Finland: 426 entries for UMK 2020|Six finalists
Finnish public broadcaster is returning to open selection after two years of direct artist assignments. As we informed earlier, 426 entries have been submitted and the six finalists have already been selected to compete on Saturday 7 March in the UMK 2020 final for the Finnish representation in Rotterdam.
Despite Finland’s exclusion from this year’s Eurovision final, interest in the contest remains high. 426 entries were made on the country’s public television, well in excess of the 300 songs submitted at the last open national final.
The six finalists will be announced at a special event on Tuesday, January 21. The winner of UMK 2020 will be determined by the vote of the television audience and the jury. The UMK 2020 will consist of one night only and no tickets will be sold. For the first time, UMK will not take place in Helsinki, but in Finland’s second largest city, Tampere.
The last time Finland selected its representative with an open selection was in 2017, with Norma John singing “Blackbird”, which,though favorite, were limited to 12th place in the First Semifinal with 92 points.