Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) is Finland’s national competition to select its representative for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2026, the event returned for its fifteenth edition, broadcast live from Nokia Arena in Tampere by YLE, Finland’s public broadcaster.
The 2026 edition reached an average audience of 1.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched edition since the competition launched in 2012.
With Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen ultimately securing Finland’s Eurovision spot with their song Liekinheitin, the event demanded a visual production worthy of its audience.
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At the centre of that production were two INFiLED LED screen systems, which together formed one of the most technically ambitious setups in the competition’s history.
The technical production was handled by Akun Tehdas Oy, a Finnish audiovisual production company and one of the country’s most experienced providers of large-scale events and television productions. Selected through a competitive process, the company was responsible for the broadcast’s video infrastructure. Pasi Ristolainen served as head of video for the project, overseeing a technical team whose expertise proved essential to the event’s success.
The INFiLED installation consisted of two distinct systems. A 21 × 7 metre ARmk2 Series LED screen formed the stage’s main backdrop, providing a high-resolution surface for all seven competing performances. Alongside it, an AMT Series transparent LED cube, featuring a 12 × 6 metre front face and 9 × 6 metre side panels, became the production’s most distinctive structural element. Together, the two displays created a flexible visual architecture capable of adapting to the aesthetic identity of each performance.
Installing the rear screens was fairly straightforward, but the cube was more complex. Moving decorative elements and lighting fixtures suspended inside the cube added extra difficulty. Throughout the show, elements were constantly moving up and down, with only a few centimetres separating the moving pieces. Everything had to be precise. There was no room for error, explains Pasi Ristolainen, head of video at Akun Tehdas Oy.
The AMT Series’ 70% transparency played a key role in some of the production’s most striking creative decisions. During the show, the cube descended to the stage floor while cameras filmed from inside the structure outward, transforming the screen itself into a visual frame for the performance. Visual content was created by Ari Levelä of MOBB Helsinki Oy.
“His team developed a simple yet elegant visual style”, says Ristolainen. “The INFiLED screens delivered outstanding image quality and colour reproduction. The black panels made the visuals stand out beautifully”.
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We had to install these screens within a very tight schedule. The cargo ship arrived at the port only 48 hours before installation. But because the setup process was so straightforward, we encountered no issues. The magnets on the ARmk2 Series make installation incredibly easy. And the AMT Series was new to us. We were impressed by the simplicity and ease of use of the locking mechanisms. Everything feels intuitive and works perfectly, adds Ristolainen.
The production received an overwhelmingly positive response. For YLE, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2026, UMK’s record-breaking audience marked a strong start to this special year, as Finland prepares to compete in Eurovision 2026 in Vienna. For Akun Tehdas Oy, the project strengthened an increasingly close working relationship with INFiLED that extends far beyond a single broadcast.
“I’m very happy with our relationship with INFiLED”, concludes Ristolainen. “Every interaction with them gives us the feeling that they genuinely care about the customer, even though we are probably one of the smaller ones. It’s fantastic to see how professional and approachable they are in the way they work. I hope to visit the factory one day to continue learning more about their team and processes”.
Photo credit: Akun Tehdas
