Russia will host the revived Intervision Song Contest on September 20, 2025, in Moscow’s LIVE Arena, organizers announced on Wednesday. The event comes as a response to Russia's ban from the Eurovision Song Contest, following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Originally launched in the 1960s as a Soviet alternative to Eurovision, Intervision featured performers primarily from the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries. It faded in the late 1970s and was eventually replaced by Poland’s Sopot International Song Festival.
Russian authorities, under President Vladimir Putin’s directive earlier this year, moved to bring back the historic contest to promote an alternative cultural platform. Organizers of Intervision 2025 have promised an international lineup and “unforgettable emotions,” suggesting participation from multiple continents.
Russia, a regular and competitive Eurovision entrant since 1994 and winner in 2008, was officially banned from the European Broadcasting Union’s events after launching its military offensive in Ukraine. The ban bars Russia from both participating in and broadcasting Eurovision.
The return of Intervision, highlighted by memories such as Alla Pugacheva’s 1978 victory, signals Russia’s broader push to establish alternative institutions in response to Western exclusion.
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