Alternative Eurovision Song Contest 23

## Participation map

The **Alternative** **Eurovision Song Contest 23** is set to be the 23rd edition of the Alternative Eurovision Song Contest. The contest will be held in  **Riga, Latvia**, following the country's victory at edition 22 with the song "Ļoti Dikti" by Stiga and Rūta Ķergalve. It will be the first time that the Latvia hosts the contest, and the first time when baltic country hosts the show. Three events will be hosted by Jana Duļevska, Markus Riva and Intars Busulis.

Fifty three countries confirmed their participation in the contest.  Monaco,  Morocco and  San Marino are coming back to competition after one edition break.  Switzerland and  Italy decided to leave the contest, while  Uruguay is making its debiut as guest country.

## Location - Riga, Latvia

**Latvia**, officially known as the **Republic of Latvia**, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the Baltic states; and is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi), with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the Balts; and speak Latvian, one of the only two surviving Baltic languages. Russians are a prominent minority in the country, at some 24% of the population.

Latvia is a developed country, with a high-income advanced economy; ranking very high in the Human Development Index. It performs favorably in measurements of civil liberties, press freedom, internet freedom, democratic governance, living standards, and peacefulness. Latvia is a member of the European Union, Eurozone, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO.

**Riga** is the capital of Latvia and is home to 627,487 inhabitants (2020), which is a third of Latvia's population. Being significantly larger than other cities of Latvia, Riga is the country's primate city. It is also the largest city in the three Baltic states and is home to one tenth of the three Baltic states' combined population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3 ft 3 in–32 ft 10 in) above sea level, on a flat and sandy plain.

### **Bidding phase**

**Arena Riga** is an indoor arena in Riga, Latvia. It is primarily used for ice hockey, basketball and concerts. Arena Riga holds a maximum of 18,500 and was opened on 15 February 2006. It was built to be used as one of the venues for the 2006 IIHF World Championship, the other being Skonto Arena. The arena was designed by the Canadian company SCI Architects and Latvian firms SIA Merks and SIA Nams.

 Riga | Skonto Hall
 Ventspils | Ventspils Olympic Center Basketball Hall
 Jelgava | Zemgale Olympic Center sports hall
 Liepāja | Liepāja Olympic Center Arena

## Format

### Design

In Ļoti Dikti, our most recent winning song, Stiga and Rūta Ķergalve are telling the story of one that is dedicated to get to the one they're searching for. So dedicated in the search for helping hand, that they are willing to go even through heavy and dark road.

> Bet es, Ļoti dikti, Stipri dikti, Kvēli dikti, Tevi gribu
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With the mysterious and adventurous feelings in mind, it was clear that the Latvian forests (that cover over 42% of Latvia's total land area) will have to set a tone in this edition. Thus, we encourage all those who come to experience of the Alternative Eurovision Song Contest - HoDs, artists, songwriters and viewers - to "find their way out of the forest" metaphorically, but also Follow Your Way in the contest, in your artistic journey, and life as a whole. To help with that, the centerpiece of this edition is a crystal ball, that will shine and show the way to all those who wish for it.

### Presenters

On 4 March 2021, LSM.LV announced that two presenters and one co-presenter would host the three shows: **Jana Duļevska** (Latvian actress and television presenter), **Miķelis Ļaksa (**also known as Markus Riva, Latvian singer and producer) and **Intars Busulis** (Latvian singer, trombonist and musician in a Musical Union *Intars Busulis & Abonementa orķestris).*

## National Finals

13 countries decided to organize song selections to choose their representative. Each of them had a different system and a different number of songs. To check out all 13 national finals, go here:

> *Nationals Finals for AESC 23*
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## Other Countries

> *Other Stuff: List of all Countries in Alternative Eurovision Song Contest*
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### Active ABU Members

* Switzerland - SRG SSR announced that the country of Switzerland will be absent in the edition 23. Lack of interest by the show in Switzerland for the past 2 editions resulted a temporary withdrawal. A permanent withdrawal is likely, but it will be decided later. The country may come back with a new head of delegation.

* Italy - Due to sudden and unexpected resignation of current Head of Delegation, RAI decided to leave the competition due to technical and organizational problems with television. The return of the country is possible in the next season, but under the new head of delegation.