It’s the country that gifted Eurovision fans the likes of Paula Seling & Ovi and Luminita Anghel. And today Romania gave fans something else to cheer about, revealing that it will stage a six-part national selection in six different cities across the country.

Yes, Romania is going big with Selectia Nationala 2018. It will conduct five semi-finals and a grand final, each held in a different city. Working under the banner of “Eurovision unites Romania!”, the goal is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the country’s biggest expansion, which saw the regions of Bessarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania unite as the Kingdom of Romania.

In the weeks ahead Romanian Television will organize an online preselection, set to kickoff in mid-November.

In December a jury will meet to evaluate the songs, and the surviving acts will then compete in the semi-finals, which take place in January and February.

Doina Gradea, Interim General Manager of TVR, explained the significance of this year’s selection.

“We want to bring Eurovision shows closer to viewers from all corners of the country, in a special year for Romanians everywhere — the Centenary of the Great Union.”

She did not confirm which cities will host. However, in recent years, Brasov, Craiova, Baia Mare and Bucharest have all had the honour at least once.

Early confirmation

Call them early, call them eager and count them in! TVR confirmed that the country will take part in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest way back in July.

While in previous years we typically had to wait until late November or even December for news regarding Romania’s participation in the contest, this year TVR is moving quickly.

Hot off the success of Ilinca feat. Alex Florea‘s “Yodel It!”, which placed seventh at the Grand Final of Eurovision 2017 in Kyiv, Romania’s broadcaster seems poised to take the contest more seriously and get things done earlier.

What cities do you hope to see host an event? And which artists do you want to hear sing? Let us know in the comments box below.