Finland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 with the song "Katson sineen taivaan", composed by Matti Siitonen, with lyrics by Vexi Salmi, and performed by Katri Helena. The Finnish participating broadcaster, Yleisradio (Yle), selected its entry through a national final. This was the first of Katri Helena's two Eurovision appearances for Finland, after she had finished runner-up in three previous national finals (1969, 1972, and 1978).
| Eurovision Song Contest 1979 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participating broadcaster | Yleisradio (Yle) | |||
| Country |  Finland | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | National final | |||
| Selection date(s) | 10 February 1979 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Katri Helena | |||
| Selected song | "Katson sineen taivaan" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | ||||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 14th, 38 points | |||
| Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Before Eurovision
editNational final
editYleisradio (Yle) held the national final at the Kulttuuritalo in Helsinki, hosted by Marjatta Leppänen. Six songs took part, with the winner chosen by a 30-member jury containing a mix of music industry professionals and television viewers.
Other participants included Finnish Eurovision representatives Markku Aro (1971) and Kirka (1984).[1]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seidat | "Hei, tännepäin" | Eeva Kiviharju | 78 | 6 |
| 2 | Markku Aro | "Sano Susanne" | Esa Nieminen, Juha Vainio | 94 | 5 |
| 3 | Yvonne Gräsbeck | "Hyvästi ystäväin" | Lasse Mirsch | 113 | 2 |
| 4 | Katri Helena | "Katson sineen taivaan" | Matti Siitonen, Vexi Salmi | 140 | 1 |
| 5 | Kirka, Anna and Muska | "Aikuiset anteeksi antaa" | Eero Lupari | 95 | 4 |
| 6 | Pepe Willberg | "Päivä tuskin päättyis kauniimmin" | Pepe Willberg, Markku Johansson, Juha Vainio | 110 | 3 |
At Eurovision
editOn the night of the final Katri Helena performed 5th in the running order, following Ireland and preceding Monaco. At the close of voting "Katson sineen taivaan" had picked up 38 points, placing Finland 14th of the 19 entries.[2] The Finnish jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners Israel.[3]
Voting
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References
edit- ^ ESC National Finals database - Finland 1979
- ^ "Final of Jerusalem 1979". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ ESC History - Finland 1979
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Jerusalem 1979". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
External links
edit(in Finnish) Full national final on Yle Elävä Arkisto