Despite only just selecting Norma John as their 2017 entrant on Saturday, Finland is already looking to 2018. The producers for UMK, the Finnish national final, have announced open submission periods for 2018. The first application period for the 2018 cycle is open until February 28 of 2017, with a second period to be opened in Autumn of this year.
Rules for the songs/artists are fairly standard Eurovision rules:
- The piece must be unreleased.
- Performers must be 16 years of age by 10/5/2018 (tentative date)
- At least one person involved must have Finnish citizenship or permanent residence in Finland.
- Only one submission will be accepted per artist.
- Pieces are not allowed to participate in other countries.
- The duration of the song must not exceed 3 minutes and the performing group shall not exceed 6 people.
- The required materials must be sent to by February 28, 2017, in digital format (no CDs!).
- By submitting material you agree to the rules of competition and the competitive process.
- If you win UMK, submissions will then have to abide by EBU rules.
For more information, or technical information about submissions and the online platforms to use you can check out Finland’s broadcaster site, YLE, or you can email [email protected].
Finland has won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 with Lordi’s “Hard Rock Hallelujah,” but have competed with mixed results in the recent years, missing the final in the last two years of Eurovision. Do you have a song that you think would be perfect for Finland 2018? Make sure to have your Finnish connection and get creating! Maybe you’ll win the 2018 UMK final or maybe you’ll be the next Saara Alto…either result seems pretty nice.
Do you think it’s a bit early for Finland to be thinking of 2018? Does this announcement reflect the views of YLE officials towards the chances of Norma John and their song “Blackbird?” Let us know what you feel in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrcmVnmoZT4