‘You gave me wings': Moldovan Eurovision finalist thanks his fans
Originally published on Global Voices
YouTube screenshot from the official Eurovision YouTube channel showing Moldova's singer Pasha Parfeni performing in the semi-final.
After getting to the final stage of the international Eurovision Song Contest 2023 on May 9, 2023 in Liverpool, Moldovan singer Pasha Parfeni expressed his gratitude to fans for their support. As NewsMaker reported, on his Facebook page he wrote: “You gave me wings and gave me a great chance to continue our adventure at Eurovision 2023! See you in the final!”
The first semi-final of Eurovision was held in Liverpool on May 9, featuring 15 participants from various countries. Among them was Moldova's representative, Pasha Parfeni, who received his spot in the Eurovision final contest. Along with the Moldovan singer, musicians from nine other countries qualified for the Grand Final: Croatia, Switzerland, Finland, Czechia, Israel, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia and Norway.
The second semi-final is set to take place on May 11, with anticipation mounting for another exciting night of performances.
Earlier, on April 29, the president of Moldova Maia Sandu met with Pasha Parfeni to wish him luck in the competition. As NewsMaker reported, she expressed her pride for the Moldovan singer participating in Eurovision and pledged to support him throughout the event. “We can't wait to see you in the final! Good luck, Pasha!” Sandu said.
In the grand final of Etapa Națională 2023, Moldova selected their representative for this year's Eurovision in Liverpool. After multiple rounds of elimination, Parfeni emerged as the winner with his song “Soarele şi Luna” (“The Sun and the Moon”), despite not being one of the original favorites. This will be Parfeni's second time representing Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest.
In 2012, he was in semi-final with the song “Lăutar.” He went on to take the 11th place in the Grand Final in Baku in 2012.
A video of a live performance of “Soarele şi Luna,” Moldova's entry in the 2023 semi-final.
Speaking at a press conference in April, Pasha Parfeni said:
During this entire period, I felt the support of the public. Any contest, especially Eurovision, is a team contest. I am grateful that my team is the Republic of Moldova.
Last year's competition was won by Ukraine's Kulash Orchestra with their song “Stefania.” The usual pattern is for the subsequent contest to be held in the winner's country but the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022 and is still ongoing, prevented this.
The Eurovision Final will be held on May 13 in Liverpool.
Originally published in Global Voices.
