Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
Participating broadcaster	Public Broadcasting of Latvia (LSM; 2025–present) Formerly: Latvijas Televīzija (LTV; 2000–2024)
Participation summary
Appearances	25 (12 finals)
First appearance	2000
Highest placement	1st: 2002
Host	2003
Participation history 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Related articles
Supernova
External links
LSM page
Latvia's page at Eurovision.tv
For the most recent participation see Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025

Latvia has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 25 times since making its debut at the contest in 2000, where the song "My Star" performed by the group Brainstorm finished third. Latvia won the contest in 2002, with the song "I Wanna" by Marie N, defeating Malta by 12 points. Latvia is the second former Soviet country to win the contest. The 2003 contest was held in the Latvian capital Riga. The country achieved its third top 10 result in 2005, when "The War Is Not Over" by Walters and Kazha finished fifth. The current Latvian participating broadcaster in the contest is Public Broadcasting of Latvia (LSM).

Latvia did not participate in the final from 2009 to 2014, when they failed to qualify from the semi-finals for six consecutive years, including finishing last on three occasions, in 2009, 2010, and 2013. ^{[1] [2]} Latvia qualified for the final for the first time since 2008 at the 2015 contest with the song "Love Injected" by Aminata. Its sixth place in the final is Latvia's fourth top 10 finish and best result in the contest since 2005. Latvia made its 10th appearance in the final in 2016. After failing to qualify for the final from 2017 to 2023, it finally managed to qualify to the final in the 2024 contest with "Hollow" by Dons. The qualification streak was extended by Tautumeitas, whose song "Bur man laimi" became the first Latvian language entry to compete in a Eurovision final.

Latvia has the distinction of having finished last in the Eurovision semi-finals more than any other country. Since its introduction in 2004, Latvia has finished last in five semi-finals, with " Probka " by Intars Busulis (2009), "What For?" by Aisha (2010), "Here We Go" by PeR (2013), "Line" by Triana Park (2017), and "The Moon Is Rising" by Samanta Tīna (2021).

Participation

Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) was a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1 January 1993, thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest since then. It participated in the contest representing Latvia since its 45th edition in 2000. Since 2025, after a restructuring that led to the incorporation of LTV into the current Public Broadcasting of Latvia (LSM) organisation, it is the latter who participates representing Latvia.

LTV and LSM have chosen all their entrants in the contest through a national final, with the exception of "The Moon Is Rising" performed by Samanta Tīna in 2021. ^[a] Since 2015, the Latvian national selection is Supernova . Previously, the national selections were Eirodziesma (2000–2012) and Dziesma (2013–2014).

Participation overview

Table key

1	First place
2	Second place
3	Third place
◁	Last place
X	Entry selected but did not compete

Year	Artist	Song	Language	Final	Points	Semi	Points
2000	Brainstorm	"My Star"	English	3	136	No semi-finals
2001	Arnis Mednis	"Too Much"	English	18	16
2002	Marie N	"I Wanna"	English	1	176
2003	F.L.Y.	"Hello from Mars"	English	24	5
2004	Fomins and Kleins	" Dziesma par laimi "	Latvian	Failed to qualify		17	23
2005	Walters and Kazha	"The War Is Not Over"	English	5	153	10	85
2006	Vocal Group Cosmos	"I Hear Your Heart"	English	16	30	Top 11 in 2005 final [b]
2007	Bonaparti.lv	" Questa notte "	Italian	16	54	5	168
2008	Pirates of the Sea	"Wolves of the Sea"	English	12	83	6	86
2009	Intars Busulis	" Probka " (Пробка)	Russian	Failed to qualify		19 ◁	7
2010	Aisha	"What For?"	English			17 ◁	11
2011	Musiqq	"Angel in Disguise"	English			17	25
2012	Anmary	"Beautiful Song"	English			16	17
2013	PeR	"Here We Go"	English			17 ◁	13
2014	Aarzemnieki	"Cake to Bake"	English			13	33
2015	Aminata	"Love Injected"	English	6	186	2	155
2016	Justs	"Heartbeat"	English	15	132	8	132
2017	Triana Park	"Line"	English	Failed to qualify		18 ◁	21
2018	Laura Rizzotto	"Funny Girl"	English			12	106
2019	Carousel	"That Night"	English			15	50
2020	Samanta Tīna	"Still Breathing"	English	Contest cancelled [c] X
2021	Samanta Tīna	"The Moon Is Rising"	English	Failed to qualify		17 ◁	14
2022	Citi Zēni	"Eat Your Salad"	English			14	55
2023	Sudden Lights	" Aijā "	English, Latvian			11	34
2024	Dons	"Hollow"	English	16	64	7	72
2025	Tautumeitas	" Bur man laimi "	Latvian	13	158	2	130

