Eurovision is coming! LTV is expecting special “VIP” and “Smart, even smarter” games, informative discussion and live broadcasts from Sweden / Article

A week before the biggest music competition in Europe – on May 2 at 21.10 on LTV1 and REplay.lv – we invite you to linger on the memories of last year’s performance of Latvian representatives – the group “Sudden Lights” by enjoying the concert film “Sudden Lights” in the Green Theater of Mežapark (2023, directors Uģis Olte, Kārlis Zemītis, Aleksandrs Okonov). “After the vivid experience at the Eurovision Song Contest, we had received extremely strong emotions. After the huge support of the public and countless good words we received, we decided to prepare something special and unprecedented for our listeners,” says “Sudden Lights”. The concert film includes 14 songs from the band’s three albums, in parallel with them, the band members reveal themselves in very personal, documentary etudes, in which the border between the real and the fictional disappears, thus giving an opportunity to look into the souls of the musicians.

We will start the wonderful Eurovision week on Monday, May 6, when at 8:35 p.m. the captains – Don and DJ Rudd (real name Rudolfs Budze) and their teams will meet in the erudition game “VIP – Success. Intuition. Together with Don, Edgars Bāliņš, a member of the musical association “Singapūras satīns”, creator of the broadcast “Bize vaļa” and communication manager of the Latvian Eurovision delegation, as well as Undīne Ozoliņa, who helps Don create social media content and is a fan of Eurovision, will play together. On the other hand, music producer and DJ DJ Rudd has invited Latvian musician and songwriter Chris Noah, as well as representative of “Universal Music” Latvian publishing house Elizabeti Šuksti, who is also known as DJ Gimmetacos, to his team.

Eurovision this year will be held in Malmö, Sweden, where they are particularly proud of the victory of the group “ABBA” in the 1974 competition – 50 years have passed since the triumph of the song “Waterloo”! On May 6 at 22:05 LTV1 and REplay.lv will be able to watch the concert film “ABBA” (1977, directed by Lase Hallstrēms). Australian radio DJ Ashley Wallace chases down the band for an exclusive interview with ABBA during their famous 1977 Australian tour. He has a week, but at every step he has to face different obstacles. The film depicts the ABBA phenomenon during the band’s Australian tour and is one of the rare opportunities to experience the band live on stage. Starring: Robert Hugh, Anni Frida Lingstad, Benny Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus, Agneta Feltskuga, Tom Oliver, etc.

The first night of the Eurovision Song Contest is expected on Tuesday, May 7. At 20.00, the game “Eurovision Knockout” will be premiered on the LTV youth platform 16+ (Youtube: LTV16plus). A knockout is a condition in a boxing match when a boxer, knocked down, cannot get up within ten seconds to continue the fight. In this erudition competition, two show business sharks will meet – Edgars Bāliņš and Rihards Gromuls. Barbara Dzelme will keep her finger on the pulse and comment on the game. Who will prove to be the strongest Eurovision mind and will there be a knockout? To make things not so easy, another guest will join the game in the final round, who will challenge the participants.

Live broadcast of the first semi-final of Eurovision – at 22.00 on LTV1, on the LSM.lv and REplay.lv portals.

Singer Lorin (Lorraine), by winning the contest, ensured that Eurovision returned to Sweden for the seventh time and that the town of Malmo on the shore of the Öresund strait would host it for the third time. The representatives of Cyprus, Serbia, Lithuania, Ireland, Ukraine, Poland, Croatia, Iceland, Slovenia, Finland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Australia, Portugal and Luxembourg will perform in the first semi-final. Luxembourg will return to Eurovision after a 31-year hiatus.

As a warm-up for the second semi-final, in which Latvia’s representative Dons will take the ninth place on the Eurovision stage, on May 9 at 9:10 p.m. in the special edition of the Eurovision program “Smarter, Smarter”, people who know a lot about Eurovision, because they have been involved with it, will stand at the participants’ desks: Arvīds Babris – LTV director, Kashers or Kaspars Blums-Blūmanis – costume designer, as well as musicians: Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis from the band “Sudden Lights”, Marija Naumova, Aminata Savadogo, Justs Sirmais, Līga Robežniece, Agnese Rakovska, Roberto Meloni, Katrīna Dimantas , Markus Riva, Dagnis Roziņš from the group “Citi zēni” and Lauris Reiniks.

Immediately after the match – at 22.00 – the second semi-final of Eurovision, in which representatives of Latvia, as well as Malta, Albania, Greece, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark, Armenia, San Marino, Georgia, Belgium, Estonia, Israel, Norway and the Netherlands will participate.

The last few months have been successful for Don – in February of this year, he won laurels in “Supernova”, in January he received the title of the most valuable song of the year in “Music Bank” and in December 2023 he was the best “Smarter, even smarter” in the Star Game. We invite you to keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck so that Don’s success is joined by qualifying for the Eurovision final!

Spectators are invited to prepare for active sympathy and voting! This year, for the first time in Latvia, you will be able to vote for the participants of the second semi-final and for the finalists not only by calling and sending text messages, but also in the Eurovision Song Contest app (Eurovision Song Contest app) and at www.esc.vote.

Voting in the semi-finals will start after the last song, while in the grand final – just before the first song. As usual, you will not be able to vote for Latvia’s performance in Latvia.

On the evening of the Eurovision final, May 11, at 9:10 p.m., Jānis Pētersons from the group “Citi zēni”, as well as musician Kaspars Ansons and members of the group “Vēstulēs”, will invite you to the screens for a fun, yet informative discussion “Iešūpo Eurovision!” discuss how Don is doing in the competition this year and what to expect in the finals. There will also be an opportunity to look behind the scenes of the competition and listen to the representatives of the Latvian delegation.

On the other hand, at 22.00 it will finally be time to sympathize with the events of the Eurovision Song Contest final! The official Eurovision slogan “United in Music” reflects the power of music to bring together people from all over the world. Diversity will be one of the main features of this year’s competition, celebrating diversity not only in music, but also in emotion! It is already known that musicians from the Big Six countries will participate in the final: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Sweden.

Toms Grēviņš will commentate on the live Eurovision semi-finals and finals, Lauris Reiniks will join him in the finals this year as well.

On February 10, Don became the winner of the LTV song contest “Supernova” live with the song “Hollow”, getting the opportunity to represent Latvia at the 68th international Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden.

The first semi-final of Eurovision on LTV1, on the LSM.lv and REplay.lv portals on May 7 at 10 p.m., the second semi-final on May 9 at 10 p.m., the final on May 11 at 10 p.m.