Today, song submissions will close for UMK 2026, the Finnish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.
The search for Finland’s next entry in the Eurovision Song Contest is underway. The submission window for Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) 2026 will close today, having opened on Monday.
A mix of professional and public juries will be used to select the acts and songs that will compete in UMK 2026. The professional jury will be chaired by YleX’s music manager Tapio Hakanen and will be formed of music professionals. This jury will then be joined by five public juries that are formed of a diverse group of people. Between these six juries, they will select the songs competing to represent Finland at Eurovision 2026.
Some of the rules include:
- Songs must not have been publicly released in any form.
- Solo artists must be Finnish citizens or have permanent residence in Finland. For groups, at least one member must be a Finnish citizen or have permanent residence in Finland.
- Soloists or lead singers of bands may submit up to three songs but only one is eligible to be chosen for the final. Other band members, songwriters and composers may submit and compete with as many songs as they like.
- Songs must not exceed three minutes.
- If a song is selected for the final, the final version of the song must be submitted to Yle by October 31.
The full rules of UMK 2026 can be found here in Finnish, Swedish and English.
UMK 2026 will take place on February 28 in Nokia Arena in Tampere. The winner will represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Austria.
Erika Vikman represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with “Ich komme”. Finland finished 11th in the final scoring 196 points. Finland received 12 points from the Austrian jury and received 10 points from the public in Sweden, Australia and Estonia.
Image source: Alma Bengtsson / EBU | Source: Yle