Hostings

Year	Location	Venue	Presenters
2003	Riga	Skonto Hall	Marija Naumova and Renārs Kaupers

Related involvement

Heads of delegation

Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the contestants, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others. ^[3]

Year	Head of delegation	Ref.
2012–2020	Zita Kaminska	[4]
2021–2025	Guntars Gulbiņš	[5]

Commentators and spokespersons

Year	Commentator	Spokesperson	Ref.
1998	Kārlis Streips  [ lv ]	Did not participate	[6] [7] [8]
1999			[9] [10] [11]
2000		Lauris Reiniks	[9] [12]
2001		Renārs Kaupers	[13] [14]
2002		Ēriks Niedra	[15] [16]
2003		Ģirts Līcis	[17] [18] [19]
2004		Lauris Reiniks	[20] [21]
2005		Marie N	[22] [23]
2006		Mārtiņš Freimanis	[24] [25] [26]
2007		Janis Šipkevics	[27] [28]
2008		Kristīne Virsnīte	[29] [30] [31]
2009		Roberto Meloni	[32]
2010		Kārlis Būmeisters
2011	Valters Frīdenbergs (all), Uģis Joksts (final)	Aisha	[33]
2012	Valters Frīdenbergs (all), Kārlis Būmeisters (final)	Valters Frīdenbergs	[34] [35]
2013		Anmary	[36] [37]
2014	Valters and Kaža	Ralfs Eilands	[38] [39]
2015	Valters Frīdenbergs (all), Toms Grēviņš (final)	Markus Riva	[40] [41]
2016		Toms Grēviņš	[42] [43]
2017		Aminata	[44] [45]
2018	Toms Grēviņš (all), Magnuss Eriņš (final)	Dagmāra Legante	[43] [46]
2019	Toms Grēviņš (all), Ketija Šēnberga (final)	Laura Rizzotto	[47] [48]
2021	Toms Grēviņš (all), Marija Naumova (final)	Aminata	[49] [50] [51] [52]
2022	Toms Grēviņš (all), Lauris Reiniks (final)	Samanta Tīna	[53] [54]
2023		Jānis Pētersons	[55] [56] [57]
2024		Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis	[58]
2025	Toms Grēviņš (all), Marija Naumova (final)	Dons	[59] [60]

• 
  Karlis Streips is the first Latvian Eurovision commentator in history. He provided Eurovision Song Contest commentary until 2010
• 
  Valters Frīdenbergs was lead commentator from 2011 until his illness in 2017 and death in 2018
• 
  Toms Grēviņš has been lead Latvian commentator since 2018

Photo gallery

• 
  Bonaparti.lv performing "Questa notte" in Helsinki (2007)
• 
  Pirates of the Sea performing "Wolves of the Sea" in Belgrade (2008)
• 
  Aisha in Oslo (2010)
• 
  Musiqq performing "Angel in Disguise" in Düsseldorf (2011)
• 
  PeR performing "Here We Go" in Malmö (2013)
• 
  Aarzemnieki performing "Cake to Bake" in Copenhagen (2014)
• 
  Aminata performing "Love Injected" in Vienna (2015)
• 
  Justs performing "Heartbeat" in Stockholm (2016)
• 
  Triana Park performing "Line" in Kyiv (2017)
• 
  Laura Rizzotto performing "Funny Girl" in Lisbon (2018)
• 
  Citi Zēni performing "Eat Your Salad" in Turin (2022)
• 
  Sudden Lights performing "Aijā" in Liverpool (2023)
• 
  Dons performing "Hollow" in Malmö (2024)
• 
  Tautumeitas performing "Bur man laimi" in Basel (2025)

See also

• Latvia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Notes

1. Tīna won Supernova in 2020, but that year's Eurovision was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and she was later internally selected to represent her country in the following year instead.
2. According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the grand final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's grand final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
3. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

1. "Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Semi-Final (2)". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
2. "Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Final 2013 (2)". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
3. "Heads of Delegation". European Broadcasting Union . Retrieved 27 May 2019.
4. "THE VOTING RESULTS OF THE 2ND SEASON OF DEPI EVRATESIL". eurovision.am. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
5. "🇱🇻 Latvia: Delegation Reflect on Rehearsals So Far & Lost Luggage Update". Eurovoix. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
6. "Diva.lv - Eirovīzijas Dziesmu konkursa Nacionālā atlase". www.diva.lv. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
7. "Eirovīzijas Dziesmu konkursa Nacionālā atlase" (in Latvian). Digitalizētie Video un Audio (DIVA). Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
8. "Streips kā dalībnieks debitē "Eirovīzijā"" (in Latvian). Delfi. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
9. "Latvia – Stockholm 2000". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
10. "Eirovīzijas Dziesmu konkursa Nacionālā atlase" (in Latvian). Digitalizētie Video un Audio (DIVA). Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
11. "Streips kā dalībnieks debitē "Eirovīzijā"" (in Latvian). Delfi. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
12. "Streips kā dalībnieks debitē 'Eirovīzijā'" (in Latvian). Delfi. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
13. "Latvia – Copenhagen 2001". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
14. "Streips kā dalībnieks debitē 'Eirovīzijā'" (in Latvian). Delfi. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
15. "Latvia – Tallinn 2002". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
16. "Streips kā dalībnieks debitē 'Eirovīzijā'" (in Latvian). Delfi. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
17. Bakker, Sietse (22 May 2003). "Girts Licis: press conferences and Latvian votes". ESCToday. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
18. "Latvia – Riga 2003". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
19. Šaitere, Tekla (22 May 2003). "www.eurovision.tv". Diena (in Latvian). Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
20. Bakker, Sietse (14 May 2004). "And here are the votes from... the spokespersons". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 29 January 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
21. "Streips kā dalībnieks debitē 'Eirovīzijā'" (in Latvian). Delfi. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
22. Philips, Roel (17 May 2005). "The 39 spokespersons!". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 19 December 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2006.
23. "'Walters & Kazha' iekļūst Eirovīzijas finālā" (in Latvian). Delfi. 20 May 2005. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
24. Bakker, Sietse (20 May 2006). "Meet the spokespersons for tonight's voting!". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 3 June 2006. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
25. "Eirovīzijas pusfināls noskaidro vēl desmit finālistus!" (in Latvian). LTV. 19 May 2006. Archived from the original on 26 May 2006. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
26. "Streips kā dalībnieks debitē 'Eirovīzijā'" (in Latvian). Delfi. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
27. "Jau rīt – Eirovīzijas pusfināls: Latvija, turam īkšķus!" (in Latvian). LTV. 10 May 2007. Archived from the original on 12 May 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
28. "Streips kā dalībnieks debitē 'Eirovīzijā'" (in Latvian). Delfi. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
29. "Eirovīzijā triumfē Dima Bilans no Krievijas, Pirāti – vienpadsmitie / divpadsmitie". eirovizija.lv. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
30. "LTV preses konference: "Pirates of the Sea" dodas uz Belgradu un laiž klajā singlu!" (in Latvian). LTV. 13 May 2008. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
31. Griškeviča, Una (22 May 2008). "Pirāti šovakar cīnīsies par iekļūšanu finālā". Diena. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
32. "Streips kā dalībnieks debitē 'Eirovīzijā'" (in Latvian). Delfi. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
