Linda Lampenius rejects the Swedish outlet Expressen’s claims, insisting she never said anything about Israel’s Eurovision 2026 result.
Linda Lampenius, Finland’s representative at Eurovision 2026, has strongly criticized Swedish newspaper Expressen over an interview it published following this year’s contest. According to the newspaper, the violinist – who represented Finland alongside Pete Parkkonen with “Liekinheitin” (English: “Flamethrower”) – was unhappy with the results of the Eurovision 2026 Grand Final, which saw Bulgaria win while Israel finished in second place.
The newspaper claimed that Lampenius described the results as unfair. However, following EuroMix’s coverage of the interview, the Finnish artist responded angrily, insisting: “I never said anything about Israel doing anything wrong.”
Lampenius Rejects the Newspaper’s Version
Swedish newspaper Expressen attributed the following comments to Lampenius:
“Israel was second and on the verge of victory… it’s such a scam, I think, with everything in the competition, I don’t understand anything, I don’t trust it.”
She also noted there, according to the outlet, that France’s singer, Monroe, whom she called “the best singer in the competition”, finished far lower than expected. She also defended Swedish representative Felicia, who finished 20th.
Following EuroMix’s publication, Lampenius responded angrily, specifically addressing the newspaper’s portrayal of her comments about Israel:
“I never said anything about Israel doing anything wrong. I studied in Israel 1990 and 1993. I was hiding in a bomb shelter in a Kibbutz when Lebanon was shooting katiushas. My idols (violinists) are Jewish.”
Lampenius continued by directing her frustration primarily at the Swedish journalist who interviewed her:
“Papers do anything in order to get more clicks! I was talking to journalists (Expressen and Aftonbladet) because I’m one of the “Summer Talk” personalities on Swedish radio this summer. My program will be aired August 8. I told the journalists that my program will also contain a lot of humor—not just tragic stories.
I had a very relaxed and enjoyable interview with Aftonbladet’s reporter and immediately after that I talked to Expressen’s journalist. He was more “square/dry” as a person than the female journalist I had just talked to. I accidentally continued in the same humorous way with the “dry” guy and when he asked me what I thought about Eurovision and whether I was going to say anything about the contest in my summer talk I started going on about voting not being fair because so many fabulous acts were way down on the list at the end of the night. The interview was about my summer talk and me going on a Swedish TV show with Pete in August… and the journalist & paper turned it into a shit show like this!
And… since I was doing the interview for a SWEDISH newspaper, I wanted to make the point (because of the question) that Felicia shouldn’t have ended up in 20th place. I wanted to support her. I know that she was disappointed because the Finns didn’t vote for her. Felicia is also one of this year’s Summer Talk hosts, and we all see what we say about each other in the media. I simply wanted to emphasize that she didn’t deserve to finish 20th!
Finland at Eurovision 2026:
“Liekinheitin” is the title of the song that was performed by Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen, who represented Finland at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna. Finland finished 6th at the Grand Final, receiving 279 points.
Eurovision 2027: This will be Finland’s 60th 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”.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +972-50-9441919
Ofek Jerassi is an Israeli reporter, editor, content creator, and commentator, specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. He has developed his extensive expertise since childhood, becoming a close follower of the contest. For the past three years, he has served as a writer and editor for EuroMix—Israel’s largest Eurovision website and one of the world’s leading platforms in the field, with over 1.5 million users annually.
Ofek covered Eurovision 2025 on-site in Basel from the press center in the host city, providing EuroMix readers with firsthand experiences, professional analysis, and exclusive reactions from the audience, artists, and experts. His in-depth knowledge and broad familiarity with the Eurovision world are evident in every article, ensuring reliable, professional, and up-to-date content.
In his personal life, Ofek is a medic and avid traveler. He writes out of a genuine love for Eurovision, placing strong emphasis on credibility, professional commentary, and presenting a diverse range of opinions.
