The contest’s organisers have offered some hints about the chosen acts.
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File photo of last year’s UMK winner, Erika Vikman (middle), seated between songwriter/producers Christel “Chisu” and Jori Roosberg. Image: Miikka Varila / Yle
Organisers of Finland’s biggest pop music competition, the Contest for New Music (UMK), have announced that tickets for the event go on sale this week.
The reason UMK is so popular is that the winner will represent Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest. UMK is organised by Yle, Finland’s public broadcaster.
The domestic qualifier is again set to take place at Tampere’s Nokia Arena, this time on 28 February 2026. Tickets for the show and dress rehearsal will go on sale at 9am on Thursday, 2 October.
This year there were a total of 491 songs submitted to UMK, which was a record high number, according to the organisers. A press release noted that the juries who will decide on the finalists said this year’s range of entries was of the “expected high quality”.
According to the release, UMK’s juries have already picked the seven songs and contestants for next year’s contest. But who and what they are remains under wraps.
An announcement about which songs and acts that will make it to the finals will be made in a live broadcast on Yle on 14 January 2026.
Then, each of the entries will be released in audio and video formats each weekday between 15 and 23 January.
Acts locked in
“The selection of artists and songs for UMK was, as last year, carried out by several juries. The most influential was a jury of music professionals, chaired by Yle Music’s Managing Editor Tapio Hakanen,” the press release read.
“In addition to the professional jury, five public juries were involved in the selection process, consisting of a diverse group of representatives from various fields. The jury reform introduced last year was a success and has continued this year,” the release continued.
“This season’s artist and song lineup includes a charismatic performer making their debut at UMK, an artist representing today’s most current sound, an internationally sought-after crowd-pleaser, a pioneer in their own genre, a charismatic duo of two unique voices, a dramatic pop piece from a singer with a stunning voice, and a captivating ballad from an artist radiating international appeal,” Hakanen said in the release.
As Finland has had increasingly good luck at Eurovision, UMK has drawn the attention of international audiences in recent years.
Last spring, the All Points North Podcast tracked Finland’s Eurovision revival as two Finnish acts prepared to compete against each other.
Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
