Latvian Lights: Looking back at Latvia's five highest Eurovision placings

Today November 18 marks Independence Day in Latvia, which serves as the Baltic country's national day.

Like its name suggests on this day in 1918 Latvia proclaimed its independence in the aftermath of World War 1.

To celebrate this date we at Aussievision have decided to revisit Latvia's five highest placings at Eurovision.

Latvia was the last Baltic country to make its debut at Eurovision, joining the contest in 2000.

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 this year. The latter even finished second in semi-final 2 - Latvia's best result in a Eurovision semi-final.

Dons and Tautumeitas narrowly miss out on Latvia's top five Eurovision placings, finishing 16th and 13th in the Grand Final respectively.

So let's see who makes the list!

5. 2008: Pirates of the Sea - Wolves of the Sea - 12th place

This entry, which inspired countless Eurovision Halloween costumes, narrowly scraps into the top five Latvian Eurovision placings like the tip of a pirate's hook.

Despite representing Latvia this entry was truly an international effort - with Swedish songwriters and one of the band members hailing from Italy.

The entry was perhaps a nod to the medieval people who inhabited Latvia, the Curonians who were famous for being sailors and pirates.

When it comes to Eurovision song themes, pirates and wolves of the sea are perhaps one of the most unique. So thank you Pirates of the Sea for this iconic entry!

4. 2015: Aminata - Love Injected - 6th place

When Aminata stepped up to represent Latvia at Eurovision 2015, her country was in dire straits in the contest.

Latvia had not qualified since the aforementioned Pirates of the Sea in 2008, making it a six contest non-qualification streak.

However Aminata injected life back into Latvia's Eurovision fortunes, delivering a stunning, avant-garde performance with soaring vocals that raised Latvia into sixth place in the Grand Final.

Even more impressively it was revealed post-contest that Latvia would have finished second if the results were decided 100% by jury.

Aminata returned to Eurovision the following year as a songwriter for Justs's entry Heartbeat which 15th.

Incredibly Love Injected and Heartbeat were the only two Latvian entries to qualify for the Eurovision Grand Final between 2009 and 2023. So Aminata arguably single-handed saved Latvia's Eurovision fortunes during this period.

In 2016 Aminata also competed on Russia's version of The Voice. There she joined Polina Gagarina's team, who had represented Russia in the same year Aminata had competed at Eurovision.

3. 2005: Walters and Kazha - The War Is Not Over - 5th place

This Latvian peace offering sung by two teenage boys out-performed expectations in the contest in Kyiv, leading the scoreboard for large portions of the Grand Final voting, before eventually finishing fifth.

Walters and Kazha likely benefitted from a strong running order in the Grand Final - performing in the penultimate position.

This theory holds even stronger when it was revealed Latvia barely scrapped into the Grand Final, finishing tenth in the semi-final. Only four points separated Latvia from 11th placed Poland.

Latvia's Grand Final result is even more remarkable given Walters lost his voice at the semi-final afterparty, and did not sing the entire song at the following day's dress rehearsal. In the Grand Final Walters was still afflicted by vocal issues and sang the song an octave lower than in the semi-final.

The duo maintained their Eurovision connection, commentating for Latvia at Eurovision 2011. Walters delivered the results of Latvia's voting at the Eurovision 2012 Grand Final.

Sadly Walters passed away in 2018 from brain cancer aged 30.

2. 2000: Brainstorm - My Star - 3rd place

After several false starts, including attempted debuts in 1993 and 1999, Latvia finally found its way to the Eurovision stage in 2000.

Representing Latvia as its debut entry was the pop-rock band Brainstorm, led by front man Renārs Kaupers.

Brainstorm delivered a quirky and captivating performance of My Star on the night in Stockholm. However they were not expected to trouble the scoreboard. The bookies had placed fellow Baltic country Estonia, represented by Ines with Once in a Lifetime, as the favourite to win.

As the votes came in Latvia performed consistently, eventually finishing third behind winners Denmark and runners-up Russia. They even soundly beat their highly fancied neighbours Estonia into fourth place.

What makes this result more remarkable is that it is the third most successful Eurovision debut by a country. Only Serbia who won in 2007 and Poland, who finished runners-up in 1994, did better with their first Eurovision entries.

Renārs solidified his Eurovision connections by hosting Eurovision in 2003 and also the Eurovision 50th anniversary concert in Copenhagen in 2005 with Katrina from Katrina and the Waves.

1. 2002: Marie N - I Wanna - Winner!

You get the trend - another unexpected Latvian result. In 2002 Latvia was again nowhere with the bookmakers who favoured Germany, Sweden or Spain for a win.

But like with Walters and Kazha in 2005, Marie N also performed in the highly advantageous penultimate position in 2002.

Her Latin-inspired song I Wanna reflected early 2000s popular music trends well.

However there is no doubt that the stunning and seamless costume changes delivered Marie N the victory, with the Latvian songstress starting in a white suit and hat and finishing with a floor length pink gown.

In an interview reflecting on her Eurovision experience, Marie N said going in she would have been happy with a top ten finish.

However the voting soon turned into a two horse race between Latvia and Malta, who were represented by Ira Losco with 7th Wonder.

The Baltic country pulled away at the end of the voting though, securing a narrow 12 point win over their Mediterranean rivals.

Latvia's win is even more remarkable given the country almost failed to qualify for Eurovision 2002.

After a poor result of 18th in 2001, Latvia was initially relegated from the 2002 contest. However when Portugal, who finished 17th in 2001, withdrew this allowed Latvia to compete. Don't tell the Maltese about this!

Latvia also had one of the quickest waits for their first Eurovision victories, winning only two years after their debut. Only Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Serbia have had a shorter wait.

Despite its Eurovision success, I Wanna was a commercial failure. It did not crack the top 30 on any country's music charts, including in its native Latvia.

Marie N hosted Eurovision in 2003 in Riga, however has since distanced herself from the contest. She admitted in an interview a few years ago she no longer follows the contest, and that the music is very different to her normal classical repertoire.

However I Wanna commend Marie N for delivering in my opinion one of the most sophisticated performances of early 2000s Eurovision, and an incredible victory for her homeland.

I Wanna also wish all our Latvian readers and followers a happy Independence Day.

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