| Year: | 1981 |
| Broadcaster: | Finnish: [[Yle|Yleisradio]]|i=no (Yle) |
| Country: | Finland |
| Preselection: | National final |
| Preselection Date: | 21 February 1981 |
| Entrant: | Riki Sorsa |
| Song: | Reggae OK |
| Final Result: | 16th, 27 points |
Finland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Reggae OK", composed by Jim Pembroke, with lyrics by Olli Ojala, and performed by Riki Sorsa. The Finnish participating broadcaster, Finnish: [[Yle|Yleisradio]]|i=no (Yle), selected its entry through a national final.
The semi-final was held on January 29. From the 15 songs eight finalists were chosen by postcard voting, of which a total of 265 573 were sent. The winner of the postcard voting was "Titanic" performed by Frederik.
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aija Pentinmikko | "Virta" | , Hector | |
| "Jos vielä ees kerran sais kunnon jenkan" | Kim Kuusi | ||
| "Allegro" | Jukka Linkola | ||
| Leevi and the Leavings | "Sinisilmä, mansikkasuu" | Gösta Sundqvist | |
| Marketta Joutsi | "Tangetto" | Rauno Lehtinen | |
| Pepe Willberg | "Nouse aamuusi" | ||
| "Tuhlaajapoika" | Tomas Ek |
The final was hosted by Finnish television producer and singer Erkki Pohjanheimo, at Yle Studio 2 in Helsinki, which took place on 21 February. The winning song was selected by a national jury, two of which included former Finnish Eurovision contestants Marion Rung and Lasse Mårtenson.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tapani Kansa | "Sunnuntailapsi" | Esko Koivumies | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Paula Koivuniemi | "Ei tule toista kertaa" | , Juha Vainio | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | Mikko Alatalo | "Leuhkat eväät" | Mikko Alatalo, | 30 | 2 |
| 4 | Frederik | "Titanic" | , | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | Taiska | "Hiroshima" | Raul Reiman | 27 | 3 |
| 6 | Markku Aro and | "Mun suothan tulla vierees sun" | , Juha Vainio | 13 | 5 |
| 7 | Riki Sorsa | "Reggae OK" | Jim Pembroke, Olli Ojala | 66 | 1 |
| 8 | Juice Leskinen Slamfonia | "Ilomantsi" | Juice Leskinen | 26 | 4 |
| + Jury Votes | |||||||||||
| Song | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Sunnuntailapsi" | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||
| "Ei tule toista kertaa" | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| "Leuhkat eväät" | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 30 | |
| "Titanic" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
| "Hiroshima" | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 27 | ||
| "Mun suothan tulla vierees sun" | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 13 | |||||
| "Reggae OK" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 66 | |
| "Ilomantsi" | 5 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 26 |
On the night Sorsa performed eighth (following and preceding). For the first time in 15 years regular Finnish conductor Ossi Runne did not conduct the Finnish entry (instead he was providing the Yle television commentary) and was instead conducted by Otto Donner. At the close of voting "Reggae OK" had picked up 27 points, placing Finland in 16th place out of 20.[1] The Finnish jury awarded its 12 points to .