Eurovision Song Contest 2024 | ||||
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Country | Latvia | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | Supernova 2024 | |||
Selection date(s) |
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Selected entrant | Dons | |||
Selected song | " Hollow" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) |
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Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Latvia is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, with " Hollow" performed by Dons. The Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) organised the national final Supernova 2024 in order to select the Latvian entry for the contest.
Prior to 2024, Latvia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 23 times since its first entry in 2000. Latvia won the contest once in 2002 with the song " I Wanna" performed by Marie N. Following the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Latvia was able to qualify for the final between 2005 and 2008. Between 2009 and 2014, the nation failed to qualify to the final for six consecutive years before managing to qualify to the final in 2015 and 2016. Latvia has failed to qualify to the final for six consecutive contests since 2017, including with their 2023 entry " Aijā" performed by Sudden Lights. [1]
The Latvian broadcaster, Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), broadcasts the event within the country and organises the national selection. Since 2015, Latvia has selected its entries using the national final format Supernova. On 11 September 2023, LTV confirmed its intention to participate in the 2024 contest and to select its entry through Supernova. [2]
Supernova 2024 was the ninth edition of the national final format used to select Latvia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. [3] The competition commenced on 3 February 2024 with a semi-final and concluded with a final on 10 February 2024. The two shows in the competition took place at the LTV Studio 6 in Riga, hosted by Ketija Šēnberga and Lauris Reiniks and broadcast on LTV1 as well as online via the streaming platform REplay.lv and the official Supernova website supernova.lsm.lv. Alternative broadcasts of the final also occurred on LTV7 with a sign language translation as well as online at lsm.lv. [4] [5]
The competition consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. The semi-final, held on 3 February 2024, featured fifteen competing entries from which the top ten advanced to the final. A professional jury also had the opportunity to advance a wildcard act to the final from the remaining non-qualifying entries in the semi-final, but opted against doing so. [6] Results during both the semi-final and final shows were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote, with both the jury and public vote assigning points from 1–8, 10 and 12 based on the number of competing songs in the respective show – the same system used in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. In case of tie, the entries that received higher points from the public took precedence. [7]
On 12 September 2023, LTV opened a song submission window for artists to apply, with the deadline set for 30 November 2023. Performers were required to be Latvian nationals or permanent residents of Latvia, while songwriters and producers could be from any country. At the end of the submission period, 108 entries had been received. The participants were selected by a jury composed of representatives of the Latvian music and television industry, as well as foreign professionals (whose names will be disclosed after the Eurovision Song Contest has taken place), and were announced on 9 January 2024 on the programme Rīta Panorāma, broadcast on LTV1. [2] [8] [9] [10] [11]
Among the selected competing artists is Agnese Rakovska, who represented Latvia in 2017 as part of the group Triana Park. [12]
Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
---|---|---|
Agnese Rakovska | "AI" |
|
Alekss Silvers | "For the Show" | Liene Stūrmane |
Avéi | "Mine" |
|
B/H | "Amsterdam" |
|
Dons | " Hollow" |
|
Ecto | "Outsider" | Emīls Sudmalis |
Edvards Strazdiņš | "Rock n' Roll Supernova" |
|
Funkinbiz | "Na chystu vodu" (На чисту воду) | Kirils Ponomarenko |
Jar of Kings | "Wildfire" |
|
