The group will perform in the first semi-final on May 9, where Norway, Malta, Serbia, Portugal, Ireland, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Moldova, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Netherlands and Finland will also participate.
The second semi-final of Eurovision will be held on May 11, and the final on May 13, but first the group must achieve the difficult task of attracting sufficient support to make it to the final. Sudden Lights consists of Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis (vocals), Kārlis Matīss Zitmanis (guitar), Mārtiņš Matīss Zemītis (percussion instruments) and Kārlis Vārtiņš (bass guitar).
The group Sudden Lights with the song "Aijā" won Latvian Television's song contest "Supernova 2023" on February 11, getting the opportunity to represent Latvia in the 67th international Eurovision Song Contest.
Latvia hasn't made the final since 2016.
You can see the songs competing tonight in this piece from the LSM Latvian-language service. Regardless of their relative merits, LTV's Supernova has already issued instructions for those wishing to vote for Latvia around Europe.
Vote for #04 if you want to see @SuddenLightsLV in the Grand Final ❤#Eurovision2023 #Eurovision #suddenlights #aijā pic.twitter.com/aSOcbp8bEn
— LTV Supernova (@LTV_Supernova) May 9, 2023
The voting system used to select winners is curious and complex, and differs in the semi-finals and the final. Fans can vote by phone, by text, by the Eurovision app or online, and unlike democratic elections, each person can vote up to 20 times. However, voters will be unable to select the country in which they are located at the time of voting. In the semi-finals, the voting window lasts for 15 minutes after the final artist has finished. More details about the voting system here: https://eurovision.tv/about/voting-liverpool-2023.
You can watch all the Eurovision performances on LTV and online here on LSM, though geo-blocking will apply to those outside Latvia. Coverage starts at 22:00 Rīga time and should run for two hours.
