One of Europe’s most anticipated Eurovision national selections kicks off on Wednesday, January 8th, when the UMK contestants are revealed in a live broadcast on Yle TV1 and Yle Areena.
The program starts at 7:45 PM and runs until 8:30 PM. The event itself will be attended by an audience of over 200 people.
We will bring you the atmosphere from the UMK studio and the live audience at the venue.
UMK's English commentator, Jaakko Oleander-Turja, will provide live English commentary for the artist reveal. Follow the Artist Reveal in English here.
Here's how the evening will unfold
The UMK Artist Reveal will be hosted by one of the UMK hosts, Jasmin Beloued. In the studio, Beloued will be joined by Eurovision commentators Mikko Silvennoinen and Eva Franz.
UMK host Sanni will also be featured in the show.
The audience event will be hosted by Jenni Poikelus, Jere Pehkonen and Mika Parikka, known from YleX’s morning radio show. DJ Orion will be in charge of the event's music, and YleX music journalist Katri Norrlin will be interviewing the audience.
The UMK chat will be live as well, offering you the chance to join the conversation in Finnish with Henkka Remes and other UMK fans. The chat opens at 7:30 PM.
Due to UMK's international popularity, the program will have English commentary by Jaakko Oleander-Turja. You can follow the English broadcast here.
The 45-minute broadcast will not only introduce the UMK artists but also give a preview of the upcoming UMK season.
The artist reveal ends at 8:30 PM. At midnight, the first song and music video of this season will be released.
All UMK songs will be released on weekdays from January 9th to 17th, 2025, at midnight.
UMK is the talk of the town
As in previous seasons, speculation about the UMK artists has been rampant throughout the fall. Here's how UMK's executive producer, Anssi Autio, commented on a rumored artist list that circulated in September.
– The contestants will be announced according to our schedule when the time is right.
Now, the time has finally come. Here’s how YleX’s Head of Music and UMK professional jury chair, Tapio Hakanen, has described the artists to the public.
– This season, UMK will see both a great continuation of Finnish pop tradition and a star of the future, waiting for their opportunity to shine bright. We will get to witness energetic band energy, hear German language in an UMK song, dance to the beat of an epic dance banger and be moved by one of the finest ballads in UMK’s history. The line-up is crowned by a song that makes you dance and cry at the same time.
From the Artist Reveal to the UMK Show
The UMK25 season will culminate on February 8th at Nokia Arena. A two-hour live broadcast will showcase seven contestants battling it out. Read more about the February UMK show here.
The UMK winner will be crowned as Finland's Eurovision representative for 2025.
This year, the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Basel, Switzerland. The semifinals will be held on May 13th and 15th, with the grand final on May 17th, 2025.
Tickets for the UMK dress rehearsal are still available at lippu.fi/umk.