Moldova returns to Eurovision in 2026 with Satoshi and ‘Viva, Moldova!’, chosen through Finala națională 2026 after winning the national jury, the international jury and the public vote. The title alone tells you roughly what kind of entry this is before a note has been sung. Moldova is back after sitting out 2025, and hasn’t returned in any sort of shy or introspective mood. This is a showpiece first and a song some considerable distance later.
Musically, ‘Viva, Moldova!’ does what Moldova often does best: it goes for impact, character and a certain amount of cheerful national self-mythologising. The official running time is just 2:48, which explains why it barrels through ideas at a fair clip. There’s craft in it, certainly. Satoshi has put things together tightly, and the final section contains the kind of memorable flourish that can rescue an entry from being merely busy. Even so, it can also feel more like a package than a song, with all the usual Moldova-shaped Eurovision instincts present and correct. For something carrying such a broad, punchy message, it is oddly bland in places.
Moldova was the third country to confirm a return for 2026 after withdrawing from the 2025 contest over economic, administrative and artistic challenges, so there’s perhaps a little extra symbolism in coming back with a song called ‘Viva, Moldova!’. Satoshi himself is a well-established domestic act, and one of his backing singers is Aliona Moon, which adds a useful touch of Eurovision lineage to the package. Moldova will perform in the first half of the first semi-final, where directness often matters.
History
Moldova’s record at Eurovision remains one of the contest’s more entertainingly erratic ones. Its best result is still SunStroke Project’s third place in 2017, and in recent years songs have swung between inspired nonsense and less rewarding detours. Natalia Barbu missed the final in 2024, and then came the 2025 withdrawal.
As for 2026, qualification feels possible. Moldova knows how to make an entry register, and this has enough stage sense to edge past weaker semi-final opposition. Juries may give some credit for the construction, though it’s unlikely to be their cause célèbre. Televoters are the more obvious route. ‘Viva, Moldova!’ isn’t especially inventive, and less memorable than it thinks, but it only needs to be memorable enough. That’s been Moldova’s trick before.
4 Points
