Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1964

Eurovision Song Contest 1964
Eurovision Song Contest 1964
Participating broadcaster	Yleisradio (Yle)
Country	Finland
National selection
Selection process	National Final
Selection date(s)	15 February 1964
Selected artist(s)	Lasse Mårtenson
Selected song	"Laiskotellen"
Selected songwriter(s)	Lasse Mårtenson; Sauvo Puhtila;
Finals performance
Final result	7th, 9 points
Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Finland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1964 with the song "Laiskotellen", composed by Lasse Mårtenson, with lyrics by Sauvo Puhtila, and performed by Lasse Mårtenson. The Finnish participating broadcaster, Yleisradio (Yle), selected its entry through a national final.

Before Eurovision

The Finnish national selection composed of a semi-final and a final.

Semi-final

Ten songs were chosen to the national semi-final. They were played on radio and television test cards in late January and six finalists were chosen by postcard voting. The winner of the postcard voting was "Rakkauden rikkaus" performed by Taisto Tammi.^[1]

Songs eliminated in the semi-final
Artist	Song	Songwriter(s)
Erkki Liikanen [fi]	"Pianonsoittaja"	Erik Lindström [fi], Börje Sundgren
Iris Rautio [fi]	"Tulen jälkeen"	Eino Hurme, Reino Helismaa
Stig Fransman [fi]	"Unen ihme"	Jorma Panula^[a]
Vieno Kekkonen [fi]	"Tango keittiössä"	Arvo Koskimaa [fi], Sauvo Puhtila [fi]

National final

The final was held at the Yle studios in Helsinki, hosted by Aarno Walli. Six songs took part, with the winner being chosen by voting from ten regional juries and an "expert" jury.^[2]

**Finnish National Final - 15 February 1964**
Draw	Artist	Song	Songwriter(s)	Points	Place
1	Kai Lind [fi]	"Satelliitti kahdelle"	Kaarlo Kaartinen [fi], Sauvo Puhtila [fi]	235	2
2	Irmeli Mäkelä [fi]	"Kerran viel'"	Börje Sundgren	120	3
3	Lasse Mårtenson	"Laiskotellen"	Lasse Mårtenson, Sauvo Puhtila	403	1
4	Heikki Aarva [fi]	"Toisen kerran"	Erkki Rahkola, Hillevi	13	6
5	Pirkko Mannola	"Bzzz bzzz bzzz"	Kari Tuomisaari [fi]	108	4
6	Taisto Tammi	"Rakkauden rikkaus"	Toivo Kärki, Reino Helismaa	21	5

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Mårtenson performed 5th in the running order, following Denmark and preceding Austria. Only an audio recording of Mårtenson's performance is known to survive as the video master of the 1964 contest is believed to have been destroyed in a fire at the DR archive in the 1970s. Voting was by each national jury awarding 5-3-1 to their top three songs, and at the close "Laiskotellen" had received 9 points (3 each from Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom), placing Finland 7th of the 16 entries. The Finnish jury awarded its 5 points to contest winners Italy.^[3]