Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

Kuunkuiskaajat at the final of Euroviisut 2010 in Tampere.

Euroviisut 2010 was the national final that selected Finland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. The competition consisted of four shows that commenced with the first of three semi-finals on 8 January 2010 and concluded with a final on 30 January 2010.[1] The four shows were held at the Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre in Tampere and hosted by Jaana Pelkonen and Mikko Peltola. All shows were broadcast on Yle TV2 and online at yle.fi as well as via radio on Yle Radio Suomi.[2] The final was watched by 995,000 viewers in Finland with a peak of 1.2 million.[3][4]

The format of the competition consisted of four shows: three semi-finals and a final. Five songs competed in each semi-final and the top three entries from each semi-final alongside a wildcard entry selected by a jury from the remaining entries qualified to complete the ten-song lineup in the final. The results for the semi-finals and the final were determined exclusively by a public vote. Public voting included the options of telephone and SMS voting.[5]

Twelve artists, including the 2009 winner of the Finnish tango contest Tangomarkkinat Amadeus Lundberg, were directly invited by Yle for the national final in consultation with record companies.[6][7][8] A submission period was also opened by Yle which lasted between 16 June 2009 and 31 August 2009. At least one of the writers and the lead singer(s) had to hold Finnish citizenship or live in Finland permanently in order for the entry to qualify to compete.[5][1] A panel of experts appointed by Yle selected twelve entries for an online vote from the 267 received submissions. The invited artists and the competing entries for the online vote were presented on 30 September 2010 and 1 October 2009, respectively.[9][10] For the online vote, the public was able to vote through SMS until 16 October 2009 and the top three from the twelve competing entries qualified to the national final.[11][12] "You Don't Know Tomorrow" performed by Bääbs, "Fatal Moment" performed by Linn Nygård and "Love at the First Sight" performed by Sister Twister qualified to the national final.[13][14]

The first semi-final show took place on 8 January 2010 and the top three from the five competing entries qualified to the final based on the results of a public vote. "Anastacia" performed by Amadeus Lundberg, "Cider Hill" performed by Nina Lassander and "Il mondo è qui" performed by Pentti Hietanen qualified to the final.[15][16]

The second semi-final show took place on 15 January 2010 and the top three from the five competing entries qualified to the final based on the results of a public vote. "Sun puolella" performed by Antti Kleemola, "Annankadun kulmassa" performed by Heli Kajo and "Love at the First Sight" performed by Sister Twister qualified to the final.[17][18]

The third semi-final show took place on 22 January 2010 and the top three from the five competing entries qualified to the final based on the results of a public vote. "Työlki ellää" performed by Kuunkuiskaajat, "Fatal Moment" performed by Linn Nygård and "Hulluna humpasta" performed by Eläkeläiset qualified to the final. "Sydän ymmärtää" performed by Maria Lund was later announced to have been awarded the jury wildcard to qualify to the final.[19][20]

The final took place on 30 January 2010 where the nine entries that qualified from the preceding three semi-finals and the jury wildcard competed. Prior to the final, possible winning contenders as suggested by media reports included Eläkeläiset, Amadeus Lundberg, Kuunkuiskaajat and Heli Kajo.[21][22] The winner was selected over two rounds of public voting through telephone and SMS voting. In the first round, the top three entries qualified to the second round, the superfinal. "Cider Hill" performed by Nina Lassander, "Hulluna humpasta" performed by Eläkeläiset and "Työlki ellää" performed by Kuunkuiskaajat qualified to the superfinal.[23] In the superfinal, "Työlki ellää" performed by Kuunkuiskaajat was selected as the winner.[24][25]

In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval act featured Eurovision Song Contest 2007 host Mikko Leppilampi and Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest 2009 winner Alexander Rybak.[21][22]

• In the Semi-final 1 Finland came 11th with 49 points: the public awarded Finland 6th place with 69 points and the jury awarded 15th place with 37 points.