Eurovision 2026: Meet Latvia's Atvara and her song Ēnā

We profile the 2026 entry from Latvia including details on the artist, song, how it was chosen, odds, fan reaction and how the nation has fared at Eurovision.

Latvia was the last Baltic country to make its debut at Eurovision, joining the contest in 2000. It was not long before Latvia claimed its first and only Eurovision Song Contest victory in 2002, when Marie N won with

I Wanna. The performance stood out for its clever on-stage costume reveal, helping secure a surprise win for the country.

However, in the 2010s Latvia performed rather disastrously at the competition - qualifying only twice in that decade in 2015 and 2016.

The 2020s continued to be poor for the Baltic country, with their non-qualification streak extending to six contests by 2023.

However, Latvia has since turned it around with two consecutive qualifications by Dons with Hollow in 2024 and Tautumeitas with Bur man laimi in 2025. The latter even finished second in semi-final 2 - Latvia's best result in a Eurovision semi-final.

Atvara will be keen to continue Latvia's good form in Vienna!

2026 entry: Atvara - Ēnā

• Latvia is performing 9th in semi-final 2

• My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 29th

• Odds to win ranking: 21st

(Rankings as of 26 April 2026)

About the artist

Liene Stūrmane, or Liene Atvara, known professionally as Atvara, is a Latvian singer-songwriter renowned for her powerful voice, cinematic sound, and emotionally raw storytelling.

Hailing from Liepāja, Atvara showed a strong inclination towards singing from a very young age, which is why her mother decided to enrol her in a music school.

"At the age of five, I already told my mother that I would be a singer. The other option was to sell meat, which also requires a good voice, but it's good that we went in this direction."

Blending elements of pop and ballads, Atvara's music explores themes of inner strength, vulnerability and personal transformation. The Latvian singer rose to fame on TikTok with her first single Pie Manis Tveries (Stay with me), which received critical acclaim and was featured on the popular TV series Nelūgtie Viesi (Uninvited Guests).

About the song

Ēnā means "in the shadow" in English. The song was written by Atvara alongside Jānis "JJ Lush" Jačmenkins, who has also co-written Latvia's 2022 Eurovision entry Eat Your Salad by Citi Zēni.

The song, a ballad with lyrics entirely in Latvian, tells the story of a father's alcoholism, from the perspective of his daughter, as well as conveying the impact his addiction has on his family.

Atvara revealed in an interview with LSM that she is the daughter of a criminal. She had seen a lot of illegal activities in her childhood and learned early on what addiction means, which inspired her to write Ēnā.

Speaking to LSM about her song Ēnā, Atvara said: "I would like to motivate people that you can 'get out' of anything. There is no situation that you cannot 'get out' of. Whether you want to or not is another matter."

She described her Eurovision 2026 entry as follows:

"The song Ēnā is dark, but it's the truth that people often don't want to talk about."

Continuing to elaborate on her song's lyrics, Atvara stated: "We don't want to say, 'Yes, we have a huge problem in this country.' In fact, this problem is not unique to this country."  

Atvara also shared that she had received messages from fans about Ēnā, saying: "A foreigner who doesn't understand a single word of Latvian translated the song. And then you realise that your little bit of truth has given someone the opportunity to feel something. That was my main goal regardless of the outcome in the competition. The most important thing for me is to inspire someone to a better life. You have to fight for yourself, no one can save you."

She continued:

"The only person who can "pull you out" is yourself. That's why I want to show you that it's possible. Nothing is impossible!"

How was Atvara chosen for Eurovision?

Latvia selected its 2026 Eurovision entry through the televised national selection show Supernova 2026.

24 semi-finalists were selected from 124 entries submitted to Latvian broadcaster LTV for the Supernova 2026 competition. The final of the competition consisted of 10 entries, with Atvara and her song Ēnā taking out both the jury vote and public vote to win Supernova 2026. She triumphed over runner-up Kautkaili and third-place getter Emilija to earn the right to represent Latvia at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.

Latvia will compete in the second semi-final of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest on 14 May 2026 in Vienna.

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