Moldova will not participate in the 2025 edition of Eurovision for financial reasons, but also for lack of quality candidates.
“National final, production of the show, promotion of the artists, travel of the team… we are talking about rather high costs“, declared the director of the Moldova 1 channel, Corneliu Durnescu, announcing this decision.
The latter also mentions “a decline in public interest and general quality of artistic performances“of the national selection.”We are sorry to hear this news, reacted Martin Österdahl, executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, saying “hope to welcome again” Moldova in 2026. Neighboring Romania also withdrew last year due to “financial constraints“.
Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, is going through a difficult phase while the pro-European authorities are in a standoff with Russia, which they accuse of destabilizing maneuvers. The giant Gazprom turned off the tap at the beginning of January, causing heating and electricity cuts in the separatist region of Transdniestria, a few months before the legislative elections.
To justify its choice, Moldova did not cite an ideological background, the Eurovision contest, the largest live musical show in the world according to the event’s promoters, often being the scene of political positioning. Israel’s participation in 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, in the midst of the war against Hamas in Gaza, was accompanied by pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
-
This year, it is a survivor of the Hamas attack of October 7 who will sing during the final organized on May 17 in Basel, Switzerland. Turkey suspended its participation after 2012, denouncing the visibility offered to the LGBT+ community. Nationalist Viktor Orban’s Hungary has not competed since 2020.
Belarus was excluded in 2021 after the disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko. Russia was one year later, after invading Ukraine. In 2024, the semi-finals and the final broadcast live brought together 163 million people, according to figures from the organizer, devoting the non-binary Swiss artist Nemo.
Eurovision Song Contest Eurovision Moldova
