Finnish national broadcaster YLE announced the names of the seven finalists of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2024 yesterday. One of the finalists – Jesse Markin, took to Instagram shortly after, stating that should he win UMK, and Israel is allowed to participate in Eurovision 2024 – he will not travel to Malmö, and he will not take part in Eurovision.

Jesse Markin is set to compete in UMK with the song “Glow”. Shortly after he was announced as one of the seven finalists, he stated:

I feel at this stage that it is more important to make human rights issues visible. At the same time, I think that whoever ends up representing Finland should represent Finland specifically and listen to the voice of the Finnish people as well as their own voice. I feel that in this situation, many Finns agree on this issue. But for now, let’s hope that the EBU will make some kind of decision about Israel, and that Finland will get to Malmö.

UMK’s Executive Producer Anssi Autio clarified that UMK is a separate competition, and Jesse’s desire not to possibly not go to Eurovision does not impact his participation in UMK, and that the competition will remain as is. He also added that they have a contingency plan if the winner of the qualifier refuses to take part at Eurovision, for example over concerns about Israel’s participation, however he hasn’t clarified what this “Plan B” is exactly.

The first competing song in UMK – “Dancing With Demons” by Cyan Kicks was published at midnight, and in less than an hour we will get the second song – “Mania” by Sexmane.