Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Euroviisut 2007 was the national final that selected Finland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The competition consisted of five shows that commenced with the first of four semi-finals on 20 January 2007 and concluded with a final on 17 February 2007. The three stages were hosted by Finnish presenters Jaana Pelkonen and Heikki Paasonen. All shows were broadcast on Yle TV2, via radio on Yle Radio Vega and online at yle.fi. The final was also broadcast via radio on Yle Radio Suomi.[3][4]

The format of the competition consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Three artists each competed with two songs in each semi-final and the winning song per act qualified to complete the twelve-song lineup in the final. The results for the semi-finals and the final were determined exclusively by a public vote. Public voting included the options of telephone and SMS voting.[5][6]

Twelve artists were directly invited by Yle to compete in the national final following consultation with record companies and presented during a press conference on 8 November 2006. Among the competing artists was former Finnish Eurovision entrant Laura who represented Finland in 2002.[7] The entries competing in each semi-final were presented in weekly preview programmes on Yle Radio Suomi between 15 January 2007 and 5 February 2007.[8][9] On 6 January 2007, Jann Wilde and Rose Avenue had been disqualified from the competition after their songs "Lover Lover Lover" and "Soft Is Selling" had already been publicly released before the semi-finals.[10] The artists were later allowed by Yle to submit replacement songs by 10 February.[11]

The four semi-final shows took place on 20 January, 27 January, 3 February and 10 February 2007. Each of the three competing artists' winning song in each semi-final qualified to the final based on the results from the public vote. A total of 51,535 votes were cast over the four shows.[12] In addition to the competing entries, Arja Saijonmaa and 1966 Finnish Eurovision entrant Ann-Christine Nyström performed as the interval act in the first semi-final, while 1979 and 1993 Finnish Eurovision entrant Katri Helena performed in the second semi-final, and 1972 Finnish Eurovision entrant Päivi Paunu and Kim Floor performed in the third semi-final.[13][14][15]

The final took place on 17 February 2007 at the Holiday Club Caribia in Turku where the twelve entries that qualified from the preceding four semi-finals competed. The winner was selected over two rounds of public televoting. In the first round, the top three from the twelve competing entries qualified to the second round, the superfinal. In the superfinal, "Leave Me Alone" performed by Hanna Pakarinen was selected as the winner. A total of 261,679 votes were cast during the show: 95,736 in the final and 165,943 in the superfinal.[16] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval act featured Danny performing his 1975 Finnish Eurovision national final entry "Seikkailija".[17]

Hanna Pakarinen took part in technical rehearsals on 7 and 8 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May.[20] During the running order draw for the semi-final and final on 12 March 2007, Finland was placed to perform in position 5 in the final, following the entry from Ireland and before the entry from Macedonia.[21] The Finnish performance featured Hanna Pakarinen performing in a black dress joined by a guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and drummer. The LED screens displayed three artificial flames and colours that transitioned between black, blue, white, red and orange. The performance also featured several effects including smoke, pyrotechnics and a wind machine.[22][23] The four musicians that joined Hanna Pakarinen on stage were Jaakko Kääriäinen, Jyrki Alanen, Mikko Määttä and Risto Niinikoski.[24] Finland placed seventeenth in the final, scoring 53 points.[25]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Finland and awarded by Finland in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Iceland in the semi-final and to Serbia in the final of the contest.