Romania is
represented at the 2019 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest by Ester Peony,
who will perform the song On a Sunday. This year’s edition is hosted by
Israel, after last year the competition was won by Israeli singer Netta
Barzilai with her song Toy. Romania’s representative will perform live on
stage on Thursday, May 16, in the second semi-final, and is sixth on the entry
list. In a statement to the European Radio and Television Broadcasting Union,
Ester Peony said she was happy to be part of this important show, hoping to
make Romania proud. The competition is tight, I’ve seen the other participants,
they are all very good, and I hope the best will win, Ester Peony said.
Our
representative will compete for a place in the final alongside artists from 17
countries, including the Republic of Moldova, Switzerland, Sweden, the
Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Russia and Austria. The opening ceremony was held on
Sunday evening, when competitors from 41 countries walked on the orange carpet
in front of Habima Theatre Square in the center of Tel Aviv. On Monday, the
Romanian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv, in cooperation with the Romanian
Television Station and the embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Israel hosted
an event promoting Romania’s representative, consisting in a concert delivered
by Ester Peony and featuring the representative of Moldova, Anna Odobescu, as
special guest. The concert was followed by a standing reception for the
delegations of Romania and Moldova, as well as for the other guests, Israeli
authorities, representatives of Romanian communities in Israel, members of the
diplomatic corps and other partners of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Tel
Aviv.
We recall Romania’s best performances in this competition so far have
been 2 third places (Luminiţa Anghel & Sistem in Kiev, 2005; Paula Seling
and Ovi in Oslo, 2010) and a fourth place (Mihai Trăistariu in Athens, 2006). As
a preview for the 2019 Eurovision song contest, we end our newscast by inviting
you to listen to an excerpt from On a Sunday. Performing is Ester Peony.