It’s interesting to note the history of Romania’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, and the challenges the country faced in its early years.

While Romania has been a regular participant in the contest since its debut in 1994, it’s worth remembering that the country had to go through a pre-selection process the previous year in order to qualify for the contest. Unfortunately, Romania was unable to make it through that pre-selection round in 1993, and had to wait until the following year to make its official Eurovision debut.

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The song „Dincolo di Nori“ by Dan Bittman may not have achieved a high placement in the contest, but it was a significant moment for Romania to be represented on the Eurovision stage and to showcase its musical talents to a wider audience. Since then, Romania has had a number of strong performances in the contest, including a third-place finish in 2005 with the song „Let Me Try“ by Luminita Anghel and Sistem.

Overall, Romania’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has been an important part of its cultural identity and a way to celebrate its musical traditions on an international stage. It will interesting to see what the country will bring to the contest in future years.

It’s interesting to see the differences in Romania’s approach to the Eurovision Song Contest compared to some of its neighbouring countries. While Moldova, Hungary, and Bulgaria have often incorporated folkloric elements into their Eurovision entries, Romania has tended to focus more on modern and up-to-date songs.

Despite this difference in approach, Romania has been very successful in qualifying for the Eurovision Grand Final, with an impressive 86% success rate. However, the country has had more mixed results in terms of its final placements, with only six Top 10 finishes to date.

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One notable setback for Romania in the contest came in 2016, when the country’s entry was disqualified due to financial issues with its broadcaster, TVR. This meant that Ovidiu Anton was unable to perform his song „Moment Of Silence“ in Stockholm, a disappointing turn of events for both the artist and Romanian fans of the contest.

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Biggest successes

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3rd place, Luminita Anghel & Sistem with “Let Me Try” (Kiev 2005)

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3rd place, Paula Seling & Ovi with “Playing With Fire” (Oslo 2010)

History

  • Debut: 1994
  • Participations: 22
  • Victories: 0
  • Finals: 19 (14 since 2004)
  • Chances to reach the final: 86% (78% since 2004)
  • Top 10: 6
  • Chances to reach the Top 10: 27% (11% since 2004)
  • Last place: 0
# host city year performer song points place show
Millstreet 1993 Dida Drăgan (not qualified) Nu pleca
1 Dublin 1994 Dan Bittman Dincolo De Nori 14 21 final
Dublin 1995 not qualified
Oslo 1996 Monica Anghel & Sincron (not qualfified) Rugă pentru pacea lumii 11 29
Dublin 1997 not qualified
2 Birmingham 1998 Malina Olinescu Eu Cred 6 22 final
Jerusalem 1999 not qualified
3 Stockholm 2000 Taxi The Moon 25 17 final
Copenhagen 2001 not qualfied
4 Tallinn 2002 Monica Anghel & Marcel Pavel Tell Me Why 71 9 final
5 Riga 2003 Nicola Don’t Break My Heart 73 10 final
6 Istanbul 2004 Sanda Ladosi I Admit 18 18 final
7 Kyiv 2005 Luminita Anghel & Sistem Let Me Try 158 3 final
8 Athens 2006 Mihai Traistariu Tornero 172 4 final
9 Helsinki 2007 Todomondo Liubi, Liubi, I Love You 84 13 final
10 Belgrade 2008 Nico & Vlad Pe-o Margine De Lume 45 20 final
11 Moscow 2009 Elena The Balkan Girls 40 19 final
12 Oslo 2010 Paula Seling & Ovi Playing With Fire 162 3 final
13 Düsseldorf 2011 Hotel FM Change 77 17 final
14 Baku 2012 Mandinga Zaleilah 71 12 final
15 Malmö 2013 Cezar It’s My Life 71 12 final
16 Copenhagen 2014 Paula Seling & Ovi Miracle 72 12 final
17 Vienna 2015 Voltaj De La Capat/ All Over Again 35 15 final
Stockholm 2016 Ovidiu Anton (disqualified) Moment of Silence
18 Kyiv 2017 Ilinca ft. Alex Florea Yodel It! 282 7 final
19 Lisbon 2018 The Humans Goodbye 107 11 semi-final
20 Tel Aviv 2019 Ester Peony On a Sunday 71 13 semi-final
Corona 2020 ROXENAlcohol You Alcohol You
21 Rotterdam 2021 ROXEN Amnesia 85 12 semi-final
22 Turin 2022 WRS Llámame‘ 65 18 final
23 Liverpool 2023 Theodor Andrei D.G.T. (Off and On) 0 16 semi-final
Malmö 2024 withdrawn
Basel 2025 withdrawn

Video Nostalgia

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Taxi with “The Moon”, Rank 17 (Stockholm 2000)

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Nico & Vlad with „Pe-o Margine De Lume“, Rang 20 (Belgrade 2008)

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Mandinga with “Zaleilah”, Rank 12 (Baku 2012)