Moldova are preparing to hold a national final to select their next Eurovision entry.
Moldovan broadcaster Teleradio-Moldova has exclusively revealed to Eurovoix.com that they are now preparing for their 2018 national final. It was revealed yesterday by the EBU that a total of 42 countries will take part in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, and Moldova is one of those participating countries. It is expected that they will be using the O melodie pentru Europa format once again, which involves a Semi-Final show and a Grand Final show. The winner of the 2017 edition of the contest, Sunstroke Project, were chosen by a 50/50 voting system of public televote and jury voting, though it is unknown if the same rules will apply this year.
Moldova’s appearance at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest is their most successful to date. Sunstroke Project took to the stage in Kyiv with their song “Hey Mamma”, placing third overall with a total of 374 points. The trio were even awarded state honours back home in Moldova for their excellent result. Moldova’s previous best result came on their debut 12 years ago when the contest was last held in Kyiv, Ukraine. Zdob şi Zdub finished 6th in the final with the song “Bunica Bate Toba”. Up until Sunstroke Project’s 3rd place finish, no other Moldovan entry since 2007 had managed to bring the country back into the top ten.
Source: Teleradio-Moldova
Moldova debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 when the contest was last held in Kyiv, Ukraine. In 2005 Moldova debuted in the contest alongside Bulgaria, while that year Hungary also returned to the contest having been absent since 1998. Moldova was in its worse run of results in their history in the contest, having failed to make the final since 2013. At the 2016 contest in Stockholm, the country finished 17th in their semi-final scoring a total of 33 points.
