Moldova Withdraws from Eurovision 2025

For the first time since 2004, there will be a Eurovision Song Contest without Moldova, as Moldova withdraws from Eurovision 2025.

The country announced the decision on Wednesday, 22 January, following the prior weekend’s Etapa Națională auditions. 12 finalists had been selected for the national competition based on those auditions, which was supposed to be held on 22 February.

Eurovision will now have the same number of competing countries as last year, 37. Montenegro has rejoined the competition after a brief absence.

Moldova Withdraws from Eurovision 2025: But Why?

In a statement on the national broadcaster’s website, TRM stated that “economic, administrative and artistic challenges” led to the country’s withdrawal. The TRM official who oversaw the selection, Corneliu Durnescu, stated that most of the industry specialists he consulted “have expressed serious reservations” about going forward in 2025.

Daniela Crudu, Moldova’s head of delegation, was a little more blunt and said that it was due to “a decrease in the public’s interest and the general quality of the artistic plays and performances.” (Moldova Nu Va Participa La Eurovision Song Contest 2025, n.d.)

What That Really Means

The above was a somewhat diplomatic way of TRM saying that they did not think the lineup was any good, and someone did not want to spend the money to send an act and a delegation to Basel for a certain loss.

Having watched a fair number of the Etapa Națională auditions, I would not agree that all the songs were bad, and I am not sure that’s what TRM was trying to convey. However, out of all the songs which auditioned, the number of songs I would say were of better quality was not high. There is also one particular person who qualified for the final, shocking the Eurofan community – he will not be explicitly named on this website, but you all know who he is. That itself speaks to issues with the audition process.

Moldova’s decision was still a surprise, as one does not launch a national selection process on live television and then bag the whole thing a few days later without a major intervening action. We may never know the conversations which took place behind the scenes, but this withdrawal was very abrupt and you can surmise there was a great deal of consternation after the auditions.

Will Moldova Be Back?

Most likely in 2026. They have indicated that this is not a permanent withdrawal, and stated that they want to revamp the national selection process. Though they have become something of an iconic experience for die-hard Eurovision fans, the Etapa Națională auditions look like an obvious chop in future years. In fact, there is no guarantee Moldova will have Etapa Națională at all. An internal selection of one of the handful of decent songs might have spared all of this drama.

The Plot Thickens

Bacho, who participated with “Semafoare” in the auditions, has made a public statement in which he condemned TRM’s characterization of the low quality of the auditions. He also stated that he received private sponsorship and asked them to send him to Eurovision.