Hey ho! – Let’s go! The train is back on track, enjoy the ride and what other kind of train puns we can make! Anyhow, to stay on track – (sorry) – Moldova has finally opened up for their submissions, and with that we’ll take a look at what we can expect from the landlocked country.
Selecția Națională 2023…?
The regulations for the upcoming selection in Moldova has finally been published online, which states everything needed to know, when it comes to selecting who will represent the country in 2023. To readers who might wonder “why is this so important?”. Well this is where we can explain it. Moldova has not held a national final since 2020, when Natalia Gordienko was selected to represent the country with the song “Prison“. As we all know, the contest was cancelled back then, and so the singer was internally selected to get another shot in 2021, which she got with the song “Sugar“.
Then what happened in 2022? Well, a national final WAS considered, but eventually cancelled, due to the effects of the pandemic at the time. In the end, it resulted in an internal selection, where Zdob și Zdub and The Advahov brothers were picked to represent the country with the song “Trenulețul“.
Could 2023 be the return of a national final? According to the regulations, it looks like it indeed does!
Starting from now and until the 16th of January 2023 16:00 – (17:00 in Moldova) – the broadcaster (TRM) will accept submitted entries that follow the usual rules used for the competition, this includes time and age limit. It is also stated, that participants must be of Moldovan citizenship, or it must not exceed the 50% limit of Moldovan citizenship within the collaboration.
The selection will be done in 3 stages, which will be as follow:
- Stage 1: File Examination (between January 17th – 28th) – This is where all the submitted entries will be checked, and if validated by the selected jury, given a chance to enter Stage 2 of the selection.
- Stage 2: Live Auditions (between January 28th – February 5th) – Participants must take part in the live auditions, otherwise they’ll face disqualification. A jury of minimum 3 and maximum 5 members, will judge all of the live auditions, based on certain criteria. There will be a secretary as well, who will act as a neutral personality, who will collect all the jury votes and who will be in charge of vote counting. Each jury member will give a point between 0 and 12 to each live audition. The 10 auditions that scores the highest with the jury members, will then advance to stage 3. This stage will be broadcasted live on the Moldova 2 channel and online.
- Stage 3: National Final (between February 25th – March 5th) – The national final will feature the entire concept for each qualified entry. The running order will be decided by a random draw and the winner will be decided by both a jury and televote. The winner is whoever gets the highest combined score, both juries and the televote will have a 50% say on the final outcome. This stage will be broadcasted live on the Moldova 1 channel and online.
With all the in mind, stay prepared for another national final to take place in the 2023 season.
2022 saw the return of Zdob și Zdub and along with them the Advahov Brothers, together they charmed their way to the top of Europe, by finishing 7th in the grand final in Turin with a combined score of 253 points. Moldova finished 2nd overall with the televote, only defeated by the eventual winning country of Ukraine.
Now what do #YOU think, can Moldova charm their way again in 2023 or do #YOU want to see something else from the country next year?
Let’s hear from #YOU on our forum site right HERE, or visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok and Discord.
Source(s): Eurovision.md (Main page) & Eurovision.md (rules) – (Both in Romanian)
