Finland originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio organised the national final Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2020 on 7 March 2020 in order to select the Finnish entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. However, as a result of the 2019-20 pandemic of Coronavirus, the contest was cancelled.
Background
Prior to the 2020 Contest, Finland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-three times since their first entry in. Finland has won the contest once in 2006 with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi. In the 2019 contest, "Look Away" performed by Darude feat. Sebastian Rejman failed to qualify for the final, finishing in 17th place in the first semi-final with 23 points. The Finnish national broadcaster, Yleisradio, broadcasts the event within Finland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Yle confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest on 3 June 2019. Finland's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest have been selected through national final competitions that have varied in format over the years. Between 1961 and 2011, a selection show that was often titled Euroviisukarsinta highlighted that the purpose of the program was to select a song for Eurovision. However, since 2012, the broadcaster has organised the selection show Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu , which focuses on showcasing new music with the winning song being selected as the Finnish contest entry for that year. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster also announced that the Finnish entry for the 2020 contest would be selected through Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2020, reverting back to an open selection in order to determine their Eurovision entry and song for Eurovision 2020.
Before Eurovision
''Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2020''
Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2020 was the ninth edition of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, the music competition that selects Finland's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. Yle announced the selected acts on 21 January 2020. The show will take place on 7 March 2020 at Tampere, and the winning entry will be determined by public voting and the votes from eight international jury panels.
Competing entries
Yle opened a submission period between 1 November 2019 and 8 November 2019 in order for interested parties to submit their entries. At least one of the writers and the lead singer had to hold Finnish citizenship or live in Finland permanently in order for the entry to qualify to compete. The submitted songs were not allowed to exceed three minutes, but could contain lyrics in any language. A ten-member expert panel appointed by Yle selected six entries for the competition from the received submissions. The competing entries were presented during a press conference on 21 January 2020.
Final
The final will take place on 7 March 2020 where six acts will compete. The winner will selected by a 50/50 combination of public votes and eight international juries from Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Russia and the United Kingdom.
National jury members https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2020/03/06/umkn-kansainvalinen-raati-esittaytyy
– William Lee Adams, Ricardo Autobahn, Katya Edwards, Charlotte Haining
– Laura Põldvere, Erik Morna, Liis Lemsalu, NOÊP, Heidy Purga
– Reinhard Ehret, Frank Albers, Meike Vollmar, Felix Brand
– Poli Genova, Borislav Milanov, Vasil Ivanov, Georgi Simionov
– Lucía Pérez, Chema Puròn, Vicente Rico, Xabier Vizcaino
– Tutta Larsen, Elena Pindzhoyan, Marina Gubina, Oskar Kuchera
– Elize Ryd, Elina Ryd, Olof Mörck, Henrik Englund Wilhelmson
– Erik Bolks, Roel Schaap, Sanne Messemaker, Anja Kroeze
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2020, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Finland was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2020, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. However, due to 2019-20 pandemic of Coronavirus, the contest was cancelled. In the Eurovision Song Celebration youtube broadcast in place of the heats, it was revealed that the song would have performed 13th, between Albania and Armenia
