Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
On March 1, 2008, the band Pirates of the Sea was chosen to represent Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song Wolves of the Sea. It was placed 12th. It was the last time Latvia had made it to the ESC final until 7 years later, when they finally qualified for the final in 2015 with the song "Love Injected" by Aminata.
Before Eurovision
Eirodziesma 2008
Latvia once again selected their entry for the 2008 contest using the Eirodziesma 2008 format.Eirodziesma 2008 was the ninth edition of Eirodziesma, the music competition that selects Latvia's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition commenced on 2 February 2008 and concluded with a final on 24 February 2007.
Format
The format of the competition consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. The semi-finals took place at LTV studios in Riga and the final took place at the Olympic Centre in Ventspils. The three shows were hosted by Uģis Joksts and Kristīne Virsnīte. The two semi-finals, held on 2 February and 9 February 2008, each featured ten competing entries from which five were selected to advance to the final from each show. The final, held on 1 March 2008, selected the final winner from the ten qualifiers from the semi-finals.Results during the semi-final shows were determined by a jury and votes from the public. In the semi-finals, the songs first faced a public vote where the top three entries qualified. The jury then selected an additional two qualifiers from the remaining entries to proceed in the competition. In the final, a public vote exclusively determined the winner in two rounds: the first round selected the top three songs and the second round selected the winner.
Competing entries
Artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster until 20 November 2007. 88 songs were submitted at the conclusion of the submission period, and an international and local jury panel evaluated the submitted entries and selected 20 entries to compete in the national final. The international jury panel consisted of Sopho Khalvashi, 4FUN, Christer Björkman and Adam Klein. The local jury consisted of Bonaparti.lv and Kaspars Zavileiskis. The twenty competing artists and songs were announced on 11 December 2007.| Artist | Song | Composer |
| Aisha | "You Really Got Me Going" | Kjell Jennstig, Leif Goldkuhl |
| Andris Ērglis | "Broken Lullaby" | Jānis Strazds, Guntars Račs |
| Borowa MC feat. Kips | "The One" | Aigars Runčis, Ingars Gusans |
| Camillas & Vice Almana | "Mr. Weatherman" | Romans Falkenšteins, Liva Rutka |
| Dace Planare | "One Last Touch" | Mārtiņš Freimanis |
| Déjà vu | "I’m a Part of You" | Mārtiņš Freimanis |
| Elizabete Zagorska | "Take Me Home" | Elizabete Zagorska |
| Elli U & Miks feat. Pent-in Dreams | "All Come Together" | Danne Attlerud, Thomas Thörnholm |
| Funky Drivers | "Summertime" | Valters Sprūdžs |
| Iedomu Spārni | "Put Some Love in the World" | Mikael Erlandsson |
| Ivetta | "Observations" | Ingars Viļums |
| Jānis Moisejs | "Fly to the Moon" | Kjell Jennstig |
| Joran & Axlina | "More Than 27" | Jöran Steinhauer |
| Ketta | "Lovely Dexter" | Romans Falkenšteins, Inga Sergejenko |
| Kristīna Zaharova feat. Julian | "Until You Find A Friend" | Jānis Zvirgzdiņš |
| Lily | "Download Your Dreams" | Miķelis Ļaksa |
| Pīters Gārdens & Juris Vizbulis | "Memory Lane" | Knut-Øyvind Hagen, Arve Furset |
| Pirates of the Sea | "Wolves of the Sea" | Jonas Liberg, Torbjörn Wassenius, Johan Sahlen, Claes Andreasson |
| Sabīne Berezina | "If I Only Knew" | Ann-Charlott Gensler |
| Triānas Parks | "Bye Bye" | Aivars Rakovskis, Agnese Rakovska |
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 2 February 2008. Five entries qualified to the final. The ten competing entries first faced a public televote where the top three entries qualified. A jury then selected an additional two qualifiers from the remaining entries to proceed in the competition.Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 9 February 2008. Five entries qualified to the final. The ten competing entries first faced a public televote where the top three entries qualified. A jury then selected an additional two qualifiers from the remaining entries to proceed in the competition.Final
The final took place on 1 March 2008. The winner was selected over two rounds of public televoting. In the first round, the top three entries were selected to proceed to the second round: "Wolves of the Sea" performed by Pirates of the Sea, "You Really Got Me Going" performed by Aisha and "Broken Lullaby" performed by Andris Ērglis. In the second round, "Wolves of the Sea" performed by Pirates of the Sea was declared the winner.At Eurovision
Since Latvia had come in 16th in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, Pirates of the Sea were obliged to perform their song in one of the two semi-finals of the 2008 contest. The EBU split up countries with a friendly voting history into the two different semi-finals, to give a better chance to other countries to win. On 28 January 2008, the EBU held a special draw which determined that Latvia would be in the second semi-final, held on 22 May 2008. performed 10th, on 22 May 2008, following Belarus and preceding Croatia.Latvia qualified to the final, placing 6th in the semi-final and scoring 86 points.In the final they performed 14th following Portugal and preceding Sweden. They finished 12th with 83 points.
For the 2008 contest the spokesperson for Latvia was Kristīne Virsnīte.
Points Awarded by Latvia[Eurovision [Song Contest 2008]]
Semi-final 2
Final
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |