The key facts

  • Latvia banned entry for Haddaway, Dr. Alban and LayZee — they dropped out of the '90's Disco Show' on November 20 in Riga
  • They were added to the persona non grata list in May 2026
  • Xiaomi Arēna claims it did not know about the artists' performances in Russia when signing the contract

Artists stripped of a concert in Riga

Singers Haddaway, Dr. Alban and LayZee, frontman of the German pop trio Mr. President, will not perform at the '90's Disco Show' in Latvia, as they are banned from entering the country. This was reported by Delfi, which Gazeta.Ru cites. The musicians were originally supposed to headline the event scheduled for November 20 at Xiaomi Arēna in Riga.

The reason — performances in Russia

The artists were added to the persona non grata list back in May of this year. Press secretary of the Latvian Foreign Ministry Liga Ermatsane explained that in the current geopolitical conditions the country does not allow entry and performances by artists who directly or indirectly support the Russian authorities. It later emerged that the musicians continue to cooperate with the Russian concert market and have performed in Russia.

Reaction of the venue and the Foreign Ministry

Xiaomi Arēna stated that at the time of signing the contract it was unaware of the artists' ties to Russia. The Latvian Foreign Ministry urged event organizers to check information about foreign artists in advance and take risks into account when signing contracts.

Context about Dr. Alban

In 2020, the Swedish musician Dr. Alban said on Instagram (owned by Meta, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky helped him circumvent the ban on visiting the country. The artist came to Ukraine to take part in the New Year episode of the show 'Vecherniy Kvartal'. Earlier, he was placed on Ukraine's persona non grata list due to performances in Crimea.