| Eurovision Song Contest 1976 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Finland | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | National final | |||
| Selection date(s) | 31 January 1976 | |||
| Selected entrant | Fredi and the Friends | |||
| Selected song | "Pump-Pump" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 11th, 44 points | |||
| Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Finland was represented by Fredi and the Friends, with the song "Pump-Pump", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague.
The Finnish national final was held on January 31 at the YLE TV Studios in Helsinki. It was hosted by Matti Elo. The winner was chosen by regional juries.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anneli Sari and Deszö Balogh | "Mustalaiskaravaani" | Deszö Balogh (m.), Tuula Valkama (l.) | 2nd | 353 |
| 2 | Fredi and Ystävät | "Pump-Pump" | Matti Siitonen (m.), Vexi Salmi (l.) | 1st | 380 |
| 3 | Paula Koivuniemi and Finlandia-Kvartetti | "Posket hehkuu ja haitari soi" | Matti Bergström (m. & l.), Pirjo Bergström (m. & l.) | 9th | 182 |
| 4 | Mikko Alatalo Band | "Myyty mies" | Matti Laakso (m. & l.) | 5th | 306 |
| 5 | Kirka | "Neidonryöstö" | Jukka Siikavire (m.), Erkki Mäkinen (l.) | 4th | 314 |
| 6 | Monica Aspelund | "Joiku" | Aarno Raninen (m.), Monica Aspelund (l.) | 6th | 289 |
| 7 | Markku Aro | "Ruska" | Martti Pohjalainen (m.), Juha Vainio (l.) | 3rd | 330 |
| 8 | Jouko, Kosti and Paavo | "Can-can" | Paul Fagerlund (m.), Vexi Salmi (l.) | 7th | 275 |
| 9 | Inga Thommessen | "Tillsammans med barn" | Lasse Mirsch (m.), Inga Thommessen (l.) | 8th | 191 |
| Song | Rovaniemi | Seinäjoki | Tampere | Joensuu | Helsinki | Kouvola | Turku | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Mustalaiskaravaani" | 49 | 51 | 43 | 27 | 87 | 37 | 59 | 353 |
| "Pump pump" | 52 | 46 | 63 | 38 | 90 | 46 | 45 | 380 |
| "Posket hehkuu ja haitari soi" | 23 | 25 | 23 | 16 | 41 | 23 | 31 | 182 |
| "Myyty mies" | 31 | 55 | 56 | 31 | 49 | 33 | 51 | 306 |
| "Neidonryöstö" | 50 | 36 | 35 | 29 | 66 | 48 | 50 | 314 |
| "Joiku" | 36 | 38 | 44 | 29 | 70 | 35 | 37 | 289 |
| "Ruska" | 40 | 49 | 49 | 40 | 68 | 35 | 49 | 330 |
| "Can-can" | 40 | 31 | 46 | 28 | 50 | 38 | 42 | 275 |
| "Tillsammans med barn" | 26 | 28 | 19 | 20 | 37 | 31 | 30 | 191 |
The winning song was performed in Finnish in the national final but translated into English for the international Song Contest. The lyrics in English were written by Pertti Reponen. However the song title didn't change.
On the night of the final Fredi and the Friends performed 11th in the running order following Greece and preceding Spain. The group Friends consisted of Titta Jokinen, Anneli Koivisto, Aimo Lehto, Irma Tapio and Antti Hyvärinen. The entry was conducted by Ossi Runne. At the close of voting "Pump-Pump" had picked up 44 points, placing Finland 11th of the 18 entries.
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The Eurovision Song Contest 1976 was the 21st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the 1975 contest with the song "Ding-a-dong" by Teach-In. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the contest was held at the Nederlands Congrescentrum on 3 April 1976 and was hosted by 1957 Dutch Eurovision winner Corry Brokken.
Finland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since its debut in 1961. Finland won the contest for the first – and to date only – time in 2006 with Lordi and their song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". The country's best result before then was achieved by Marion Rung with the song "Tom Tom Tom" in 1973, which placed sixth.
Finland participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" written by Mr Lordi. The song was performed by the band Lordi. The Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle) organised the national final Euroviisut 2006 in order to select the Finnish entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. 12 artists with two songs each were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of four semi-finals and a final, taking place in February and March 2006. Twelve entries ultimately competed in the final on 10 March where votes from the public selected "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi as the winner.
"Katson sineen taivaan" was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, performed in Finnish by Katri Helena. The song was written by Vexi Salmi, and composed by Matti Siitonen, who is better known under his stage name Fredi, who previously took part in the contest in 1967 and 1976 as a singer with the songs "Varjoon – suojaan" and "Pump-Pump", which finished 12th and 11th respectively.
Matti Kalevi Siitonen, known professionally as Fredi, was a Finnish comedic actor, musician, singer/songwriter and television presenter. Domestically he was best known as a founding member of the comedic variety ensemble Kivikasvot. Siitonen chose his stage name, Fredi, after the cartoon character, Fred Flintstone.
Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with the song "Autostop" performed by Anna Vissi and The Epikouri. The act had been selected by a jury during a twelve act national final organized by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT).
Anne-Karine Strøm is a Norwegian singer, best known for having taken part in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selection, Melodi Grand Prix, in six consecutive years between 1971 and 1976, winning on three occasions and representing Norway in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1973, 1974 and 1976.
Spain took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976. The country was represented by Braulio with the song "Sobran las palabras". The entry was selected through a national final. It was the first national final organized by TVE since 1971 and the last one until 2000.
Belgium was represented by Pierre Rapsat, with the song "Judy et Cie", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague. Rapsat was the winner of the Belgian national final for the contest, held on 21 January.
The Netherlands was represented by Sandra Reemer, with the song "The Party's Over", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague, following Teach-In's victory for the Netherlands the previous year. The song was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 18 February. This was the second of Reemer's three Eurovision appearances for the Netherlands: she had sung in the 1972 contest in a duo with Dries Holten (Andres), and would also take part in the 1979 contest under the name of Xandra.
Luxembourg was represented by well-known German singer Jürgen Marcus, with the song "Chansons pour ceux qui s'aiment", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague. For the second time ever, broadcaster RTL organised a public national final rather than their usual method of internal selection. Marcus was the first German singer to represent Luxembourg, as their 1974 representative Ireen Sheer, although German-based, was British by birth.
Norway was represented by Anne-Karine Strøm, with the song "Mata Hari", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague. "Mata Hari" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 7 February. This was a third Eurovision appearance in four contests for Strøm.
France was represented by five-member group Profil, with the song "Hé, hé M'sieurs dames", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague.
Ireland was represented by Red Hurley, with the song "When", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague. "When" was chosen as the Irish entry at the national final on 8 February.
Norway was represented by Sverre Kjelsberg and Mattis Hætta, with the song "Sámiid ædnan", at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague. "Sámiid ædnan" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 22 March and remains one of the best-remembered Norwegian entries, particularly in Norway itself.
Yugoslavia was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, held in Dublin, Ireland, after last participating at the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 contest in The Hague, Netherlands.
Finland was represented by Fredi, with the song "Varjoon – suojaan", at the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 8 April in Vienna.
Portugal was represented by Carlos do Carmo, with the song "Uma flor de verde pinho", at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in The Hague. "Uma flor de verde pinho" was chosen as the Portuguese entry at the Grande Prémio TV da Canção Portuguesa on 7 March.
Finland was represented by Vesa-Matti Loiri and the song "Huilumies" at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 19 April in The Hague.
