Watch: Tonight at 20:00 CET, the grand final of “UMK 2026” begins, where Finland’s song and representative for Eurovision 2026 will be selected. Link to watch the live broadcast – Below!
Tonight at 20:00 CET, Finland’s Eurovision national selection, “UMK 2026”, will get underway, culminating in the choice of Finland’s representative and song for Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria. The Finnish national broadcaster YLE has stated that the winner of “UMK 2026” will be permitted to refuse representing Finland at Eurovision.
The national final is once again being held at Nokia Arena in Tampere and will be hosted by Sami Sykkö, Jorma Uotinen, and Jasmin Beloued. Seven contestants will compete tonight, with the winner determined through a combined voting system of 25% jury vote and 75% public vote. Among the special surprises prepared by YLE for tonight’s broadcast: Erika Vikman, who represented Finland at Eurovision 2025 with the hit “Ich Komme” (in English: “I Am Coming”); JJ, winner of Eurovision 2025 for Austria with the song “Wasted Love”; and Sonja Lumme, who represented Finland at Eurovision 1985 with the song “Eläköön elämä” (in English: “Long Live Life”).
The final will begin at 20:00 and continue until 22:10 CET.
Watch the grand final of “UMK 2026” here!
Watch with English commentary here!
Who to Watch Tonight?
In a poll conducted on the EuroMix website, EuroMix’s readers chose Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen to represent Finland at Eurovision 2026 with the song “Liekinheitin” (in English: “Flamethrower”). The duo received 63.16% of the votes. In second place, with 11.84% of the votes, came the singer Kiki with her song “Rakkaudenkipee” (in English: “The Pain of Love”). In third place, with 7.24% of the votes, came Anti Paalanen with his song “Takatukka”.
The EuroMix editorial team, who listened to the songs, agreed with the readers’ choice and also chose Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen to represent Finland at Eurovision, awarding them 166 points. In second place for the editorial team, with 131 points, was CHECHI, who also finished sixth in the readers’ poll. In third place, with 123 points, came Kiki, which finished second in the readers’ poll. To see the full results of EuroMix editorial team, click here.
Streaming and Platform Performance Data
According to Spotify streaming data, Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen are leading the field with approximately 3.6 million streams. In second place by streaming numbers is Etta, with around 3 million streams, while third place in streaming is held by Anti Paalanen, with approximately 1.8 million streams.
According to YouTube viewership data, Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen also lead by a significant margin, with approximately 2.4 million views. In second place by views is Anti Paalanen, with around 1.1 million views, while third place is occupied by the band Komiat, with approximately 713,000 views.
Based on the above data, Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen, with the song “Liekinheitin”, are currently considered the main favorites to win. However, Anti Paalanen, competing with the song “Takatukka”, is emerging as a potential surprise contender for victory.
“UMK 2026”: Full Line-Up
- Komiat – “Lululai“
- Etta – “Million Dollar Smile“
- KIKI – “Rakkaudenkipee“
- Anti Paalanen – “Takatukka“
- CHACHI – “Cherry Cake“
- Sinikka Monte – “Ready To Leave“
- Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – “Liekinheitin“
Looking Ahead: A New Season of Finnish Boldness
In recent years, UMK has gained significant popularity among Eurovision fans across the continent. Following a decade of mixed results, Finland’s current track record highlights a remarkable turnaround. This year, the country reached the Eurovision Grand Final for the fifth consecutive time – its longest streak since the late 2000s.
Two years ago, Käärijä achieved one of Finland’s best-ever results, finishing second in the Grand Final held in Liverpool. Additionally, in 2021, Finland secured an impressive sixth place.
Finland at Eurovision 2025
“Ich Komme” (in English: “I Am Coming”) is the song performed by Erika Vikman, who represented Finland in the Eurovision 2025 Grand Final. Finland qualified for the Grand Final after placing third in the second semi-final with 115 points. In the Grand Final, Finland finished 11th with a total of 196 points, placing ninth in the public vote with 108 points and tenth in the jury vote with 88 points.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Finland’s 59th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Finland joined the competition in 1961 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2006, winning the contest with Lordi and their song “Hard Rock Hallelujah”.
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Neta Geffen is a respected journalist at Euromix, Israel’s leading news site for Eurovision coverage. Since 2010, Neta has been closely following the Eurovision Song Contest, bringing with him extensive experience, profound knowledge, and a broad understanding of the history, politics, and cultural influences that shape the event every year.
Neta publishes articles, analyses, and up-to-date reviews on all Eurovision developments, including musical trends, format changes, political influences, and audience reactions across Europe and Israel. Thanks to a deep connection to the contest’s history, Neta provides readers with wide-ranging context—from the impact of political events on results, to in-depth analyses of songs and languages within the competition. Neta specializes particularly in the Eurovision rock genre, Balkan ballads, and native language entries, with a special focus on Italian and Greek songs.
