Letter from Malmö

Nothing could match the joy of the Finns on the evening of March 8, 2025. In the final round of the "Melodifestivalen," the Swedish selections for Eurovision, the group KAJ, from Finland's Swedish-speaking minority, emerged victorious. They came ahead of Måns Zelmerlöw, the Swedish winner of the 2015 Eurovision contest in Vienna. Måns Zelmerlöw was not pleased to be outdone by the cheeky trio extolling the virtues of saunas with their raucous song "Bara bada bastu."

Thus, for the first time, Finns will represent Sweden in the Eurovision finale in Basel on May 17 with a song in Swedish − whereas Swedish artists often prefer to sing in English. This victory is even sweeter given the rivalry between the two countries: The Scandinavian kingdom still tends to see itself as Finland's "big brother," as Finland was Swedish for seven centuries before coming under Russian sovereignty in 1809. This musical feat especially delights the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, which now constitutes only 5% of the population.

Born to a Finnish-speaking father and a Swedish-speaking mother, Pia Klemets, 56 and married to a Swedish speaker, was in front of her television on March 8. The businesswoman lives in Karleby (Kokkola in Finnish), on Finland's West coast, an area where Swedish is still prevalent. The city is located about 100 kilometers north of Vöra, the hometown of the three members of KAJ: Kevin Holmström, Axel Ahman and Jakob Norrgard. Klemets still can't believe their success, which she hopes will "strengthen the position of Swedish" within Finnish society.

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