Moldova refused to participate in Eurovision 2025 after the announcement of the finalists: what happened

In May 2025, the 69th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in the Swiss city of Basel, but Moldova will not be represented on the international stage. The country refused to participate in the music competition, despite the fact that it recently announced the list of finalists of the National Selection.

This was reported by the director of the national broadcaster Moldova 1 Corneliu Durnescu and the head of the Moldovan delegation to the Eurovision Song Contest, Daniela Crudu, said. According to them, this decision was made due to insufficient funding for the event and a decrease in the level of interest of artists in it.

On January 19, the official list of performers who made it to the final of the National Selection of Moldova was published on eurovision.md. Twelve musicians had to compete for the chance to represent the country on the international stage, including: Zelorielle, Vadim Eleni, Royals ST, PRIZA feat Mc MIKE, Katy Rain, Catalina Solomac, Rina, Bacho & CARNIVAL BRAIN, LODOS, Nadya Crajevschi, Chris Cross and Sasha Bognibov. However, this never happened, as the state refused to participate.

"The decision was not an easy one, but it was necessary in the current circumstances. This year's National Selection had some problems, including a decline in public interest and the overall quality of the compositions and performances. This caused a negative perception among professionals and the public, which emphasized the need for a substantial reform of the selection process," explained Corneliu Durnescu, "We consulted with music experts and most of them expressed serious reservations about Moldova's participation this year. We respect the opinion of professionals and the general public, and we understand that we have to make responsible decisions."

In addition, as Daniela Crudu noted, the appearance of a performer from Moldova at the Eurovision Song Contest involves investing a lot of money. First of all, it is the organization of the National Selection, then the promotion of the artist, travel, accommodation, stage performances, technical equipment and other related expenses. The cost of the country's participation in the song contest is 21,486 euros.

"We know that everyone would like to organize the National Selection and choose the song that will represent us on the international stage. However, we firmly believe that this decision will increase interest in participating in future contests. We will do our best to return to Eurovision with great success. It is important to support people who want to get to the big stages and give them the opportunity to prepare better," she concluded.

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