Nelly Ciobanu withdraws from 2012 Eurovision national contest

Singer Nelly Ciobanu Monday filed an application, asking being excluded from the national 2012 Eurovision contest. The head of the contest’s organizational committee Vitalie Cojocaru has told Info-Prim Neo that the singer wrote she decided to withdraw for personal reasons. Nelly Ciobanu was selected by the jury of the national selection contest to take part in the 2012 Eurovision final that will take place on March 11. “Today I withdrew from the race for Eurovision. I will support the young ones and I hope that next year we will have a fair Eurovision, without useless attacks and focused on the main objective – to bring the great event to Moldova! Thank you for the support!” the singer wrote on her official website. According to Vitalie Cojocaru, the jury will convene on February 21 to choose a new competitor for the final, from among the participants selected for the second semifinal of the contest. The final will involve 21 singers. Twenty of them were selected by the jury, while one by the public.