"Niin kaunis on taivas" ("So beautiful is the sky") was the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996

Eurovision Song Contest 1996

The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the 41st Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 18 May 1996 in Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway. The presenters were Ingvild Bryn and Morten Harket. Harket, lead singer of a-ha, opened the show with a performance of his single "Heaven's Not For Saints". Eimear...

, performed in Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

 by Jasmine Tatjana Anette Valentin

Jasmine (Finnish singer)

Jasmine Tatjana Anette Valentin is a Finnish Roma singer.She represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 by song Niin kaunis on taivas and became 23rd. After Eurovision she gigged in different countries like in Turkey, Spain and Greece.-References:...

.

The song was performed eighteenth on the night, following Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

's Eimear Quinn

Eimear Quinn

Eimear Quinn is an Irish singer. Dublin born Eimear joined her first choir at four years of age and at fifteen she started formal vocal training at the College of Music under the tutelage of Jody Beggan. Eimear later graduated with a degree in Music from National University of Ireland Maynooth...

 with The Voice and preceding Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

's Anna Mjöll

Anna Mjöll

Anna Mjöll is an Icelandic jazz singer and songwriter. She uses Anna Mjöll as her performing name; her full name is Anna Mjöll Ólafsdóttir.-Biography:...

 with Sjúbídú

Sjúbídú

Sjúbídú was the Icelandic entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, performed in Icelandic by Anna Mjöll.The song deals with the global currency of popular music. Anna Mjöll asks her listeners if they remember such performers as Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Billie Holiday...

. At the close of voting, it had received 9 points, placing 23rd (last) in a field of 23, a result which disqualified Finland from participation in the 1997 Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1997

The Eurovision Song Contest 1997, was the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest and it was held at the Point Theatre Dublin, Ireland, on 3 May 1997. Boyzone member Ronan Keating and Carrie Crowley were the presenters of the show....

.

The song is sung from the perspective of a woman telling her lover how special she feels when she is with him. She sings that heaven and earth seem more beautiful when they are together. Jasmine also recorded the song in Swedish, English and French, under the titles "En underbar himmel" ("A Wonderful Sky"), "In Dreams" and "Si beau est le ciel" ("So beautiful is the sky") respectively.

It was succeeded as Finnish representative

Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Finland first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961, and has participated a total of 45 times. Finland won the contest for the first time in 2006 with Lordi's "Hard Rock Hallelujah"...

 at the 1998 contest

Eurovision Song Contest 1998

The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The presenters were Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson...

 by Edea

Edea (musical group)

Edea is a Finnish musical group. The Edea's song lyrics are written in an older form of the Finnish language and speak of old traditions as well. The mysterious runic symbols inscribed on the bows of Viking boats, door posts, drinking vessels, and amulets as well as the Finnish composer Sibelius ...

 with "Aava

Aava

"Aava" is a song by Edea, which was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998.The song was performed twenty-first on the night, following Belgium's Mélanie Cohl with "Dis oui" and preceding Norway's Lars Fredriksen with "Alltid sommer"...

".

YLE launched a poll on its website, asking people who they think had been the worst choice for Finland since the country takes part in the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

. Results were made public on the 30th of January 2010 and the 1st place went to Jasmine

Jasmine (Finnish singer)

Jasmine Tatjana Anette Valentin is a Finnish Roma singer.She represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 by song Niin kaunis on taivas and became 23rd. After Eurovision she gigged in different countries like in Turkey, Spain and Greece.-References:...

’s song.