Linda and Pete win UMK to represent Finland at Eurovision 2026

Pete Parkkonen and Linda Lampenius will represent Finland at Eurovision 2026. Image: Nelli Kenttä / Yle

Finland has chosen its Eurovision entrant for 2026 with duo Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen winning the country's national selection contest Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) with their song Liekinheitin (Flamethrower).

The duo were almost unbackable favourites to win this morning's contest, with EurovisionWorld ranking them a 79% chance of winning on their odds page. Many Eurovision fans have also rated them as one of their early favourites to win this year's content for Finland in Vienna in May.

Linda and Pete triumphed with 492 points, ahead of Antti Paalanen in 2nd place with 210 points and Komiat with 116 points in 3rd place.

They won the jury vote with 78 points, with six of the seven international juries giving them 12 points. Only Austria didn't give them the top ranking, where they were pipped by Antti Paalanen.

More to come...

UMK was staged at the Nokia Arena in Tampere and featured performances from seven acts - all of whom had not competed in UMK before. They performed in the following order:

• Komiat – Lululai 

• Etta – Million Dollar Smile 

• KIKI – Rakkaudenkipee

• Antti Paalanen – Takatukka

• CHACHI – Cherry Cake

• Sinikka Monte – Ready to Leave

• Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin 

The show was opened by last year's UMK winner and Finnish representive Erika Vikman doing a 'duel' with Austria's Eurovision 2025 winner JJ.

The winner was chosen by a combination of 75 per cent public votes and 25 per cent from a public jury.

Finland will compete in the first Semi-final of Eurovision 2026, to be held in Vienna, Austria on Tuesday 12 May.

For continued updates on all UMK 2026 and Eurovision 2026 news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and Instagram. All the links can be found at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet