So… In Finland they have this thing called UMK
Almost 20,000 people from 26 countries, as well as from all over Finland, attended UMK in 2026. The Finnish pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest is growing in popularity each year and the broadcaster behind it, Yle, has announced details on the much-anticipated 2027 edition, which is happening on Saturday 20 February.
Tickets on sale Thursday 01 October
Next February, Tampere’s Nokia Arena will once again host the song-contest spectacular that is UMK.
As well as the main event, featuring all of the 2027 competitors plus opening and interval acts, the arena will host pre-parties and after-parties across three floors until 02.30 in the morning, local time. The television show can also be experienced in advance, at the afternoon dress rehearsal, where international juries will award their points.
Tickets for the live-broadcast show and the evening event, as well as the afternoon dress rehearsal, will become available to everyone at 08:00 CEST on Thursday 01 October 1, over at lippu.fi/UMK.
Countdown to the songs
Yle has confirmed that seven songs will take part in the 2027 edition of UMK.
This year, a total of 481 applications were sent in by Finnish music talent, which is very close to the record level set by UMK 2026. The final seven UMK 2027 contestants were selected by a professional jury consisting of music professionals, as well as five public juries, which included a diverse group of representatives from various fields.
The UMK 2027 artists will be announced on Wednesday 13 January in a live Yle broadcast, and the songs will be released one at a time on weekdays between 14 and 22 January.
Who-MK?
Tapio Hakanen, chair of the professional UMK jury and Managing Editor of Yle Music dropped some hints as to the artists selected for 2027:
“This season includes a band with a truly international sound and ambitions abroad, a duo with an irresistible club sound that invites you to the dance floor, a dramatic and grandiose song that evokes cinematic imagery, an artist who appeals to a wide variety of audiences, a dark-spoken modern anthem spiced with distorted guitars, an artist presenting a new side of themselves with a fierce dance banger, and a song where a kantele melody grows to epic proportions.”
Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen gave Finland a result for the history books at Vienna 2026
Throughout the 2020s, UMK has grown into one of the most talked-about national finals in the Eurovision fan community and become an increasingly significant platform for Finnish music. UMK artists regularly appear on the most popular song and album charts, and many songs featured in the competition have become major hits on radio and streaming.