Finland was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song "Old Man Fiddle", composed by Kim Kuusi, with lyrics by Arthur Ridgway Spencer, and performed by the bandPihasoittajat. The Finnish participating broadcaster,Yleisradio (Yle), selected its entry through a national final.
Yleisradio (Yle) invited 16 composers for the competition. The Finnish national selection consisted of four semi finals and a final. It was the first year the Finnish selection shows were broadcast in colour.[1]
The semi-finals were held on 4, 11, 18 and 25 January. Four songs were performed in each semi-final and a professional jury consisting eleven members chose two songs from each semi final to qualify for the final. After the semi-finals, a wildcard was also chosen for the final.[1][2][3]
Yle held the national final on 8 February at its television studios inHelsinki, hosted byAlpo "Apeli" Halinen [fi]. The winner was chosen by regional juries. Each jury group consisted of 15 members, and each juror distributed their points between 1–5 points for each song.[1][2][4][5]
The winning song "Viulu-ukko" was performed in Finnish in the national selection shows but it was translated into English for the international Song Contest as "Old Man Fiddle".
On the night of the final Pihasoittajat performed 15th in the running order, following Monaco and preceding Portugal. The Finnish entry was conducted byOssi Runne. At the close of voting, Finland picked up 74 points and placed 7th of the 19 entries.
Among the members of the Finnish jury were Tero Lehto, Merja Nyström, Ari Montonen and Hilkka Sokura.
Finland
