Sixty-eight songs have been submitted for the national pre-selection of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest. National broadcaster Teleradio-Moldova, the organizer of the domestic contest, announced that this is the first time when foreign competitors are eligible, IPN reports.
Most of the foreign candidates are from the UK (7), Russia (2) and Spain (2) and one from each of Belarus, Canada, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Romania and Ukraine.
Some participants even submitted more than one song. The jury will select 60 of the 68 registered songs. The first hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, December 17. The compositions that make it into the second round will be performed live on January 17.
“We've decided to open our country to foreign singers in response to Europe's decision to open its doors and to allow Moldovan citizens to enter without visas. We've also changed the schedule because of the foreign applicants and moved the live hearings from December 19 to January 17”, said Leonid Melnic, member of the national organization committee.
The national semifinals will be held on February 24 and 26, followed by the final on February 28. The grand international final is scheduled for May 23 and will be hosted by Austria in Vienna.
