| Year: | 1961 |
| Broadcaster: | Finnish: [[Yle|Yleisradio]]|i=no (Yle) |
| Country: | Finland |
| Preselection: | National Final |
| Preselection Date: | 12 February 1961 |
| Entrant: | Laila Kinnunen |
| Song: | Finnish: Valoa ikkunassa|i=no |
| Final Result: | 10th, 6 points |
Finland was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961, held in Cannes, France, with the song "Finnish: Valoa ikkunassa|i=no", composed by Eino Hurme, with lyrics by Sauvo Puhtila, and performed by Laila Kinnunen. The Finnish participating broadcaster, Finnish: [[Yle|Yleisradio]]|i=no (Yle), selected its entry through a national final. This was the first-ever entry from Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest, and the first-ever entry performed in Finnish in the contest.
Finnish: [[Yle|Yleisradio]]|i=no (Yle) held a national final at the Työväenopisto in Helsinki, hosted by Aarno Walli. Four songs took part, having qualified from a radio-only semi-final. The winning song was chosen by an "expert" jury.[1]
Brita Koivunen was supposed to perform "Finnish: Puuttuva lehti|i=no" in the final but for unknown reasons she withdrew and was replaced by Christina Hellman.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Portinvartija" | , Hillevi | 3 | ||
| 2 | Laila Kinnunen | "Valoa ikkunassa" | Eino Hurme, | 1 | |
| 3 | "Pikku ikkuna" | 4 | |||
| 4 | Christina Hellman | "Puuttuva lehti" | Erkki Rahkola | 2 |
The songs eliminated in the semi-final were:[2]
| Artist | Song | |
|---|---|---|
| Laila Kinnunen | "Jossain meren rannalla" | |
| Brita Koivunen | "Pikku piccolo" | |
| "Kun kevät saapuu" | ||
| "Pistäydyn naapurissa" |
On the evening of the final Laila Kinnunen performed "Finnish: Valoa ikkunassa|i=no" 4th in the running order, following and preceding . At the close of voting the song had received 6 points (2 from and the and 1 from and), placing Finland joint 10th (with and the) of the 16 entries. The Finnish jury awarded its highest marks (3) to and Monaco.[3]
Each participating broadcaster assembled a ten-member jury panel. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.