Katrīna Gupalo | "The Cat's Song" |
|
Papīra Lidmašīnas | "Mindbreaker" |
|
Patrīcija Spale | "Heaven's Raining Down on Me" |
|
Saint Levića | "Tick Tock" |
|
Sasha Sil | "Love Is a Language" | Liene Stūrmane |
Vēstulēs | "Kur?" |
|
The semi-final took place on 3 February 2024. 15 acts competed and the top ten entries qualified to the final based on the combination of votes from a jury panel and the Latvian public. [13]
Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Agnese Rakovska | "AI" | Eliminated |
2 | Patrīcija Spale | "Heaven's Raining Down on Me" | Eliminated |
3 | B/H | "Amsterdam" | Eliminated |
4 | Alekss Silvers | "For the Show" | Advanced |
5 | Jar of Kings | "Wildfire" | Eliminated |
6 | Saint Levića | "Tick-Tock" | Advanced |
7 | Sasha Sil | "Love Is a Language" | Eliminated |
8 | Papīra Lidmašīnas | "Mind Breaker" | Advanced |
9 | Avéi | "Mine" | Advanced |
10 | Ecto | "Outsider" | Advanced |
11 | Dons | " Hollow" | Advanced |
12 | Katrīna Gupalo | "The Cat's Song" | Advanced |
13 | Funkinbiz | "Na chystu vodu" | Advanced |
14 | Vēstulēs | "Kur?" | Advanced |
15 | Edvards Strazdiņš | "Rock n' Roll Supernova" | Advanced |
The final took place on 10 February 2024 among the ten entries that advanced from the semi-final. The song with the highest number of votes based on the combination of votes from a jury panel and the Latvian public, " Hollow" by Dons, was declared the winner. In addition to the competing entries, the show featured guest performances by 2023 Estonian representative Alika and Lithuanian singer Gabrielius Vagelis. [15]
Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
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Votes | Points | ||||||
1 | Vēstulēs | "Kur?" | 10 | 31,477 | 10 | 20 | 2 |
2 | Avéi | "Mine" | 4 | 2,946 | 3 | 7 | 8 |
3 | Papīra Lidmašīnas | "Mind Breaker" | 1 | 2,018 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
4 | Katrīna Gupalo | "The Cat's Song" | 8 | 17,739 | 8 | 16 | 3 |
5 | Ecto | "Outsider" | 2 | 4,915 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
6 | Dons | " Hollow" | 12 | 64,845 | 12 | 24 | 1 |
7 | Saint Levića | "Tick-Tock" | 6 | 3,487 | 4 | 10 | 5 |
8 | Edvards Strazdiņš | "Rock n' Roll Supernova" | 3 | 7,830 | 6 | 9 | 6 |
9 | Funkinbiz | "Na chystu vodu" | 5 | 1,143 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
10 | Alekss Silvers | "For the Show" | 7 | 8,285 | 7 | 14 | 4 |
Show | Air date | Average viewership |
Share (%) |
Average rating (%) |
Total viewership |
Total rating (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Semi-final | 3 February 2024 | 138,541 | 27.24% | 7.9% | 263,246 | 15.02% |
Final | 10 February 2024 | 135,165 | 28.22% | 7.71% | 288,903 | 16.48% |
As part of the promotion of his participation in the contest, Dons confirmed his presence at the PrePartyES in Madrid on 30 March 2024, [19] the Barcelona Eurovision Party on 6 April 2024, [20] the London Eurovision Party on 7 April 2024, [21] the Eurovision in Concert event in Amsterdam on 13 April 2024, [22] the Nordic Eurovision Party in Stockholm on 14 April 2024 [23] and the Copenhagen Eurovision Party (Malmöhagen) on 4 May 2024, [24] as well as performing at the Swedish embassy in Riga in April 2024. [25] The singer received a budget of €5,000 from the Latvian Music Producers Association (LaIPA) for promotional activities. [26]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the " Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final will progress to the final. On 30 January 2024, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country will perform in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. [27] Latvia was scheduled for the second half of the second semi-final. [28] The shows' producers then decided the running order for the semi-finals; Latvia was set to perform in position 9, following the entry from Armenia and before the entry from San Marino. [29]
In Latvia, the semi-finals of the contest will be broadcast on LTV1, as well as on LTV's streaming platform REplay.lv. [30] [31]
Dons is taking part in technical rehearsals on 30 April and 2 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 8 and 9 May. [32] As part of his preparation, he is followed by Spanish vocal coach Natalia Calderón. [33] His performance of "Hollow" at the contest features a ring-shaped prop at the centre of the stage. [34]