Due to financial instabilities in Latvia and LTV, it could have resulted in a withdrawal of the country. However after securing sponsorships and a co-operation agreement with the VentspilsCity Council a Latvian participation in the contest was secured. The Latvian entry was decided through Eirodziesma 2010, which was in February 2010.
Eirodziesma 2010
Eirodziesma 2010 was the eleventh edition of Eirodziesma, the music competition that selects Latvia's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition consisted of a final on 27 February 2010.
Format
Due to budget concerns, the format of the competition consisted of only one final show which took place at the Jūras vārti Theatre in Ventspils and were hosted by Uģis Joksts and Kristīne Virsnīte. Results were determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and votes from the public 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 15 January 2010. Unlike in previous years, all artists and songwriters were required to be Latvian. 79 songs were submitted at the conclusion of the submission period, and a jury panel evaluated the submitted entries and selected 10 entries to compete in the national final. The ten competing artists and songs were announced on 22 January 2010. The running order draw took place on 3 February 2010 during the TV showSems.
Final
The final took place on 27 February 2010. The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a 50/50 combination of votes from a jury of music professionals and the Latvian public determined the top three entries to proceed to the superfinal: "What For?" performed by Aisha, "My Religion is Freedom" performed by Dons and "Because I Love You" performed by Ivo Grīsniņš Grīslis. In the superfinal, the winner was selected by the public and jury vote. As there was a tie for the first place, where Dons won the jury vote while Aisha won the public vote, the results of the public vote took precedence and led to the victory of "What For?" performed by Aisha. The jury that voted in the both rounds of the final consisted of Uldis Marhilēvičs, Daiga Mazvērsīte, Niks Matvejevs, Atis Volfs and Intars Busulis. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, guest performers included 2010 Swiss Eurovision entrantMichael von der Heide performing his entry "Il pleut de l'or" and 2010 Polish Eurovision entrantMarcin Mroziński who gave a video greeting.
At Eurovision
Latvia competed in the first semi-final of the contest, on 25 May. However it was eliminated at the semi final stage, ending up last with 11 points.
Split results
In the Semi-final 1 Latvia came 17th with 11 points: the public awarded Latvia 17th place with 12 points and the jury awarded 17th place with 15 points.