33. "Eirovīziju vairs nekomentēs Streips; Latvijas balsojumu paziņos Aisha" [Streip will no longer commentate on Eurovision; Latvia's vote will be announced by Aisha]. nra.lv (in Latvian). 29 April 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
34. "Anmary šovakar aizstāvēs Latvijas godu Eirovīzijā" [Anmary will defend Latvia's honor at Eurovision tonight]. tvnet.lv (in Latvian). 22 May 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
35. "Noskaties, kādas dziesmas piedalīsies Eirovīzijas finālā" [See which songs will take part in the Eurovision final]. jauns.lv (in Latvian). 26 May 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
36. "LTV atklāj, kas komentēs 'Eirovīzijas' tiešraides" [LTV reveals who will commentate on the 'Eurovision' live broadcast]. Delfi (in Latvian). 9 May 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
37. Granger, Anthony (9 May 2013). "Latvia: Anmary Will Announce The Votes". Eurovoix. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
38. "'Eirovīziju' atkal komentēs Valters un Kaža" ['Eurovision' will again be commented on by Valters and Kaža]. Delfi (in Latvian). 4 May 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
39. Granger, Anthony (10 May 2014). "ESC'14: Voting Order Announced". Eurovoix. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
40. "Eirovīziju komentēs Grēviņš un Frīdenbergs" [Grevins and Friedenberg will commentate on Eurovision]. skaties.lv (in Latvian). 7 May 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
41. Granger, Anthony (23 May 2015). "Latvia: Markus Riva Is This Years Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
42. "Zināmi pirmie desmit 'Eirovīzijas' finālisti; Igaunija no cīņas izstājas" [First ten 'Eurovision' finalists are known; Estonia leaves the battle]. Delfi (in Latvian). 10 May 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
43. Granger, Anthony (21 April 2018). "Latvia: Toms Grēviņš Takes Over As Lead Commentator". Eurovoix. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
44. "Zināms, kas komentēs 'Eirovīzijas' tiešraides" [It is known who will commentate on 'Eurovision' live]. Delfi (in Latvian). 27 April 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
45. Granger, Anthony (28 April 2017). "Latvia: Aminata Announced as Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
46. ""May we have your votes please?"". eurovision.tv . EBU. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
47. "Rit Eirovīzijas dziesmu konkursa fināls; notiek punktu sadalīšana". theworldnews.net (in Latvian). 18 May 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
48. "Eurovision 2019 Spokespersons – Who will announce the points?". eurovisionworld.com. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
49. "Programma / LTV.LV (18.05.2021)". ltv.lsm.lv. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
50. "Programma / LTV.LV (20.05.2021)". ltv.lsm.lv. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
51. "Programma / LTV.LV (22.05.2021)". ltv.lsm.lv. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
52. Granger, Anthony (15 May 2021). "🇱🇻 Latvia: Aminata Savadogo Revealed as Eurovision 2021 Spokesperson". Eurovoix. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
53. "Eirovīzijas nedēļā LTV – raidījumi ar "Citiem zēniem", diskusijas un konkursa tiešraides". LSM (in Latvian). 5 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
54. Grace, Emily (8 May 2022). "Latvia: Toms Grēviņš And Lauris Reiniks To Commentate On Eurovision 2022". Eurovoix. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
55. Granger, Anthony (2023-05-12). "Latvia: Jānis Pētersons from Citi Zēni Announcing the Latvian Points". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
56. "Eirovīzijas nedēļā Latvijas Televīzijā – "V.I.P." ar "Sudden Lights", diskusijas un krāšņas konkursa tiešraides no Liverpūles". ltv.lsm.lv (in Latvian). 2023-05-02. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
57. "Eirovīzija tuvojas! LTV gaidāmas īpašas «V.I.P.» un «Gudrs, vēl gudrāks» spēles, izzinoša diskusija un tiešraides no Zviedrijas" [Eurovision is coming! LTV is expecting special "V.I.P." and "Gudrs, vēl gudrāks" games, informative discussion and live broadcasts from Sweden]. lsm.lv (in Latvian). 30 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
58. Grace, Emily (3 May 2024). "Latvia: Toms Grēviņš And Lauris Reiniks To Commentate On Eurovision 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
59. "LTV Eirovīzijas gaidās – īpaša «Gudrs, vēl gudrāks» spēle, diskusija un konkursa tiešraides no Šveices". ltv.lsm.lv (in Latvian). 2025-05-07. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
60. Farren, Neil (2025-05-16). "Latvia: Dons Spokesperson for Eurovision 2025". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2025-05-16.