Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981
| Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 1981 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Yleisradio (Yle) | |||
| Country |  Finland | |||
| Selection process | National final | |||
| Selection date | 21 February 1981 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Reggae OK" | |||
| Artist | Riki Sorsa | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Final result | 16th, 27 points | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Finland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Reggae OK", composed by Jim Pembroke, with lyrics by Olli Ojala, and performed by Riki Sorsa. The Finnish participating broadcaster, Yleisradio (Yle), selected its entry through a national final.
Before Eurovision
Semi-final
Yleisradio (Yle) invited 15 composers for the competition. The semi-final was held on 29 January 1981, hosted by Erkki Pohjanheimo. From the 15 songs eight finalists were chosen by postcard voting, of which a total of 265,573 were sent. The finalists were announced on 6 February 1981. The winner of the postcard voting was "Titanic" performed by Frederik.[1][2][3]
The full semi-final results were supposed to be revealed after the final, but due to the complaints and negative reception about the final's results, Yle eventually did not reveal them.[4]
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Aija Pentinmikko | "Virta" | Yari, Hector |
| Cumulus | "Jos vielä ees kerran sais kunnon jenkan" | Kim Kuusi, Juha Vainio |
| Eija Ahvo | "Allegro" | Jukka Linkola, Jaana Lappo |
| Leevi and the Leavings | "Sinisilmä, mansikkasuu" | Gösta Sundqvist |
| Marketta Joutsi | "Tangetto" | Rauno Lehtinen, Vexi Salmi |
| Pepe Willberg | "Nouse aamuusi" | Mikko Jokela, Asko Raivio |
| Tomas Ek | "Tuhlaajapoika" | Tomas Ek, Pasi Hiihtola |
Final
The final was hosted by Erkki Pohjanheimo, at Yle Studio 2 in Helsinki, which took place on 21 February 1981. The winning song was selected by an expert jury, two of which included former Finnish Eurovision contestants Marion Rung and Lasse Mårtenson. Each juror distributed their points as follows: 1–3, 5 and 8 points.[1][2][5][6]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tapani Kansa | "Sunnuntailapsi" | Esko Koivumies | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Paula Koivuniemi | "Ei tule toista kertaa" | Esa Nieminen, Juha Vainio | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | Mikko Alatalo | "Leuhkat eväät" | Mikko Alatalo, Harri Rinne | 30 | 2 |
| 4 | Frederik | "Titanic" | Jori Sivonen, Raul Reiman | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | Taiska | "Hiroshima" | Raul Reiman | 27 | 3 |
| 6 | Markku Aro and Nisa Soraya | "Mun suothan tulla vierees sun" | Veikko Samuli, Juha Vainio | 13 | 5 |
| 7 | Riki Sorsa | "Reggae OK" | Jim Pembroke, Olli Ojala | 66 | 1 |
| 8 | Juice Leskinen Slamfonia | "Ilomantsi" | Juice Leskinen | 26 | 4 |
| Song | Åke Granholm
|
Marion Rung
|
John Wikström
|
Arto Pajukallio
|
Upi Sorvali
|
Liisa Lääveri
|
Jarmo Porola
|
Lasse Mårtenson
|
Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Sunnuntailapsi" | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||||
| "Ei tule toista kertaa" | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| "Leuhkat eväät" | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 30 |
| "Titanic" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||
| "Hiroshima" | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 27 | |
| "Mun suothan tulla vierees sun" | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 13 | ||||
| "Reggae OK" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 66 |
| "Ilomantsi" | 5 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 26 |
At Eurovision
On the night Sorsa performed eighth (following Yugoslavia and preceding France). Sorsa was accompanied by Pedro Hietanen as a keyboardist and an accordionist, Keimo Hirvonen as a drummer, Risto Hankala as a bassist and a backing vocalist, and Jukka Orma and Jim Pembroke as guitarists and backing vocalists. For the first time in 15 years regular Finnish conductor Ossi Runne did not conduct the Finnish entry (instead he was providing the Yle television commentary) and was instead conducted by Otto Donner.[7] At the close of voting "Reggae OK" had picked up 27 points, placing Finland in 16th place out of 20.[8] The Finnish jury awarded its 12 points to Switzerland.[9]
Voting
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References
- ^ a b "1981 Fuusioreggae ei ollutkaan OK" (in Finnish). Yle. Archived from the original on 5 October 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
- ^ a b Säilynoja, Juhana (21 April 2015). "Viisukarsinnat muuttuivat joka vuosi 1980-luvulla" [The contest selections changed every year in the 1980s] (in Finnish). Yle Elävä arkisto. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
- ^ Murtomäki, Asko (2007). Finland 12 points! Suomen Euroviisut (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland: Teos. pp. 114, 118. ISBN 951-851-106-3.
- ^ Murtomäki, Asko (2007). Finland 12 points! Suomen Euroviisut (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland: Teos. p. 116. ISBN 951-851-106-3.
- ^ "Euroviisut 1981 Suomen karsinta" (in Finnish). Yle Areena. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
- ^ Murtomäki, Asko (2007). Finland 12 points! Suomen Euroviisut (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland: Teos. pp. 114–116, 118. ISBN 951-851-106-3.
- ^ Murtomäki, Asko (2007). Finland 12 points! Suomen Euroviisut (in Finnish). Helsinki, Finland: Teos. pp. 118–119. ISBN 951-851-106-3.
- ^ "Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "Results of the Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.