This year's event attracted even more controversy than usual after Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics on July 21 barred three renowned Russian performers from entering Latvia to participate at New Wave as a result of public statements the trio had made about the current conflict in Ukraine.
At the closing press conference of the New Wave event, impresario Igor Krutoy hinted that the storm caused by the travel ban might mean New Wave seeks a new location from next year.
"I don't want to leave this place," Krutoy said, “But I'm not all that bothered, when we've had enough of this rhetoric we will just leave and there will be no more New Wave here.”
The organizers saw no reason to “fight for the right to spend money here” Krutoy added, referencing the boost to the local economy the contest is alleged to provide.
