Procurement Monitoring Bureau cancels results of two Song and Dance Festival concert concept competitions

The Complaints Review Commission of the Procurement Monitoring Bureau (IUB) has partially upheld two complaints concerning the concept competitions for concerts at the XXVIII Latvian Song and XVI Dance Festival, organized by the Latvian National Centre for Culture (LNKC). As a result, the commission canceled the outcomes of both competitions.

The complaints were filed by SIA "Dziesma dejo" regarding the competition for the large-scale stage dance performance, which was won by SIA "Magic Nebula" with 196 points, while "Dziesma dejo" came second with 175 points, and by SIA "AI Music solutions" regarding the competition for the wind orchestra concert, won by the submission "AIE 38", with "AI Music solutions" finishing second.

Both complainants questioned the objectivity of the jury members, citing potential conflicts of interest and personal ties to the authors of the winning projects. The IUB commission rejected these objections, noting that projects were evaluated anonymously and the authors were only revealed after the final decision. However, the commission found merit in the claim that the scores were not properly justified – the individual evaluation sheets only listed points without explanation, making it impossible to verify compliance with the criteria.

The IUB commission prohibited LNKC from initiating negotiation procedures and signing contracts with the winners. LNKC must ensure that jury members provide justification for each score within 30 working days and then make a new decision. The IUB decision can be appealed to the Administrative District Court within one month.