The Hosts of Finland's Contest for New Music UMK 2026 are Sami Sykkö, Jorma Uotinen, and Jasmin Beloued

The UMK26 show, hosted by Jorma Uotinen, Sami Sykkö, and Jasmin Beloued, will feature seven competing entries by Etta, Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen, Komiat, Sinikka Monte, Antti Paalanen, CHACHI, and KIKI. In addition, the show will include yet-to-be-announced opening and interval acts, which promise plenty of surprises.

Sami Sykkö Planned the UMK Hosting Gig Already a Year Ago

UMK host Sami Sykkö is a journalist, working life professor at LUT University, economist, style icon, and traveller. Sykkö is known, among other things, as the style expert in Yle’s Independence Day Reception broadcasts. The idea of hosting UMK occurred to Sykkö already at the previous UMK event.

“I was sitting in the audience at last year’s UMK and thought this would be a great gig for me and Jorma,” Sykkö recalls. “Then the stars aligned, and we got a call from the UMK production. It felt incredible that Jorma and I were asked to host, since I had been thinking about it almost a year earlier – and that’s why it also felt so natural!”

“Jorma and I will give it our all and bring our own personalities into the UMK world,” Sykkö continues. “Over the years, UMK has developed into a huge spectacle for the whole nation, something everyone wants to be a part of. It’s a privilege to be involved in UMK right now when it has grown into such a significant player in the Finnish music and entertainment scene.”

For Sykkö, being a fan of UMK and Eurovision is fairly new, a spark that ignited through a radio gig.

“I wasn’t much of a UMK or Eurovision fan before, but a few years ago I was invited to provide radio commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest, and that’s when the spark was lit. Jorma organizes annual Eurovision parties, where we follow the contest, rate the songs, and try to guess the winner. Helena (Lindgren) always gets everything right – I always guess wrong,” Sykkö laughs.

Jorma Uotinen Has Already Been Involved in UMK Before

UMK host Jorma Uotinen, well known to the Finnish public, is a professor, choreographer, singer, and judge on Dancing With the Stars Finland. Uotinen has served as artistic director at the Helsinki City Theatre Dance Company, the Finnish National Ballet, and the Kuopio Dance Festival.

“It’s great to be part of a show the size of UMK, which has now grown to the same scale as Sweden’s Melodifestivalen,” Uotinen comments. “As a host, this is my UMK debut, but I have performed in UMK once before. Ten years ago, we made a short film for the UMK show together with then-show producer Elias Koskimies,” Uotinen recalls.

Uotinen is a devoted fan of UMK and Eurovision, and he organizes Eurovision parties at his home every year.

“I have followed Eurovision ever since the beginning of Finland’s history in the contest, dating back to when Laila Kinnunen represented Finland. Especially in recent years, I have followed with great interest what kind of people participate in UMK and Eurovision.”

Jasmin Beloued Returns to the UMK Stage

Yle Mix’s journalist and host Jasmin Beloued has the honor of hosting the UMK show for the second year in a row. Last year, she co-hosted with the artist SANNI.

Jasmin began hosting Yle’s early youth program Yle Galaxi in 2017, and in spring 2020, she hosted Yle’s special broadcast about the coronavirus for children. In 2020, Jasmin joined Yle’s children’s news service Yle Mix as a journalist. Since 2021, Jasmin has also been seen as Yle’s reporter at the Independence Day Reception.

“It’s wonderful to get to host UMK again! I didn’t think this opportunity would come again so soon, but it truly is an incredible honor,” Beloued comments.

Compared to last year, Beloued plans to do certain things differently this time.

“Over the past year, I’ve gained much more confidence and learned to be calmer. Now I can enjoy these moments better, and as I get to participate even more in scripting my own segments, it feels really great,” Beloued describes. “Another important lesson is to tape my toes well before the show, since I’ll be in high heels for a long time.”

Last year, Sami Sykkö was there cheering Jasmin on at UMK – now they’re together on stage.

“I consider Sami and Jorma to be very charming gentlemen. I know Sami from the Independence Day Reception over many years, and he was also cheering me on at the last UMK. I’m excited to get to know Jorma as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with for the show,” Beloued says.

UMK26 show and event at Tampere's Nokia Arena on 28 February

The winner of the Contest for New Music UMK will be announced on 28 February 2026 at the UMK26 show at the Nokia Arena in Tampere. The UMK show will be broadcast live on Yle TV1, Yle Areena, YleX and YleX3M. The winner will be determined by adding together the audience votes and the international jury score: the share of the audience vote is 75% and the share of the international jury vote is 25%.

For media: Apply for accreditation to UMK26 now!
Accreditation for the media day at UMK26 is now open. Read about the programme and apply for accreditation.

Media Material:
UMK26 media folder
Yle.fi/umk

Media Contacts:

UMK26 artist interview requests: contacts.

UMK and Eurovision Song Contest:
Juhani Lassila
Head of Media
ext-juhani.lassila@yle.fi
+358 40 541 2365

Juha Lahti
Managing Editor
juha.lahti@yle.fi
+358 40 830 2886