The first artists participating in the Eurovision Pre-Party Bucharest 2026 on April 18 have been announced by event organisers.
Alexandra Căpitănescu and Paula Seling are the first artists announced as performing at the Eurovision Pre-Party Bucharest 2026 in the Romanian capital. Alexandra Căpitănescu is set to represent Romania at Eurovision 2026 with “Choke Me”, while Paula Seling represented Romania at Eurovision 2010 and 2014 alongside Ovi, with their 2010 appearance being Romania’s best result in the contest.
The Eurovision Pre-Party Bucharest 2026 is set to be held on April 18 in the Romanian capital. The event will be held at the Arenele Romane. The event will feature acts competing in Eurovision 2026 as well as guest performers from previous editions of the contest. The event is being organised by eMagic in collaboration with TVR, AIMR and OGAE Romania.
The Eurovision PreParty in Bucharest is the first new Eurovision Pre-Party announced since 2024, when Malmohagen was held for the first time. It is also the first new Eurovision Pre-Party being held in Eastern Europe since the Warsaw Pre-Party, which was cancelled after two editions.
The Pre-Party’s being held ahead of Eurovision 2026 are:
- March 12: Eurovision Party SKG – 🇬🇷 Thessaloniki
- March 21: Nordic Eurovision Party – 🇳🇴 Oslo
- April 11: Eurovision in Concert – 🇳🇱 Amsterdam
- April 17: London Eurovision Festival Fundraiser – 🇬🇧 London
- April 18: Eurovision Pre-Party – 🇷🇴 Bucharest
- April 19: London Eurovision Party – 🇬🇧 London
Source: eMagic
Romania first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. The country tried to participate in 1993 but failed to get through the pre-qualifying round. At the 1994 contest, Dan Bittman finished 21st in the final scoring 14 points, Romania didn’t make it through to another final until 1998. Romania’s best results in the contest are two third-place finishes. In 2005, Luminita Anghel & Sistem finished 3rd scoring 158 points, while Paula Seling & Ovi finished 3rd in 2010 with the song “Playing with Fire”. Romania missed the 2016 contest due to TVR being removed from the EBU due to debts to the organisation. Romania has not participated in Eurovision since 2023, coming back only this year.
