Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest

Contest history

Televiziunea Română (TVR) is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1 January 1993, thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest since then. It has participated in the contest representing Romania since its in 1994. Before becoming a member of the EBU, TVR had broadcast the contest several times during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s.

TVR unsuccessfully attempted to debut in the , selecting "Nu pleca" by Dida Drăgan for the qualifying round Kvalifikacija za Millstreet (); Drăgan came in last place. A non-qualification was also achieved in when there was a qualifying round for all countries excluding hosts Norway. The Eurovision site does not count either year in Romania's list of appearances. The country's first official participation occurred in with "Dincolo de nori" by Dan Bittman placing 21st in the contest's final. The following years saw similar low placements and non-participations in , , , and .

Romania's first top ten result was achieved in , when "Tell Me Why" by Monica Anghel and Marcel Pavel finished ninth. The country placed within the top 20 every year from to , claiming third place in with "Let Me Try" by Luminița Anghel and Sistem. this remains Romania's best result in the contest, alongside "Playing with Fire" by Paula Seling and Ovi in , which also finished third. Since 2010, the country's only other top ten placement was in , when "Yodel It!" by Ilinca and Alex Florea reached seventh place. was TVR's first year to significantly invest in a performance; the costs for the use of graphics and special effects during the show for "On a Sunday" by Ester Peony amounted to 100,000 euros. Romania had previously introduced the first-ever use of overlays at Eurovision in .

Romania has participated in the contest 23 times, having qualified for the final 14 times since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, failing to qualify in , , , and . In 2016, the EBU suspended TVR from all its member services due to the repeated non-payment of debts and the threat of insolvency. This in turn disqualified their 2016 entry, "Moment of Silence" by Ovidiu Anton, from participating in the contest. Although TVR had selected "Alcohol You" by Roxen to be performed in , the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Roxen was internally selected for 2021 nonetheless, performing "Amnesia". After failing to qualify for the final in four out of its latest five participations, Romania opted not to take part in and , and is set to return in .

Selection process and accolades

Since 1993, TVR organises Selecția Națională, a song contest which has been taking place every year except for 2021, to select its entry for Eurovision. The winner of the first edition was chosen by 1100 households in the country. Since then, several voting procedures have been used, often combining televoting with the votes of a jury panel. The selection of the winner either occurred during one show, or through a varying amount of semi-finals. For the first time, a part of Romania's entry was determined internally in 2020. Roxen was selected by TVR out of exclusive partner Global Records's roster, and was appointed five songs for a jury and the public to choose from. The broadcaster and the label also collaborated the following year for the internal selection of Roxen and her entry.

In , "Pe-o margine de lume" by Nico and Vlad won Romania's first and only Marcel Bezençon Award, in the Composer Award category, and Sanda received the infamous Barbara Dex Award in . A number of Romania's Eurovision entries have experienced commercial success over the years. While "Let Me Try" reached number nine on the Romanian Top 100, 's "Tornerò" by Mihai Trăistariu peaked within the top ten in Finland and Greece. "The Balkan Girls" by Elena topped the Romanian chart in , and similar success was attained by "Zaleilah" by Mandinga in , obtaining number two in the country's Airplay 100 ranking and a Gold certification for digital downloads exceeding 10,000 copies in Romania. "Llámame" by Wrs also peaked atop the charts in Romania in 2022.

Participation overview

Related involvement

Heads of delegation

Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others.

Stage directors

The participating broadcaster usually appoints a stage director responsible for directing the live performance of the song at the contest, its camerawork for the television broadcast, and the visuals and props used on stage.

Jury members

Each participating broadcaster assembles a five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals for the semi-finals and final of the Eurovision Song Contest, ranking all entries except their own. The juries' votes constitute 50% of the overall result alongside televoting.

Commentators and spokespersons

For the show's broadcast on TVR, various commentators and dual commentators have been hired throughout the years, with Leonard Miron notably having done the job on seven occasions. At the contest, after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting broadcaster to invite their respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote.

Conductors

In contests where an orchestra was provided, a conductor was required to lead the musicians during each country's performance. Broadcasters were able to provide their own conductors, or could call upon the services of the conductor appointed by the host broadcaster. For 1993's Kvalifikacija za Millstreet pre-selection round, George Natsis conducted the Romanian entry. In 1994 and 1998, Irish host conductor Noel Kelehan and Romanian conductor Adrian Romcescualso the composer of "Eu cred"were hired, respectively.

Photo gallery

File:Todomondo Eurovision 2007.jpg|alt=Six men dressed in variously colored clothes performing on a stage.|Todomondo in Helsinki () File:Flickr - proteusbcn - Semifinal 1 EUROVISION 2008 (129).jpg|alt=A man dressing a black suit and jeans and a woman sporting a black dress performing on a stage.|Nico and Vlad in Belgrade () File:Elena Gheorghe in Moscow (2009).jpg|alt=A blond-haired woman sitting at a table wrapped in an oversized Romanian flag.|Elena in Moscow () File:Paula Seling 02.JPG|alt=A man and a woman dressed in black performing on a stage.|Paula Seling and Ovi in Oslo () File:Mandinga First Rehearsal.jpg|alt=A woman performing on a stage in front of white hearts alongside five men.|Mandinga in Baku () File:ESC2013 - Romania 07.jpg|alt=A man dressed in a black dressed performing on a stage in front of a red background and behind X-shaped pyrotechnics.|Cezar in Malmö () File:ESC2014 - Romania 15.jpg|alt=A man and a woman performing on a stage in front of a blue background; a circular piano is seen on the man's left.|Paula Seling and Ovi in Copenhagen () File:20150515 ESC 2015 Voltaj 8117.jpg|alt=Five men performing on a stage, with four of them playing instruments.|Voltaj in Vienna () File:Eurovision Song Contest 2017, Semi Final 2 Rehearsals. Photo 210.jpg|alt=A man dressed in black and a woman sporting a red dress performing on a stage in front of colorful cartoons.|Ilinca and Alex Florea in Kyiv () File:ESC2018 - Romania 01.jpg|alt=Two women—dressed in purple and white dresses, respectively—performing on a stage alongside a guitarist; black mannequins are seen in the background.|The Humans in Lisbon () File:ESC 2021 Rotterdam 1st Semi Jury Show Romania3.jpg|Roxen in Rotterdam () File:Eurovision 2022 - Semi-final 2 - Romania - WRS (01).jpg|WRS in Turin () File:Eurovision 2023 - Jury Semi-final 2 - Romania - Theodor Andrei (02).jpg|Theodor Andrei in Liverpool ()

Notes

References

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