Moldova selected as its representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 on Saturday, January 17, during the final of Selecția Națională 2026, held at Chișinău Arena in Chișinău.
The national final marked Moldova’s return to the contest following its withdrawal from the 2025 edition. The winning entry will represent Moldova at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, which will take place in Vienna, Austria. Satoshi includes backing vocals from 2013 Moldovan representative to Eurovision Aliona Moon.
Victory for Satoshi with “Viva, Moldova!”
Sixteen acts competed in the televised final, selected through a live audition process held in December 2025. The winner was determined by a combination of votes from an international jury, a national jury, and the public televote.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International | National | Votes | Points | |||||
| 1 | Artiom Topal | Money | 2 | 5 | 136 | 0 | 7 | 9 |
| 2 | Valleria | Valerian Steel (Rai di ri di dam) | 1 | 0 | 126 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| 3 | Adelisha | Alegria | 0 | 0 | 177 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 4 | Maxim Zavidia | Allo | 3 | 7 | 165 | 0 | 10 | 6 |
| 5 | Evgenii Avramov and Ivan Alenin | Foc la ghete | 0 | 0 | 593 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 6 | Cătălina Solomac | Pink Margarita | 7 | 8 | 861 | 10 | 25 | 3 |
| 7 | Dayana | Doina | 10 | 1 | 617 | 7 | 18 | 4 |
| 8 | Satoshi | Viva, Moldova! | 12 | 12 | 13,084 | 12 | 36 | 1 |
| 9 | Sasha Flowers | We Fight till the End | 0 | 6 | 353 | 2 | 8 | 8 |
| 10 | Cristy Rouge | Bliss | 0 | 4 | 145 | 0 | 4 | 14 |
| 11 | Ilinca Siviroveanu | Running Through the Rain | 0 | 0 | 409 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| 12 | Bacho | Tata | 4 | 3 | 373 | 3 | 10 | 5 |
| 13 | Curly | Respir liber | 6 | 2 | 218 | 1 | 9 | 7 |
| 14 | Emforia | Tipare | 0 | 0 | 535 | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 15 | Katy Rain | Dance & Cry | 5 | 0 | 174 | 0 | 5 | 12 |
| 16 | Pavel Orlov | Can’t Say Goodbye | 8 | 10 | 813 | 8 | 26 | 2 |
20th participation and anniversary for Moldova
The show was held in the new Arena Chișinău, moving from the more classic TV studios TRM got fans used to, and was also a celebration of the 20th participation of Moldova in Eurovision (not counting 2020), having debuted in 2005. It was hosted by Daniela Crudu and Ion Jalbă.
To celebrate, the broadcast featured a large interval programme highlighting Moldova’s Eurovision history as well as international acts. Interval performances were given by Zdob și Zdub, SunStroke Project, Nelly Ciobanu, Natalia Barbu, Cristina Scarlat, DoReDoS, Aliona Moon, Paula Seling, and Jamala.
Jamala and Paula Seling also formed part of the international jury panel for the Moldovan selection, alongside other music industry professionals.
Ticket prices for the event ranged from 150 to 450 Moldovan lei, according to the official Arena Chișinău website.
How do you feel about the winner? Did you watch the selection? Can Satoshi qualify to the Grand Final in Vienna? Tell us more in the comments below!
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