Preparations for Selecția Națională 2026, the Moldovan selection for Eurovision 2026, are underway.
The 16 finalists of Selecția Națională 2026 met with the contest producers yesterday in Chișinău to discuss the staging and artistic concepts for their entries. The contest producers have promised an “exceptional show”.
Roman Burlaca, director of Selecția Națională 2026, stated:
“We are preparing for a unique final with a new location that will allow us to simulate the international finals we see on television. All participants have great potential to make this a worthy event.”
The final of Selecţia Naţională 2026 will take place on January 17 at the Chișinău Arena. The jury for the national selection will consist of 20 members; 5 international members and 15 Moldovan members. The winner will be decided by the international jury members (33%), the Moldovan jury members (33%) and public voting (33%).
The finalists of Selecția Națională 2026 are:
Sasha Flowers – “Can Do More”
Evghenii Avramov & ALenin Ivan – “Foc la ghete” (Fire in the boots)
Adelisha – “Alegria” (Joy)
Artiom Topal – “Money”
Pavel Orlov – “Can’t Say Goodbye”
Ilinca Siviroveanu – “Running Through the Rain”
Bacho – “Tata” (Father)
Satoshi – “Viva, Moldova”
Curly – “Respir liber” (I breathe freely)
DAYANA – “Doina”
Emforia – “Tipare” (Patterns)
Katy Rain – “Dance & Cry”
Cristy Rouge – “Bliss”
Maxim Zavidia – “Alo” (Hello)
Valleria – “Valerian Steel Rai Di Ri Di Dam”
Catalina Solomac – “Pink Margarita”
TRM also intends to offer the winner of the selection a prize to support their preparations for Eurovision and the support of the producers through their journey to the competition.
Moldova withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 “following a detailed analysis of the current situation, as well as the economic, administrative and artistic challenges”. Moldova had planned to compete in Basel, but withdrew following the live auditions stage of Etapa Națională. Moldova had competed annually in the Eurovision Song Contest since its debut in 2005.
Moldova was the third country to announce its return to Eurovision 2026, BNT of Bulgaria and TVR of Romania.
Natalia Barbu performed “In The Middle” in Semi-Final One of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. Moldova placed 13th in the semi-final scoring 20 points.
Image source: TRM | Source: TRM
Moldova debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 when the contest was held in Kyiv. Moldova’s best result in the contest is 3rd place in 2017 for Sunstroke Project with “Hey Mamma!”. This was the second time the group had represented their country in Eurovision. Moldova has been represented by several artists who have competed in the contest before, with five acts having represented Moldova a combined eleven times. After a one-year hiatus in 2025, Moldova has come back to the competition in 2026.
