Today, the sad news came to us that Finnish singer Laila Halme passed away. Laila Halme, born Laila Soppi in the Finnish town of Jääski, was a Finnish singer and actress. She began her career in the 1950, singing in several orchestras. Her first single “Kaunis rakkaus” was released in 1959. In 1960, she released several singles and EP’s at the Philips label. In 1961 she debuted as an actress in two films: “Penkki” and “Tähtisumua”.
In 1963, she participated in Euroviisut, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Olen mikä olen”. She became 3rd, while the song “Muistojeni laulu” won and Irmeli Mäkelä was chosen to sing it in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, Finnish broadcaster YLE decided to let Laila Halme sing it in the international final. She did not receive any point at all. A year later, Laila Halme represented Finland in the festival of Sopot in Poland. She released a couple of singles but left showbusiness in 1967. We only saw her back in 1987, when she hosted Euroviisut. Her son Jussi Halme is also a singer, he took part in Euroviisut in 1990.
Laila Halme was 87 years old.
Basel Bulletin: EBU confirms rumours about the semifinals
The EBU confirms rumours about the semifinals The EBU confirms rumours about the semifinals! What began as an accidental leak has now been officially confirmed. Martin Green, managing director of the Eurovision Song Contest, has stated that a new format for announcing the semi-final qualifiers will be introduced this year in Basel. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) had planned to unveil the change during the live shows, but a rehearsal script aired by a Swiss broadcaster revealed the new procedure ahead of schedule. The leak came during a routine rehearsal by Swiss broadcaster SRF, which inadvertently aired brief shots of the script during a news segment. Pages of the rundown showed the structure of the semi-final qualifiers segment, revealing the new sequence before the EBU had made an official announcement. How the New Format Works The traditional method of revealing the ten finalists — one by one, in random order — will be replaced by a phased system. In each round, three countries will be shown together on screen. The presenter will then announce which of the three has qualified for the Grand Final. The remaining two are not eliminated at that point but stay “in play” for later announcements. This process will repeat nine times. The tenth and final qualifier will still be revealed individually, preserving a familiar and dramatic ending to the segment. All Eyes on the Live Broadcast The confirmation puts an end to speculation and marks a rare mid-season revelation of a format change. With the first semi-final just days away, the Eurovision community will now watch closely to see how the new reveal system translates to the live broadcast — and how it shapes the emotional landscape of this year’s contest. Share
