Finland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 with the song "Pump-Pump", composed by Matti Siitonen, with lyrics by , and performed by Fredi and the Friends. The Finnish participating broadcaster, (Yle), selected its entry through a national final.
Before Eurovision
National final Nine entries were selected for the competition from 245 received submissions. (Yle) held the Finnish national final on 31 January 1976 at its television studios in Helsinki, hosted by Matti Elo. The winner was chosen by regional juries. Each juror distributed their points between 1–5 points for each song.
Before the winner's performance, a protestor arrived on stage, criticising the winning entry and the commercialization of Eurovision.
+ Final – 31 January 1976 Artist Song Songwriter(s) Points Place 1 and Deszö Balogh "Mustalaiskaravaani" 353 2 2 Fredi ja Ystävät "Pump pump" 380 1 3 Paula Koivuniemi and "Posket hehkuu ja haitari soi" 182 9 4 Mikko Alatalo Band "Myyty mies" Matti Laakso 306 5 5 Kirka "Neidonryöstö" 314 4 6 Monica Aspelund "Joiku" 289 6 7 Markku Aro "Ruska" 330 3 8 "Can-can" 275 7 9 "Tillsammans med barn" 191 8
+ Scoreboard Song scope="col" scope="col" scope="col" scope="col" scope="col" scope="col" scope="col" Total 1 "Mustalaiskaravaani" 49 51 43 27 87 37 59 353 2 "Pump pump" 52 46 63 38 90 46 45 380 3 "Posket hehkuu ja haitari soi" 23 25 23 16 41 23 31 182 4 "Myyty mies" 31 55 56 31 49 33 51 306 5 "Neidonryöstö" 50 36 35 29 66 48 50 314 6 "Joiku" 36 38 44 29 70 35 37 289 7 "Ruska" 40 49 49 40 68 35 49 330 8 "Can-can" 40 31 46 28 50 38 42 275 9 "Tillsammans med barn" 26 28 19 20 37 31 30 191
The winning song was performed in Finnish in the national final but translated into English for Eurovision. The lyrics in English were written by . However the song title didn't change.
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Fredi and the Friends performed 11th in the running order following Greece and preceding Spain. The Friends was formed by vocalists Titta Jokinen and , backing vocalists Aimo Lehto and , and a pianist and a backing vocalist . The performance's choreography was made by Aira Samulin. The entry was conducted by Ossi Runne. At the close of voting "Pump-Pump" had picked up 44 points, placing Finland 11th of the 18 entries. Voting
+ Points awarded to Finland Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
+ Points awarded by Finland Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Sources
External links