Riga is the capital, the primate, and the largest city of Latvia. Home to 605,273 inhabitants, the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 860,142. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3–33 ft) above sea level on a flat and sandy plain.
The Latvia national football team represents Latvia in men's international football, and is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but did qualify for the European Championship in 2004 under head coach Aleksandrs Starkovs.
Skonto FC was a Latvian professional football club, active from 1991 until 2016. The club played at the Skonto Stadium in Riga. Skonto won the Virsliga in the first 14 seasons of the league's resumption, and often provided the core of the Latvia national football team. With those 14 national championships in a row, they set a European record, men and women's football combined, until the women of Faroese club KÍ Klaksvík won their 14th championship in a row in 2013.
Arena Riga is an indoor arena in Riga, Latvia. It is primarily used for ice hockey, basketball and concerts. Arena Riga holds a maximum of 14,500 and was opened on 15 February 2006.
Skonto Stadium is a football stadium in Riga, Latvia. The stadium was built in 2000 and currently has 8,087 seats in total. It is the 2nd-largest stadium in Latvia, behind Daugava Stadium. The stadium design incorporates Skonto Hall.
Daugava National Stadium is a multifunctional stadium in Riga, Latvia, which was first opened in 1927. It holds football and athletics competitions. Since 1992 the Daugava Stadium has been designated as a sports facility of national importance. It is owned by the Government of Latvia.
FC Daugava was a Latvian football club, based at the Daugava Stadium, in the city of Daugavpils. It was founded as FC Ditton in 2001. They lastly played in the Latvian Second League in 2015. They were one of two simultaneous clubs with the name Daugava and should not be confused with the historic FK Daugava Rīga.
Raivis Hščanovičs is a Latvian footballer, currently playing for FS METTA/Latvijas Universitāte in the Latvian Higher League and the founder of the charity foundation RH3 fonds.
Football is the number one sport based on participation, but the third sport in Latvia after ice hockey and basketball based on popularity. Many other sports are also more popular than football in Latvia, but in recent years it has gained more popularity. The Latvian Football Federation is the sport's national governing body. There is a league system, with the Higher League and First League serving as the top leagues in Latvia. The Latvian Second League is composed mostly of amateur teams.
Dinamo Riga is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. It most recently was a member of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. The club is affiliated with HK Zemgale/LBTU.
Kaspars Dubra is a Latvian professional footballer who plays as a defender for A Lyga club Panevėžys and the Latvian national team. He can play as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder.
Kirovs Lipmans is a Latvian business person and former ice hockey executive. He served as president of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation from 1994 to 1995, and from 1998 to 2016; was a member of the Latvian Olympic Committee executive, and sat on International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) committees. He oversaw the increase of artificial ice hockey rinks in Latvia from three to seventeen, and the Latvia men's national team qualify for the top tier of the World Championships then play in four consecutive Olympic hockey tournaments. Lipmans oversaw the construction of Arena Riga for the hosting the 2006 IIHF World Championship, and Latvia was awarded co-hosting duties for the 2021 IIHF World Championship at the end of his presidency.
Latvia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Hello from Mars", written by Mārtiņš Freimanis and Lauris Reiniks, and performed by the group F.L.Y. The Latvian participating broadcaster, Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organised the national final Eirodziesma 2003 in order to select its entry for the contest. In addition, LTV was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Skonto Hall in Riga, after winning the previous edition with the song "I Wanna" performed by Marie N.
Pāvels Šteinbors is a Latvian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Latvian club RFS and the Latvia national team.
Valērijs Šabala is a Latvian professional footballer who plays as a forward for II liga club Chojniczanka Chojnice.
Vladislavs Gabovs is a Latvian former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
Renārs Rode is a retired Latvian professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He has also been capped by the Latvia national football team.
Latvia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Heartbeat" written by Aminata Savadogo. The song was performed by Justs. Songwriter Aminata Savadogo represented Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Love Injected" where she placed sixth in the grand final of the competition. The Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organised the national final Supernova 2016 in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Twenty songs were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of four shows: two heats, one semi-final and a final. In the heats and the semi-final, four entries were selected to advance from each show: two entries selected based on a public televote and two entries selected by a four-member jury panel. Four songs ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 28 February 2016 where a public vote exclusively selected "Heartbeat" performed by Justs as the winner.
Eurovision Choir of the Year 2017 was the first Eurovision Choir competition for choral singers, which was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Interkultur. It was held on 22 July 2017, at the Arena Riga, in the Latvian capital, Riga. The event was produced by Latvian host broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) and the Riga Tourism Development Bureau.
The 2021 IIHF World Championship took place from 21 May to 6 June 2021. It was originally to be co-hosted by Minsk, Belarus and Riga, Latvia, as the IIHF announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. Their joint bid won by a very tight margin against the Finnish bid with the cities of Tampere and Helsinki. On 18 January 2021 the IIHF decided to remove Belarus as a co-host due to the rising political unrest and COVID-19 concerns there. On 2 February, the IIHF voted to confirm Latvia as the sole host for the 2021 IIHF World Championship.
