A magical rendezvous: Riga hosted first Eurovision party of the season
27 March 2017 at 19:00 CESTThe Riga gathering is one of the youngest pre-party events in the Eurovision fan community, with the first edition taking place in 2014. This year saw the 2017 acts from Norway, Poland, Czech Republic and Belarus gathering in the Latvian capital Riga, where they were joined by Triana Park, Latvia's entry for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.
Roberto Meloni, who represented Latvia in the contest in both 2007 and 2008, hosted the event, which comprised of a walking tour of Riga, a press meet and greet as well as the live concert itself. Justs, Latvia's representative in 2016 opened the show and Ruslana, Ukraine's first ever Eurovision winner, also performed during the evening.
Over the coming weeks dozens of acts will not only perfect their respective routines for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, they will also attend several more pre-parties and concerts in London, Amsterdam, Madrid, Tel Aviv and Moscow. When it comes to Kyiv though, what will be performers be packing in their suitcases? Martina from the Czech Republic will be taking her precious stones with her whilst Triana Park from Latvia will be packing lots of shoes! Find out what the others will be taking to Ukraine in our latest video below.
And in case you're wondering about the title of this story; 'A magical rendezvous' was the slogan of the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest, hosted in — of course — Riga.