija Puurtinen is the only female on the panel; she became successful as the singer and bass player in the band Honey B and the T-Bones. She became a Doctor of Arts in 2010.

Tomi Saarinen completes the line-up. He is the head of programmes of YleX, a radio station and online media.

The hosts

Ilkka Uusivuori and Anne Lainto, both Yle DJs, will host the competition for a second year running.

The Barona Areena in Espoo will be the venue for UMK, while the competition starts on 10 December with a special introduction press event. As it was published earlier in October, twelve songs will compete in five heats, with the final taking place on February 1^st.

Stay tuned at esctoday.com for the latest news about Finland and UMK 2014.