With artists from more than 20 countries and ambitions for a billion-plus viewers, Russia on Saturday revived its Intervision song contest, which Moscow hopes will compete with a “decadent” Eurovision.
First held in the Soviet era and relaunched in February on President Vladimir Putin’s orders, the concert-as-soft-power tool was held at an arena near the Russian capital, with Vietnamese singer Duc Phuc proclaimed the winner with a song inspired by a poem about bamboo.
The performer, who won the Vietnamese version of reality TV series “The Voice” 10 years ago, emotionally thanked the audience “for every second” spent watching the competition, which lasted around four hours.
The four-hour show featured 23 scheduled acts, though U.S. representative Vassy withdrew citing political pressure. No EU countries took part, but performers from allies including China, Brazil, India, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan joined.
Other participants included Cuban singer Zulema Iglesias Salazar, Qatar’s Dana Al Meer, and Serbia’s Slobodan Trkulja. Russia’s entry, patriotic singer Shaman, declined to compete for the prize, citing the country’s “law of hospitality.”
American rocker Joe Lynn Turner, formerly of Deep Purple, sat on the jury, which decided the winner. Organizers said the show’s potential audience spanned over half the world’s population.
Intervision, first held in 1965, was suspended after the 1968 Prague uprising and revived in Poland in the 1970s. The next edition will be staged in Saudi Arabia in 2026. AFP
