Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005

Finland was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 by Geir Rönning and the song "Why". Heikki Paasonen and Jaana Pelkonen hosted the four semi finals and the final of the 2005 national finals for Finland. A new record was set when 503 songs were submitted to broadcaster YLE for the 2005 national selection. 476 songs were received in 2002. In addition, YLE invited eight composers to submit songs directly to the competition. Lahti, Jyväskylä, Turku and Imatra were the host towns of the semifinals on January 14, January 21, February 4 and February 11 respectively. The grand final was held at Tampere Hall on February 19, 2005 and the winner was "Why" by Geir Rönning written by Mika Toivanen and Steven Stewart.

Singer-songwriter Geir Rønning was born in Norway but has been living in Finland for about ten years now. His international musical career has lasted for over 15 years of which over the years, he has performed with many internationally known artists and musicians. Geir has performed at music clubs and festivals, in charity concerts as well as on TV and radio shows both in Finland and abroad. Geir released his debut album, “Første gang”, in Norway in 1996. Geir has participated in the national finals of the Eurovision Song Contest both in Finland and in Norway. In the Norwegian finals, Geir’s best achievement was second position in 1996 with the song “Uten dé”.

The spokesperson who revealed Finland's votes for other countries was Finland's 2004 entrant Jari Sillanpää.^[1]

National final

The Finnish National Final was held on February 19, 2005.

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