Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest
Romania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 20 times since its debut in, and has placed in the top ten six times. Its best results were achieved by Luminița Anghel and Sistem in, and by Paula Seling and Ovi in, who both finished in third place. Selecția Națională, a song contest that takes place every year in Romania, is used to select the country's entrant for that year's Eurovision Song Contest. Its voting system and format have changed over the years.
In, the year before its first appearance, Romania attempted to debut in the contest, but came last in the pre-qualifying round. After successfully joining the following year, poor placements followed until 2002, resulting in relegation several times. This changed with the introduction of semi-finals to the contest in 2004, after which Romania qualified for the Grand Final every year except and. In 2016, the European Broadcasting Union suspended broadcaster Televiziunea Română from all EBU member services due to repeated non-payment of debts, which in turn disqualified its entry from participating in the contest. In, despite having selected a representative, the nation was unable to take part due to the contest's coronavirus disease 2019 -related cancellation. Romania's most recent Grand Final appearance in saw Ilinca and Alex Florea reach seventh place.
Contest history
Romania unsuccessfully attempted to debut in the 1993 contest, selecting "Nu pleca" by Dida Drăgan for the pre-qualifying round Preselection for Millstreet ; Drăgan came in last place. A non-qualification was also achieved in when there was a pre-qualifier 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 1994 when Dan Bittman's "Dincolo de nori" placed 21st in the contest's Grand Final. The following years saw similar low placements and non-participations in,, and.Romania's first top ten result was achieved in, when Monica Anghel and Marcel Pavel finished ninth with their song "Tell Me Why". The country placed within the top 20 every year from to, claiming third place in with "Let Me Try" by Luminița Anghel and Sistem., this remains Romania's best result in the contest, alongside Paula Seling and Ovi's entry "Playing with Fire", which also finished third. Since 2010, the country's only other top ten placement was in, when Ilinca and Alex Florea reached seventh place with "Yodel It!". was broadcaster Televiziunea Română's first year to significantly invest in a performance; the costs for the use of graphics and special effects during the show for Ester Peony's "On a Sunday" amounted to 100,000 euros. Romania had previously introduced the first ever use of holograms at Eurovision in.
Romania has participated in the contest 20 times, having qualified for the final every year since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004 except for and 2019. In 2016 the European Broadcasting Union suspended TVR from all EBU 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" sung by Ovidiu Anton from participating in the contest. It led to strong reactions against the decision from several observers. Although TVR had selected Roxen to perform "Alcohol You" in, the contest was cancelled due to the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 in China and its spread to other countries. Roxen was internally selected for nonetheless.
Selection process and accolades
Selecția Națională, a song contest which takes place every year in Romania, has been used to select its entry for the contest. The first edition was held in 1993, with the winner 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.In, Nico and Vlad won Romania's first and only Marcel Bezençon Award for "Pe-o margine de lume", 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. Elena's "The Balkan Girls" topped the Romanian chart in, and similar success was attained by Mandinga's "Zaleilah" in, obtaining number two in the country's Airplay 100 ranking and a Gold certification for digital downloads exceeding 10,000 copies in Romania.
Contestants
Related involvement
Heads of delegation
The public broadcaster of each participating country 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 contestants, songwriters, composers and backing vocalists, among others.| Year | Head of delegation | |
| Dan Manoliu | ||
| Dan Manoliu | ||
| Dan Manoliu | ||
| Ioan Duma | ||
| Dan Manoliu | ||
| Dan Manoliu | ||
| Dan Manoliu | ||
Jury members
A five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals is made up for every participating country for the semi-finals and Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, ranking all entries except for their own country's contribution. 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 | ||||||
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 Eurovision, after all points are calculated, the presenters of the show call upon each voting country to invite their respective spokesperson to announce the results of their vote on-screen.| Year | Commentator | Dual commentator | Spokesperson | |
| Bogdan Stănescu | Ilinca |