YLE has expanded its coverage of Melodifestivalen bringing the contest to YLE TV1 and introducing Finnish commentary.
The Finnish national broadcaster has expanded its coverage of the Swedish selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest. Melodifestivalen has traditionally been broadcast on its Swedish language service, but this year for the first time will get Finnish language commentary. Christian Bertell will be guiding viewers through this years competition.
Furthermore Melodifestivalen is being moved to YLE TV1 with a delayed broadcast from 22:15 local time for Semi-Finals 1 to 4. Viewers in Finland will be able to follow the contest live on YLE Arena, while Yle Teema Five will broadcast the show on Sunday mornings from 10:30 local time.
Source: YLE
Finland first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961, they debuted alongside Spain and Yugoslavia. Finland has finished last in the contest on 10 occasions and has received ‘nul points’ three times. It wasn’t until 2006 that Finland won the Eurovision Song Contest. Lordi represented the country in Athens with the song “Hard Rock Hallelujah” scoring 292 points, a record total at the time.
