Yle, the Finnish national broadcaster, has announced that Mikko Silvennoinen has been appointed as the executive producer of UMK.
Mikko Silvennoinen is the new executive producer of UMK, the Finnish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Silvennoinen is taking over from Anssi Autio, who was the executive producer since the contest’s foundation in 2011.
Silvennoinen commented on his new role and his ambitions for UMK:
“My job is just not to mess it up.
I would like UMK to open up even more. Let’s open the door for professionals even more, because it’s good enough to be that open.”
Silvennoinen also wants to take Eurovision fans into account more, as they have supported the song contest even in difficult times.
“Eurovision and UMK have not always been as popular as they are now. Still, the fans have been able to support and cheer them on, even in the years when Finland has not made it to the Eurovision Song Contest final, for example.”
Mikko Silvennoinen began his career in 1995 as a presenter on Jyrki, a youth music afternoon programme on MTV3. After studying in the USA, he began worked on several Finnish programmes as a presenter and a producer. As a presenter, he hosted 4POP (which he also produced), several editions of the Jussi Awards (the Finnish national film awards) and Finnish coverage of the Academy Awards. As a producer, he has worked on programmes such as Suomen Huippumalli haussa (Finland’s Next Top Model), Tanssi jos osaat (So You Think You Can Dance) and Talent Suomi. He has been working with youth content at Yle for the past three years and last year, he was appointed Managing Editor of the Yle Children and Young People unit.
Silvennoinen has been the Finnish-language commentator for Eurovision and UMK since 2016. At this moment, it is unclear as to whether he will continue his commentary duties. A decision on the matter will be made in autumn.
UMK 2027 will take place on February 20 in Nokia Arena in Tampere. This will be the fourth year in a row that UMK will take place in Nokia Arena. The application window for artists will open on August 17 and will close on August 23.
Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with “Liekinheitin” and finished 6th in the final with 279 points. Finland received 12 points from the juries and televote in Estonia and Sweden.
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.
