Румыния на Евровидении-2006: Скандал и участие Михая Трэистариу

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Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece. They selected their entry, "Tornerò" (meaning: "I Will Return"), by Romanian singer Mihai Trăistariu through the national selection competition Selecția Națională 2006 in February 2006. Controversy surrounded the event, as seventh placed duo Indiggo accused the organising broadcaster, Romanian Television (TVR), of vote rigging. Prior to the 2006 contest, Romania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eight times since its first entry in 1994. Its highest placing in the contest had been third place, which the nation achieved in 2005.

In a late night talk show following the announcement of the winner, seventh placed duo Indiggo accused TVR of vote rigging. Threatening with a €100,000 lawsuit, they based the accusation on reports that their voting line was continuously busy preventing people from voting for them when they called. TVR and the collaborating firm Voxline Communication dismissed the claims and stated that vote fraud was "impossible". Indiggo's "Be My Boyfriend" was removed from a CD of all Selecția Națională entries released by TVR.

For promotional purposes, Trăistariu performed "Tornerò" on several occasions alongside other endeavours. Starting from 20 April 2006, he conducted a tour in 14 countries, including Malta, France, Greece, Cyprus, Monaco, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Moldova. This was preceded by a national tour sponsored by Cosmote, which commenced on 7 April and covered ten Romanian cities. "Tornerò" and its remixes were sent to radio stations and received airplay in several countries before the Eurovision Song Contest. Further promotion was done by Ralph Siegel's Jupiter Records in German speaking Europe. A music video for "Tornerò" was released in 2006 and included on an enhanced CD release of the single that year. With costs for the clip amounting to a reported €50,000, In Romania, the show was broadcast on TVR, with Dan Manoliu as the country's head of delegation. Trăistariu was scheduled for a technical rehearsal on 15 May 2006, which saw various changes concerning the staging being made. A reported €160,000 was allocated for his live performance. Over the course of the preparations, several dancers were fired and replaced. According to the Eurovision rules at the time, selected countries, except the host nation and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), were required to qualify from the semi final to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi final progressed to the final. In 2006, Romania automatically qualified to the final due to their top 11 result the 2005 contest. On the occasion, Trăistariu performed in 12th place, preceded by Macedonia and followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina. Onstage, Trăistariu was accompanied by three male and two female dancers of dance group Big Bounce. Their choreography was done by CRBL and contained elements of ballet and contemporary dance.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Romania in the final, as well as by the country in the semi final and final of the contest. On the latter occasion, Romania finished in fourth position, being awarded 172 points, including 12 by Moldova and Spain, and ten from Cyprus, Israel, Malta and Portugal. The only countries that didn't award the Romanian entry any points were Monaco and the Netherlands. This remained Romania's highest score until the introduction of a new voting system in 2016. The country awarded its 12 points to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Moldova in the semi final and final of the contest, respectively. For the announcement of its points in the Grand Final, Andreea Marin Bănică was the Romanian spokesperson announcing the country's voting results.