Will the Etapa Națională final be cancelled?
According to eurovision.md, Moldovan broadcaster TRM will hold a press conference tomorrow at 11am at the national TV headquarters in Chisinau, which has fuelled online speculation that the organising committee is about to cancel the final of Etapa Națională and internally select an artist instead.
The auditions for the final of the Moldovan national final, which has been due to take place on 22nd February, were held on Saturday, with 12 acts announced as qualifiers. The act fans most likely believe will be selected is Bacho & Carnival Brain, with their song Semafoare, which has been topping fan polls in the past few days.
As a reminder, the twelve qualifying acts and songs were:
- Bacho & Carnival Brain – Semafoare
- Cătălina Solomac – Demons
- Chris Cross – Eu vin
- Katy Rain – Timpul
- Lodos – Sentimental
- Priza feat. Mc Mike – Kookoo
- Nadya Crajevschi – Not A Shadow
- Rina – Dorințele
- Royals ST – Zboară-n sus
- Sasha Bognibov – All-Night Party
- Vadim Eleni – Mamă, să fii!
- Zelorielle – Miracle
If this were to happen, it wouldn’t be the first time Moldova had held an internal selection following a televised round of auditions. The most famous instance came in 2022, when Zdob și Zdub and Frații Advahov were fast tracked after the auditions round with the song Trenulețul, which went on to finish 7th overall, and 2nd with the public, at the final in Turin.
In addition, 2016 Moldovan representative and 2025 Etapa Națională juror Lidia Isac took to Facebook on Sunday to, whilst praising TRM’s efforts to provide financial support to the winner, criticise the “low quality produce” on offer at the Moldovan auditions this year.
After a streak of good years, Moldova failed to qualify for the final in 2024 when Natalia Barbu’s In The Middle wound up in 13th place in Semi-Final 1 in Malmö. 2025 will mark the first time in 6 years that Moldova will send a first-time act to Eurovision.
We’ll keep an eye on this one…remember to follow ESCBubble across social media for all the latest news, reviews, interviews and exclusive Eurovision content!