Romanian national broadcaster TVR has opened the submission window for “Selecția Națională 2026” and published the rules and schedule. The winner will represent Romania at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna.
After two years of absence from the contest, Romania is set to return to Eurovision 2026 in Vienna. The Romanian national broadcaster TVR has announced the date of “Selecția Națională 2026”, and officially opened the submission window for entries. The grand final will take place on March 4th, with the winner going on to represent the country at Eurovision 2026.
Song Submission Window Opens
The submission window for potential entries to “Selecția Națională 2026” opened today, with the final deadline set for February 2nd, 2026. TVR has published several key requirements for those wishing to take part in the competition:
- Solo artists and bands are eligible to register.
- Songs must be original and must not have been released or performed publicly before September 1st, 2025.
- Each artist may submit one song, while composers are allowed to participate with multiple entries.
- All performers must be over the age of 16.
- Songs must not exceed three minutes in length, and lyrics may not include religious, discriminatory, offensive, or commercial messages.
- The use of artificial intelligence (AI) at any stage of the song’s creation is strictly prohibited.
- Artists, composers, and producers may be either Romanian citizens or foreign nationals.
Stages of “Selecția Națională 2026”
Following the close of the submission window, an internal selection process will take place ahead of the final. First, between February 5th and 6th, TVR will conduct preliminary selection rounds to determine the participants in “Selecția Națională”. In the following days, from February 9th to 11th, a committee appointed by TVR will hold auditions for the semi-final stage. From the semi-finals, ten artists will advance to the live final on March 4th. The winner of the final will be determined solely by a professional jury, with no public voting involved.
Romania’s Eurovision Journey
Romania has faced significant challenges in Eurovision over the past decade. On April 22nd, 2016, Romania was disqualified from participating in Eurovision 2016 in Stockholm due to unpaid debts to the EBU. This occurred after Ovidiu Anton was selected with his song “Moment of Silence” and had already been assigned a draw position in the second Semi-Final. Despite this setback, Romania returned to compete six more times. In 2017, Romania achieved one of its best results, finishing seventh, but subsequent years saw struggles. From 2018 to 2021, Romania failed to qualify for the final three times consecutively, those were the first three times in its history which Romania was eliminated during the semi-finals. In 2022, against all odds, Romania reached the final and placed 18th. However, Eurovision 2023 marked a painful farewell: Romania finished last in its semi-final for the first time ever and received zero points alongside San Marino.
For Eurovision 2024, Romania delayed confirming its participation while awaiting budget approvals from the Ministry of Finance. After requesting an extension, it officially announced its withdrawal on January 25th, 2024.
Hopes briefly resurfaced for Eurovision 2025 when Montenegro confirmed its return after a two-year absence on August 7th, 2024. However, Romania ultimately remained absent from the participant list, marking its longest hiatus since missing three consecutive contests from 1995 to 1997.
Romania at Eurovision 2023
“D.G.T (Off and On)” is the name of the song performed by Theodor Andrei, who represented Romania in the second semi-final of Eurovision 2023, held in Liverpool, United Kingdom. The song placed last in its semi-final with zero points, sharing a tie with San Marino. This was the first time Romania finished last and received no points in the competition.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Romania’s 25th participation in Eurovision. Romania joined the contest in 1994 and achieved its best result both in Eurovision 2005 and Eurovision 2010 when Romania finished in third place.
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Neta Geffen is a respected journalist at Euromix, Israel’s leading news site for Eurovision coverage. Since 2010, Neta has been closely following the Eurovision Song Contest, bringing with him extensive experience, profound knowledge, and a broad understanding of the history, politics, and cultural influences that shape the event every year.
Neta publishes articles, analyses, and up-to-date reviews on all Eurovision developments, including musical trends, format changes, political influences, and audience reactions across Europe and Israel. Thanks to a deep connection to the contest’s history, Neta provides readers with wide-ranging context—from the impact of political events on results, to in-depth analyses of songs and languages within the competition. Neta specializes particularly in the Eurovision rock genre, Balkan ballads, and native language entries, with a special focus on Italian and Greek songs.
