Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002

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Eurovision Song Contest 2002
Country  Latvia
National selection
Selection process Eirodziesma 2002
Selection date(s) 2 March 2002
Selected entrant Marie N
Selected song "I Wanna"
Finals performance
Final result 1st, 176 points
Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2001 2002 2003►

Latvia was represented by Marie N, with the song '"I Wanna", at the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 25 May in Tallinn, Estonia. "I Wanna" was chosen as the Latvian entry at the national final, Eirodziesma, on 2 March and went on to bring Latvia victory in only their third Eurovision participation. This was at the time the shortest time lapse between first participation and first victory of any country not present at the inaugural contest of 1956; however it was bettered in 2004 when Ukraine won the contest at their second attempt. Latvia had originally been relegated from the 2002 contest following a bad result in 2001, but were reprieved when Portugal opted out.

Final

Eirodziesma was organised by broadcaster LTV and held at the Olympic Centre in Ventspils, hosted by Ija Circene and Eriks Niedra. Fifteen songs took part with the winner chosen by televoting. All songs were presented in English. The winning song was billed on the night as "I Wonna", but was changed to the more aesthetic "I Wanna" before going to Tallinn.[1]

Eirodziesma - 2 March 2002
Draw Artist Song Votes Place
1 Marina Voitjuka "Wait (for Love)" 744 14
2 Diana & Olga Pirags "My Town" 1661 9
3 Lauris Reiniks "My Memory Tape" 3215 5
4 Caffe "Amberland" 766 12
5 4.elements "Remember" 1987 8
6 Hameleoni "My Only Dream" 502 15
7 Tumsa "This Is Not Paradise" 8003 3
8 Linda Leen & Horens Stalbe "Stop the War" 18103 2
9 Sea Stones "My Love Is for You" 753 13
10 Jānis Stibelis "Let's Sing the Song" 3102 7
11 Marie N "I Wanna" 26561 1
12 Madāra Celma "A Girl from a Sunset Town" 1258 11
13 Andris Abelite "Be Alive" 4864 4
14 Džulians "A Place to Call Home" 1328 10
15 Gunars Kalninš "Tell Me Why" 3148 6

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Marie N performed 23rd in the running order, following Slovenia and preceding Lithuania. Rather than the song itself, the exceptionally slick and memorable stage presentation and choreography of Marie N and her backers, combined with the advantageous late performance draw, is largely credited for the victory.[citation needed] When voting started the contest quickly turned into a two-horse race between Latvia and Malta with voting always very tight between the two. Malta held a marginal lead over the first half before Latvia gradually edged ahead, finally claiming victory with 176 points to Malta's 164. "I Wanna" picked up maximum 12s from Estonia, Germany, Israel, Lithuania and Spain, with only Romania failing to award the song any points at all. The 12 points from the Latvian televote were awarded to Estonia.[2]

Points Awarded to Latvia

Points Awarded to Latvia[2]
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points Awarded by Latvia[2]

12 points  Estonia
10 points  Russia
8 points  Cyprus
7 points  Malta
6 points  Lithuania
5 points  United Kingdom
4 points  Sweden
3 points  Israel
2 points  France
1 point   Switzerland

See also

References