Aija Medinika will be leaving the esctoday.com team this week after four years dedication as our editor for Latvia. She has been asked to become the Head of Press for this year's Latvian participants at the Eurovision Song Contest, bonaparti.lv and will be taking up the role. Whilst in her new position, she will be taking a break from the esctoday.com team, but we hope that she will return some time in the future when her new post is completed.

Aija has worked hard for our website since joining before the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest in Riga. She was a key person in the organisation of our 2003 coverage live from Riga and has remained dedicated to bringing our readers as much coverage as possible from Latvia, despite moving to Sweden for her most recent full time job.

esctoday.com is a neutral website, and as such we would not sit comfortably with one of our editors actively working for the promotion of a single participant. Our site is managed and maintained by Eurovision Song Contest fans, and when one of them is recognised for their work and given the chance to find paid employment through their perseverance, it is both an honour and a privilege to congratulate them and wish them well.

Aija will therefore be leaving the esctoday.com team for the duration of her position, but remains a good friend and one of the esctoday.com family. We wish Aija all the best and look forward to seeing her in Helsinki, albeit on the other side of the fence this year.