The national selection for the international contest Golden Voices-2010, which will take place at the National Palace in Chisinau on March 8-9, took place on February 20. Moldova will be represented by five remarkable soloists. They are Victoria Evtodienko, Nicoleta Nuca, Andrei Stefanet, Valeria Tarasova and Alexandr Shpilikov, Info-Prim Neo reports. The contest is sponsored by the head of the Center of Culture and Sport, businessman Leonid Volneanskii, who has supported national young talents and sportspersons for over 10 years. “Moldova is full of talents and we should support them,” said Leonid Volneanski, stressing that many of them promoted Moldova's image abroad. In 2003, the national contest was titled The Star of the Elate, but in several years it became international and was renamed Golden Voices. The competition's guests and members of the jury during the last few years included Larisa Dolina, Soso Pavliashvili, Iadviga Poplavskaia and Veaceslav Tihanovich. This year, Moldova's capital city will be visited by France's Ingrid, who will serve on the jury. The competition was stiff, as every year. Seventeen young people competed for the three places intended for Moldova. The jury composed of famous musicians from Moldova and abroad could not reach an agreement and selected five Moldovan soloists that will take part in the final. The final will bring together singers from Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Israel, the UK, Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Latvia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia and other countries. The 16-year-old Nicoleta Nuca is the youngest finalist. She is a student of the Chisinau high school “Elena Alistar” and has won prizes at such contests as The Star of the Elate, The Star of Chisinau and Golden Wings. “There will be many worthy contenders in the final. I am very nervous, but I will overcome my fears,”said Nicoleta. “Last year, I won the second prize of this contest. I hope I will be more successful this year.” The winner of the Golden Voices trophy will receive US$10,000. The first prize is US$5,000, the second prize - US$3,000, while the third prize– US$2,000. The festival is organized with support from the Chisinau City Hall and the Ministry of Culture of Moldova.