Russia's revived Soviet music contest to take place in September
MOSCOW (AFP) — Russia will hold its "Intervision" music competition in September, organizers announced on Wednesday, after authorities revived the Soviet-era competition that was meant to rival Eurovision.
Moscow has been banned from taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest over its Ukraine offensive and President Vladimir Putin earlier this year ordered for the USSR-version of the contest to be held in Russia this year.
The Intervision Song Contest — mainly made up of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc states — was held in the 1960s and 1970s to rival the West.
Organizers said that Intervision 2025 will be held in Moscow's LIVE Arena on Sept. 20, promising artists from "various continents" and "unforgettable emotions."
The European Broadcasting Union, the organizer of Eurovision, banned Russia after its February 2022 offensive in Ukraine, meaning it cannot enter or broadcast the contest.
Russia has in previous years been a serious Eurovision contender, and took part in the contest since 1994, winning it in 2008.
Putin issued a decree in February setting out a plan to hold the alternative contest.
The Intervision Song Contest was held in the 1960s and 1970s, before being replaced by the Sopot International Song Festival, held in the Polish Baltic coast city of Sopot, and drawing artists from the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc.
Alla Pugacheva, Russia's most famous artist considered as the country's pop queen, won the competition in 1978.
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