Yle calls upon the European Broadcasting Union to exclude Russia from the Eurovision Song Contest

Yle will not send a participant to the Eurovision Song Contest if Russia can participate in the competition.

Yle is pleading to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to exclude Russia from the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, which will take place in Turin, Italy, in May.

Yle has today contacted the EBU, the organizer of the competition, and has called upon the EBU to exclude Russia from the competition because of the aggression in Ukraine. Yle will not participate in the competition if Russia is invited to take part.

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine goes against all the values that Yle and other European broadcasters stand for. Yle will always defend western democracy, the fundamental principles of the rule of law, freedom of expression and human dignity. Yle cannot be involved in an event in which Russia, which has blatantly attacked these values, can use one of Europe's best-known brands to promote its own interests. I hope that the EBU will act in accordance with its values in this regard," says Ville Vilén, Head of Creative Content and Media at Yle.

Finland's representative for this year's Eurovision Song Contest will be selected on Saturday 26th February at the final of the New Music Competition (known as UMK) in Turku.

"Yle's UMK has been successfully presenting new Finnish music for ten years now. This year we have great songs and artists in the final. I believe and hope that one of them will get the chance to perform for Europe in May," says Ville Vilén.