History
Before the 2006 victory, Finland was considered by many as the ultimate under-achiever of Eurovision. It has placed last a total of nine times and scored "nul points" (zero points) three times. Finland's entry in 1982, "Nuku pommiin" by Kojo, was one of only fifteen songs since the modern scoring system was instituted in 1975 to earn no points. (Norway has placed last eleven times and scored zero points four times, but it has also won three times.)
During the 1990s and early 2000s, Finland was arguably the country most affected by the various relegation schemes designed to limit the number of participants allowed to participate in each year's contest. Due to low results, Finland was excluded from the contest in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003. Before 2006, there even was a popular joke circulating in Finland, where a man frees a genie from a bottle:
- Genie: Thanks for freeing me! I will now grant you one wish.
- Man: Bring the Finnish Karelia back to Finland!
- Genie: That's too big a wish, maybe a smaller one?
- Man: OK, let Finland win the Eurovision Song Contest even once!
- Genie: Hmm... let me see that map again...
Read more about this topic: Finland In The Eurovision Song Contest
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