The final of the Finnish Eurovision national final will be held as a public event in Tampere on the 31st of January 2009. The venue will be the Leonardo Hall of the Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre. Tampere has hosted the Finnish national final previously six times, latest in 2005. The Finnish representant for Eurovision has been selected in Tampere also on 1978, 1980, 1994, 2002 and 2004. "The Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre has adequate space for the stage construction and exceptionally large number of TV equipment. The hall can take about 2000 spectators so we can expect a very visual and high-spirited Eurovision national final", says the producer Matti Grönberg.
Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre
Yle will broadcast the final live both on TV and radio.
Information of ticket sales will be given later.
The invited artists will be announced on the 25th September. Yle is currently in negotiations with record companies and as result 12 artists will be invited to compete for the place to represent Finland at Eurovision. The artists will be revealed at a press conference in Helsinki on the 25th September. The list will include both female and male solo artists as well as bands. Every artist will perform one song in each one of the three semi-finals. There will be three semi-finals with four artists each on Fridays beginning on the 9th of February.
Leonardo Hall
Just like last year two artists from each semi-final will be voted to the final by tele- and text votes. The six relegated artists will get a second chance in the beginning of the final on January 31st, where the public can vote further two acts to the final. The semi-finals will be broadcast from Yle studios in Tampere.
The executive producer of the shows will be Ms. Merete Manninen and producer will be Mr. Matti Grönberg.
Tampere has a very active fan scene, which should provide for an enthusiastic audience for the shows. There has also been a tradition of popular after parties organised by the fans.
You can vote for your favourite female and male artists and groups as suggested by fans on the www.viisukuppila.fi forum on escstats.com