Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
participated in and won the
Eurovision Song Contest 2002
The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Everybody" by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Organised by the Euro ...
with the song "
I Wanna" written by
Marija Naumova
Marija Naumova-Bullīta (born and professionally knows as Marija Naumova 23 June 1973) is a Latvian singer of Russian descent. Under the stage name Marie N, she sings a broad range of music ranging from pop to musical theatre and jazz, and has ...
and Marats Samauskis. The song was performed by Marie N, which is the artistic name of singer Marija Naumova. The Latvian broadcaster
Latvijas Televīzija
Latvijas Televīzija (''Latvian Television'', LTV) is the state-owned public service television broadcaster in Latvia. LTV operates two channels, LTV1 in Latvian and LTV7 (previously called LTV2) in Latvian with selected programming in Russian ...
(LTV) organised the national final ''Eirodziesma 2002'' in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2002 contest in
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
, Estonia. Fifteen songs were selected to compete in the national final on 28 February 2004 where a public televote exclusively selected "I Wonna" performed by Marija Naumova as the winner. The song was later retitled as "I Wanna" for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Latvia competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 25 May 2002. Performing during the show in position 23, Latvia placed first out of the 24 participating countries, winning the contest with 176 points. This was Latvia's first win in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Background
Prior to the 2002 contest, Latvia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest two times since its first entry in 2000 with the song "My Star" performed by
Brainstorm which placed 3rd.
In the
2001 contest, Latvia placed 18th with the song "Too Much" performed by
Arnis Mednis
Arnis Mednis (born 18 October 1961) is a Latvian singer. He represented Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001
The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, ...
. The Latvian national broadcaster,
Latvijas Televīzija
Latvijas Televīzija (''Latvian Television'', LTV) is the state-owned public service television broadcaster in Latvia. LTV operates two channels, LTV1 in Latvian and LTV7 (previously called LTV2) in Latvian with selected programming in Russian ...
(LTV), broadcasts the event within Latvia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Since their debut in 2000, LTV had organised the selection show ''
Eirodziesma
Latvia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since making its debut at the contest in 2000, where the group Brainstorm finished third with the song " My Star". Latvia won the contest in 2002, with Marie N and the song " I W ...
'', a selection procedure that was continued in order to select the Latvian entry for the 2002 contest.
Before Eurovision
Eirodziesma 2002
''Eirodziesma 2002'' was the third edition of
Eirodziesma
Latvia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since making its debut at the contest in 2000, where the group Brainstorm finished third with the song " My Star". Latvia won the contest in 2002, with Marie N and the song " I W ...
, the music competition that selects Latvia's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition took place at the Olympic Center in
Ventspils
Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...
on 2 March 2002, hosted by Ija Circene and Ēriks Niedra and broadcast on
LTV1.
Competing entries
Artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 15 October 2001 and 30 November 2001. A record 68 entries were submitted at the conclusion of the submission period. A jury panel appointed by LTV evaluated the submitted songs and selected fifteen entries for the competition. The jury panel consisted of Munro Forbes (British television director and music manager), Kato Hansen (representative of
OGAE Norway
The (OGAE) () is a non-governmental and non-profit international organisation, consisting of 42 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs from across Europe and beyond. It was founded in 1984 in Savonlinna, Finland by Jaripekka Koikkalainen.
Four non- ...
),
Dave Benton
Dave Benton (born 31 January 1951, birth name Efrén Eugene Benita) is a pop musician from Aruba who lives in Estonia. He is one of the winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. At the age of 50 years and 101 days at the time of his victory, ...
(Estonian
Eurovision Song Contest 2001
The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Fly on the Wings of Love" by Olsen Brothers. Organised by the E ...
winner), Gediminas Žujus (Lithuanian producer and composer), Antero Päiväläinen (Finnish producer and representative of Taurus Music), Ólöf Jónsdóttir (Eurovision expert at the Iceland Music Information Centre), Sinia Koussolla (Greek music expert),
Jørgen Olsen
Olsen Brothers ( da, Brødrene Olsen) are a Danish rock/pop music duo, formed by brothers Jørgen (born 15 March 1950) and Niels "Noller" Olsen (born 13 April 1954), both from Odense, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. They formed their f ...
(Danish
Eurovision Song Contest 2000
The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson. Organised by the Europea ...
winner) and
Brainstorm (
2000 Latvian Eurovision entrant). The fifteen competing artists and songs were announced during a press conference on 14 December 2001.
Final
The final took place on 2 March 2002. Fifteen acts competed and the song with the highest number of votes from the public, "
I Wonna" performed by
Marija Naumova
Marija Naumova-Bullīta (born and professionally knows as Marija Naumova 23 June 1973) is a Latvian singer of Russian descent. Under the stage name Marie N, she sings a broad range of music ranging from pop to musical theatre and jazz, and has ...
, was declared the winner. A preliminary vote by a jury panel and the Latvian public prior to the final also selected Marija Naumova as the winner.
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the bottom six countries in the
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
contest competed in the final. On 9 November 2001, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Latvia was set to perform in position 23, following the entry from the
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
and before the entry from
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
.
The Latvian performance was largely credited for its stage presentation and choreography between Marie N and her backing performers, and the nation won the contest placing first with a score of 176 points.
This was Latvia's first victory in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The show was broadcast in Latvia on
LTV1 featuring commentary by Kārlis Streips. The Latvian spokesperson, who announced the Latvian votes during the final, was Ēriks Niedra.
Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Latvia and awarded by Latvia in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Estonia in the contest.
[ESC History - Latvia 2002](_blank)
/ref>
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2002
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002
Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...