Latvia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "Too Much", written by Arnis Mednis and Gustavs Terzens, and performed by Arnis Mednis himself. The Latvian participating broadcaster, (LTV), organised the national final 2001 in order to select its entry for the contest. Ten songs were selected to compete in the national final on 24 February 2001 where a public televote and four thematical jury groups selected "Too Much" performed by Arnis Mednis as the winner.

Latvia competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2001. Performing during the show in position 9, Latvia placed eighteenth out of the 23 participating countries, scoring 16 points.

Background

Prior to the 2001 contest, (LTV) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Latvia once, with the song "My Star" performed by Brainstorm which placed 3rd. As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, LTV organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster has selected its entry in 2000 through the national selection show , a selection procedure that was continued in order to select its entry for the 2001 contest.

Before Eurovision 2001

2001 was the second edition of , the music competition organised by LTV to selects its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. 45 entries were submitted for the competition following the submission deadline on 11 December 2000 and a jury panel appointed by LTV selected ten entries. The ten competing artists and songs were announced during an introductory show that was broadcast on 27 January 2001.

LTV held the national final at its television studios in Zaķusala, Riga on 24 February 2001, hosted by Horens Stalbe and Dita Torstere and broadcast on LTV1 as well as online via the broadcaster's Eurovision Song Contest website eirovizija.tv.lv. The song with the highest number of votes based on the combination of votes from four thematical jury groups (4/5) and the Latvian public (1/5), "Too Much" performed by Arnis Mednis, was declared the winner.

+ Artist Song Songwriter(s) Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points 1 Linda Leen and Lauris Reiniks "I Wish I Knew" Lauris Reiniks3212,4638 40 2 2 Tumsa "It's Not the End" Mārtiņš Freimanis328,5204 36 4 3 Madara Celma and Kristaps Krievkalns "Staying Alive" Kristaps Krievkalns, Madara Celma91,8971 10 9 4 Yana Kay "Falling Into You" Yana Kay1812,3907 25 7 5 Labvēlīgais tips "Koka klucis Konstantīns" Labvēlīgais tips, Andris Freidenfelds2710,8996 33 6 6 Marija Naumova "Hey, Boy, Follow Me" Marija Naumova2635,30512 38 3 7 Credo "Cita tautasdziesma" Armands Alksnis75,5693 10 9 8 Gunārs Kalniņš "Diamonds and Pearls" Gunārs Kalniņš, Guntars Račs183,7552 20 8 9 Shake and Bake "Spirit of Love" Shake and Bake, Jānis Stībelis319,0055 36 4 10 Arnis Mednis "Too Much" Arnis Mednis, Gustavs Terzens3216,99410 42 1 + Detailed Jury Votes Song scope="col" scope="col" scope="col" scope="col" Total 1 "I Wish I Knew" 8 7 10 7 32 2 "It's Not the End" 5 12 5 10 32 3 "Staying Alive" 1 2 4 2 9 4 "Falling Into You" 2 5 6 5 18 5 "Koka klucis Konstantīns" 6 6 7 8 27 6 "Hey, Boy, Follow Me" 3 8 3 12 26 7 "Cita tautasdziesma" 4 1 1 1 7 8 "Diamonds and Pearls" 7 3 2 6 18 9 "Spirit of Love" 12 4 12 3 31 10 "Too Much" 10 10 8 4 32 + Jury Members MusiciansJānis Lūsēns – composer Raimonds Macats – musician Aigars Krēsla – musician Music industry personnelJānis Šipkēvics – program director of Radio SWH Ojārs Grasmanis – head of Pasadena Group Promotion Helvijs Stengrēvics – businessman and musician Cultural workersRolands Tjarve – General Director of LTV Dzintris Kolāts – General Director of Latvijas Radio Vija Virtmane – Director of the Cultural Policy Department of the Latvian Ministry of Culture International membersLars Salls (Denmark) – commercial attaché at the Embassy of Denmark in Latvia Edward van de Vendel (Netherlands) – poet and lyricist Mi Saraskoski (Finland) – producer and music manager

Promotion To promote "Too Much" as the Latvian Eurovision entry, Arnis Mednis performed during the on 9 March 2001.

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 took place at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 12 May 2001. The relegation rules introduced for the 1997 contest were again utilised ahead of the 2001 contest, based on each country's average points total in previous contests. The 23 participants were made up of the host country, the "Big Four" countries (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), and the 12 countries with the highest average scores between the 1996 and 2000 contests competed in the final. On 21 November 2000, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Latvia was set to perform in position 9, following the entry from and before the entry from . Latvia finished in eighteenth place scoring 16 points.

The contest was broadcast in Latvia on LTV, with commentary by .

Voting Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Latvia and awarded by Latvia in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to in the contest.

LTV appointed Renārs Kaupers as its spokesperson to announce the results of the Latvian televote during the final.

+ Points awarded to Latvia Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

+ Points awarded by Latvia Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

References