Watch: Tonight at 18:00 CET, Moldova hosts the grand final of “Selecția Națională 2026”, where the country’s entry for Eurovision 2026 will be chosen. Link to watch the live broadcast – Below!
Tonight at 18:00 CET, Moldova will hold the grand final of “Selecția Națională 2026”, where the country’s entry for Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria will be selected. A total of 16 songs will compete for the honor of representing Moldova on the Eurovision stage. For the first time, the winner will be determined through a combination of votes from the live audience (33%), local judges (33%), and international judges (33%).
The final show will start at 18:00 and conclude at 21:00 CET.
To watch Moldova’s “Selecția Națională 2026”, click here or here.
Who to Watch Tonight?
In a reader poll we conducted, readers chose Cătălina Solomac as the favorite to win with her song “Pink Margarita”. The Euromix editorial team agreed with the readers’ pick. Other contenders who may surprise include Satoshi with the song “Viva, Moldova” and the duo Evghenii Avramov & ALenin Ivan with “Foc la Ghete”, which might amaze everyone.
Full List of Finalists – Selecția Națională 2026:
- Adelisha – “Alegria”
- Sasha Flowers – “We fight till the end”
- Artiom Topal – “Money”
- Catalina Solomac – “Pink Margarita”
- Cristy Rouge – “Bliss”
- DAYANA – “Doina”
- Bacho – “Tata”
- Emforia – “Tipare”
- Evghenii Avramov & ALenin Ivan – “Foc la ghete”
- Ilinca Siviroveanu – “Running through the rain”
- Curly – “Respir liber”
- Katy Rain – “Dance & Cry”
- Maxim Zavidia – “Alo”
- Pavel Orlov – “Can’t say goodbye”
- Satoshi – “Viva, Moldova”
- Valleria – “Valerian Steel (rai di ri di dam)”
Click on the song title to listen!
Some familiar names among the contestants:
- Bacho – Competed last year with Carnival Brain and their song “Semafoare“. Their song was the fan favorite, but unfortunately, the selection was canceled.
- Maxim Zavidia – Participated 3 times: In 2016, finished 5th with the song “La La Love“. In 2019, got 2nd place with the song “I Will Not Surrender” and in 2020, finished 3rd with “Take Control“.
- Catalina Solomac – Participated in 2024 with the song “Fever” and got 5th place. Catalina returned in 2025 with the song “Demons“, she qualified for the final, but the selection was cancelled.
- Cristy Rouge – Competed in 2009 with the song “Women’s Winner” and got 6th place. Cristy returned the year after with the song “Don’t Break My Heart” but this time she didn’t make it to the final.
- Curly – Participated in 2014 with the song “Your Recovery“, qualified for the final, and got 9th place.
- Katy Rain – Participated in 2022 with the song “Lele“, the full results were not revealed. She returned in 2025 with the song “Timpul“, qualified for the final, but the selection was cancelled.
- Valleria – Participated in 2024 with her song “RULE (rai di ri di)” – this song was loved by the fans, but she didn’t make it to the final. She returned in 2025 with the song “A Picture Of Myself“. However, she got kicked out of the selection cause she was late for the auditions
How will Moldova’s entry for Eurovision be chosen?
After the initial elimination round held last night (Tuesday), Moldova is now gearing up for its Eurovision 2026 national final. The event will be broadcast live from the Chișinău Arena in the country’s capital, Chișinău, a venue with a capacity of approximately 5,000 seats. For the first time in the history of Moldova’s national selection, the audience inside the arena will also take part in the voting, allowing viewers on-site to influence the final result in real time.
A combined vote will determine the winner: one-third local jury, one-third international jury, and one-third televoting, following the Eurovision scoring format (1-8, 10, 12 points). In case of a tie, the public vote will prevail. If a tie remains, TRM will make the final decision.
For the first time, “Selecția Națională 2026” will be co-managed by two official producers — Serghei Orlov, a seasoned Eurovision producer, and Roman Burlaca, a renowned Moldovan director known for his collaborations with top pop artists. Together, they aim to give Selecția Națională a new visual identity, combining cutting-edge production technology with bold artistic creativity – a move intended to restore Moldova’s prominence on the European music stage.
Moldova at Eurovision: Distinct Identity and Style
Moldova has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 19 times without achieving a victory, missing only one contest. In 2020, it planned to compete with Natalia Gordienko and her song “Prison”, but the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Gordienko returned the following year.
Moldova’s absence from the most recent contest marked the first time the country had ever skipped the event. Its debut came in 2005 with Zdob Si Zdub’s “Boonika bate doba” (in English: “Grandma beats the drum”), finishing in sixth place. Since then, Moldova’s results have fluctuated widely. Its best-ever result came in 2017 when Sunstroke Project placed third with “Hey Mamma”.
Moldova is known for showcasing songs that feature local musical flavours, proudly doing so in 2005, 2009, 2012, 2018, 2022, and 2023, achieving a place in the final each time – many of its best results were tied to songs with ethnic influences.
Aside from missing the top prize, Moldova has experienced nearly every position on the scoreboard – from third to last place. In 19 appearances since 2005, Moldova has qualified for 13 finals, with one notable non-qualification streak between 2014 and 2016, reaching its lowest result in 2014 with a last-place finish. Conversely, the country placed in the top half of the scoreboard in 2005, 2007, 2011–2013, 2017–2018, and 2021–2022. Currently, Moldova’s Eurovision outlook remains pretty underwhelming since its last participation ended its recent qualification streak.
Moldova has never won Eurovision and has reached the Top 5 only once, in 2017. with four additional Top 10 finishes – 6th place in Eurovision 2005, 7th place in Eurovision 2022, and twice finishing 10th, in Eurovision 2007 and Eurovision 2018.
Moldova in Eurovision 2024
Natalia Barbu represented Moldova in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2024 with the song “In the Middle”, after winning first place in the local national final. The song reached 13th place in the first semi-final, with only 20 points, and did not qualify for the grand final. This is Moldova’s lowest result in Eurovision since 2016, when Moldova reached 17th place in the semi-final.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Moldova’s 20th participation in Eurovision. Moldova joined the competition in 2005 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2017 when SunStroke Project finished in third place with the song “Hey Mamma”.
