Romania has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 24 times since its debut in , and has placed in the top ten seven times. Its best result is third place, which the country achieved three times: in 2005, 2010 and 2026. The Romanian participating broadcaster in the contest is (TVR), which selects its entrant through , a competition organised every year since 1993, except for .

In , the year before its first appearance, Romania attempted to debut in the contest, but came last in the qualifying round. After joining the following year, poor placements followed until 2002, resulting in several relegations. This changed with the introduction of semi-finals to the contest in 2004, after which Romania reached the final 14 times, failing to qualify from the semi-finals in , , , and , the latter finishing with no points.

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

History TVR unsuccessfully attempted to debut in the , selecting "Nu pleca" by Dida Drăgan for the qualifying round (); 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 its best position to date, third place, in with "Let Me Try" by Luminița Anghel and Sistem and in with "Playing with Fire" by Paula Seling and Ovi. In the 2010s, the country's only other top ten placement was in , with "Yodel It!" by Ilinca and Alex Florea, which 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 24 times so far, having qualified for the final 15 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 returned to the contest in . Alexandra Căpitănescu represented Romania that year with the song "Choke Me", managing to qualify for the final and place third overall, thus equalling the best-ever results from 2005 and 2010.

Selection process and accolades Since 1993, TVR organises , 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 + Table key 1 First place 2 Second place 3 Third place ◁ Last place ◇ Entry selected but did not compete † Upcoming event

+ Participation history Year Artist Song Language Final Points Semi Points ◇ "" ◇ Romanian ◇ colspan="2" 7 ◁ 38 "" Romanian 21 14 colspan="2" and Sincron ◇ "" ◇ Romanian ◇ colspan="2" 29 ◁ 11 "" Romanian 22 6 rowspan="4" colspan="2" Taxi "" English 17 25 Monica Anghel and Marcel Pavel "Tell Me Why" English 9 71 Nicola "Don't Break My Heart" English 10 73 Sanda "I Admit" English 18 18 colspan="2" data-sort-value="99999" and Sistem "Let Me Try" English 3 158 1 235 "" English, Italian 4 172 colspan="2" Todomondo "Liubi, Liubi, I Love You" English, Italian, Spanish, Russian, French, Romanian 13 84 colspan="2" data-sort-value="99999" Nico and Vlad "" Romanian, Italian 20 45 7 94 Elena "" English 19 40 9 67 and Ovi "Playing with Fire" English 3 162 4 104 Hotel FM "Change" English 17 77 4 111 Mandinga "Zaleilah" Spanish, English 12 71 3 120 Cezar "It's My Life" English 13 65 5 83 Paula Seling and Ovi "Miracle" English 12 72 2 125 Voltaj "" Romanian, English 15 35 5 89 ◇ "Moment of Silence" ◇ English ◇ colspan="4" Ilinca Alex Florea "Yodel It!" English 7 282 6 174 "Goodbye" English rowspan="2" colspan="2" 11 107 "On a Sunday" English 13 71 Roxen ◇ "Alcohol You" ◇ English ◇ colspan="4" Roxen "Amnesia" English colspan="2" 12 85 Wrs "" English, Spanish 18 65 9 118 Theodor Andrei "D.G.T. (Off and On)" Romanian, English colspan="2" 15 0 Alexandra Căpitănescu "Choke Me" English 3 296 2 234 colspan="7" align="center"

Songs by language

SongsLanguageYears23English, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 8Romanian, , , , , , , 3Italian, , 3Spanish, , 1Russian1French

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. Year Head of delegation Dan Manoliu Ioan Duma Dan Manoliu Marina Almăşan Dan Manoliu

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.

YearStage directorBobo Bărbulescu Daniel Klinger Petre Năstase Bogdan Păun and Dan Manoliu Aurel BadeaJan Bors

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.

Year 1st member 2nd member 3rd member 4th member 5th member Nico Ovi Cezar Ilinca Ovi

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.

Year Commentator(s) Spokesperson rowspan="2" rowspan="2" Gabriela Cristea Cristina Țopescu rowspan="3" Doina Caramzulescu and Costin Grigore Leonard Miron Anca Țurcașiu Doina Caramzulescu and Costin Grigore Leonard Miron Andreea Marin rowspan="6" Leonard Miron Andreea Marin Berti Barbera Andreea Marin Bănică Leonard Miron Alina Sorescu Leonard Miron and Gianina Corondan Malvina Cservenschi Liana Stanciu and Bogdan Pavlică Leonard Miron and Gianina Corondan Paula Seling Liana StanciuSonia Argint-Ionescu Bogdan Stănescu Liana Stanciu and Radu Andrei Tudor Liliana Ștefan and Radu Andrei Tudor Liana Stanciu and Bogdan StănescuIlinca Bogdan Stănescu Cătălina Ponor Bogdan Stănescu and Kyrie Mendél Eda Marcus Bogdan Stănescu and Ilinca Băcilă (semi-finals)Bogdan Stănescu and Kyrie Mendél (final)

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 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

See also Romania in the Eurovision Young Dancers Romania in the Eurovision Young Musicians Romania in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest List of music released by Romanian artists that has charted in major music markets

Notes

References