How much is TVR paying for Romania's participation in Eurovision 2026. Adriana Săftoiu: The decision belonged to the Board of Directors
Despite the budget crisis it is facing, Romanian Television is ready to spend significant sums for Romania's participation in Eurovision 2026, the contest to be held in Vienna. According to the information obtained by “Adevărul”, the fee that TVR will pay to the organizer of the competition, the European Broadcasting Union, amounts to approximately 75,000 euros, an amount to which are added other costs related to the organization of the national selection, respectively logistical expenses for participation.
Jury of the Eurovision National Selection. PHOTO: TVR
In an official response sent to the request of “Adevărul” newspaper, TVR did not want to communicate the amount of the participation fee, citing confidentiality clauses imposed by the European organizer.
“According to the provisions of the CONFIRMATION OF PARTICIPATION FORM, the document signed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organizer of the Eurovision Song Contest, and Romanian Television, as a participant, the financial information related to the collaboration for ESC 2026 is confidential”, the TVR representatives sent to “Adevărul” request.
Instead, they communicated the budget allocated for the production of the National Selection. It amounts to approximately 150,000 lei, an amount that will be partially covered by a partnership.
However, “Adevărul” sources explained the real reason behind this refusal. The standard fee that states pay for participation is normally around €150,000. Due to financial problems, Romanian officials negotiated this amount and obtained a half reduction. Thus, Romania will pay around 75,000 euros.
“The decision belonged to the Board of Directors”
Contacted to explain the opportunity for Romania's participation in Eurovision 2026 under these conditions, TVR's general director, Adriana Săftoiu, specified that the decision was initiated during Dan Turturică's directorship, being approved by the Board of Directors
“The decision was not taken by the current leadership in the first phase. After I took over the leadership, I found a decision by the former Board of Directors, by which they voted for Romania's participation in Eurovision, depending on the budget resources. And we, on December 10, had a deadline by which we had to communicate whether we were participating or not. If I had not made the decision by then, there would be some penalties. The vote of the new CA was a majority, in in favor of participation. After this vote, it is useless to tell you whether I wanted to participate or not. The decision is taken by the Board of Directors.” said Adriana Săftoiu for “Adevărul”.
Monster scandal at Romania's last Eurovision participation
Romania last participated in Eurovision in 2022, being then involved in a huge scandal. At that time, the EBU disqualified the jury from Bucharest, along with those from five other states, on the grounds of vote manipulation. The scores have been canceled and replaced with a statistical calculation for both the semi-final and the grand final. The management of TVR at that time vehemently rejected the accusations and claimed that the jury had awarded the maximum score to the Republic of Moldova, but the organizers changed the hierarchy abusively.
Eda Marcus, after the disqualification of the Romanian jury at Eurovision 2022. PHOTO: TVR video capture
Image damage was doubled by high financial costs. According to the data previously provided by the institution, the total expenses for the 2022 edition amounted to 1.57 million lei. Of these, the participation fee paid to the EBU was approximately 782,000 lei (approximately 150,000 euros). The difference in money covered the organization of the national selection (380,000 lei) and the delegation's travel.
