The 12 artists competing to represent Finland in Belgrade will be revealed by YLE (host broadcaster of ESC 2007) on 15 November. There are a few changes for the selection process from the two previous years, which have seen Lordi and Hanna Pakarinen get selected through a series of semi-finals.
In 2008 each of the 12 artists will have only one song each in three televised semi-finals. All 12 will however get to perform on the final stage, as there will be a second chance selection immediately before the final show, scheduled for March 1st. The six non-qualifiers from the three semi-finals will perform in the beginning of the final transmission. Of these the viewing public will vote two to go on to the final by tele-and SMS voting. So the actual final will have 8 songs, two from each of the semi-finals and two from the second chance voting.
The venue of the Finnish national final has not been announced either yet by YLE. There is some hope amongst fans that after the successful ESC hosting earlier this year by the capital Helsinki, even the Finnish national final might return to Helsinki for the first time since the year 2000.
Escfinland.eu will give you all the information of the 12 artists as soon as they have been revealed by YLE. Unlike neighbouring Sweden, almost no public speculation has happened in Finland about the artists taking part. The discussions happen mostly between YLE and Finnish record labels, and clearly all parties have been sworn to secrecy of the negotiations. Many popular artists do get asked by fans and the press about their possible participation, but not many want to reveal their plans before it is official.
Rules
The rules of the contest have also been slightly overhauled. The songs will not be permitted to be performed anywhere else but YLE's own programmes before 23 February 2008. At least one of the writers of the songs will have to be a Finnish citizen. The songs can be in any language in the semi-finals and the final, but official languages Finnish and Swedish are encouraged at this stage. The language of the winning song can be chanced even after the final, but at the latest by 14 March, and the final decision of the language will be made by YLE. Also, unlike previous years, there are no restrictions on the residence or nationality of the performing artists. A compilation CD will be released on the 23 February 2008.
The semi-finals will start on 8 February, and run for three consecutive Fridays. They will be televised on YLE TV2. The rules also state that the Finnish national semi-finals and final can also be seen internationally over the internet during a period of 30 days. As we have reported earlier, a new team has taken charge of the Finnish Eurovision project after five years. The project is lead by Tuire Lindström, head of YLE TV Entertainment.