Yle recorded its biggest audience for a Eurovision Song Contest final since Finland hosted the contest in Helsinki in 2007.
An average of 1.8 million viewers watched last night on Yle TV1 as Finland competed in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen headed into last nights final as the bookmakers’ favourite for victory. The final reached an audience of 2.6 million viewers on TV, with a further 1.4 million plays on Yle’s online platform.
Semi-Final One of the contest was watched by an average of 928,000 viewers, with a reach of 1.8 million viewers, the show was started 228,000 times online. Overall the number of viewers for the final was up 166,000 viewers compared to the 2025 contest was the most watched final in Finland since the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with “Liekinheitin” and finished 6th in the final with 279 points. Finland received 12 points from the juries and televote in Estonia and Sweden.
Source: Yle
Finland first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961. They debuted alongside Spain and Yugoslavia. Finland has finished last in the contest on 10 occasions and has received ‘nul points’ three times. It wasn’t until 2006 that Finland won the Eurovision Song Contest. Lordi represented the country in Athens with the song “Hard Rock Hallelujah” scoring 292 points, a record total at the time.