"Intervision": ESC Could Receive Competition from Russia

"For the further development of international cooperation in the field of culture and humanitarian affairs, I order the holding of an international music competition 'Intervision' in Moscow and the Moscow region in 2025," says a decree now published by the Russian president.

ESC Without Russia

After the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by Putin, Russia was excluded from the ESC. The high political significance of the project for Moscow is already evident from the first appointments in this context: Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko will head the organizing committee. The influential deputy head of the presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, will chair the competition's supervisory board. In Russia, the ESC has long enjoyed great popularity among viewers. In 2008, a representative of the country, Dima Bilan, was able to win. In addition, there were four second and third places each. The exclusion in 2022 following the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine was all the more painful for many Russians.

Intervision from Autumn?

The Russian Ministry of Culture made the proposal for a rival competition as early as 2023. According to Putin's cultural advisor Mikhail Shvydkoi, about 20 countries are expected to participate in the premiere in the autumn of 2025. The competition was also discussed in the political talks between Moscow and Beijing. As Putin announced last year, Russia's "Chinese friends" supported the idea of founding a singing competition under the name "Intervision".

So far, Moscow's attempts to respond to international isolation with rival competitions have only met with moderate success: For example, Putin wanted to hold the "World Festival of Friendship" in his own country in 2024 as a reaction to the exclusion from the Olympics. These competitions were first postponed by one year - and then indefinitely.

(APA/Red)

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