Intervision Song Contest
Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox television The Intervision Song Contest (ISC) is an international song competition originally organized by the International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT) and broadcast live via the Intervision network. Launched in 1965 as the Eastern Bloc equivalent to the Eurovision Song Contest, its first phase was staged in various cities across Czechoslovakia until 1968. From 1977 to 1980, the contest was held at Sopot's Forest Opera in Poland, followed by a one-off revival in Sochi in 2008. After a lengthy hiatus, the contest was relaunched in 2025 under an annual rotating-host model, with each edition staged in a different country.
The ISC replaced the long-running Sopot International Song Festival (Sopot ISF), which had been held in Sopot since 1961, when it moved there for its second phase from 1977 to 1980.<ref name="transformations.univie.ac.at">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Postwar Europe">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Vuletic 2021 pp. 141–156">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1981 the unified ISC/Sopot ISF was cancelled because of the rise of the independent trade union movement, Solidarity, which was judged by other Eastern bloc communist governments to be "counter-revolutionary". In 1984, Polish broadcaster TVP revived the Sopot ISF under its original name.
In 2008, a one-off revival contest took place in Sochi, as an attempt to revive the contest, though subsequent editions planned in both 2014 and 2015 did not materialise.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the Template:Esccnty withdrew from the European Broadcasting Union upon being excluded from the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, another revival was announced by the Russian Ministry of Culture in 2023, with Russian president Vladimir Putin signing a decree for it to be held in Moscow.<ref name="2023revival">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Intervision 2025 was held on 20 September at the Live Arena in Novoivanovskoye, Moscow. The next edition is scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2026.
History
1965–1968: Golden Clef Intervision Contest
The first series of Intervision Song Contest, officially called Golden Clef Intervision Contest (Template:Langx)<ref name="Vuletic 2021 pp. 141–156"/><ref name=expats.cz_article>Template:Cite web</ref> ran from 1965 to 1968 in Czechoslovakia.<ref name="Postwar Europe" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The inaugural contest was held at the Musical Theatre Karlín in Prague, with subsequent editions held in Bratislava and Karlovy Vary.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1977–1980: Sopot
Template:Further The first Sopot International Song Festival was initiated and organised in 1961 by Władysław Szpilman, assisted by Szymon Zakrzewski from Polish Artists Management (PAGART).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The first three editions were held in the Shipyard hall of Gdańsk (1961–1963), after which the festival moved to the Forest Opera in Sopot. The main prize has been Amber Nightingale for most of its history.
Between 1977 and 1980 the Sopot International Song Festival was replaced by the Intervision Song Contest, which was still held in the same venue. Unlike the Eurovision Song Contest, the Sopot International Music Festival often changed its formulas to pick a winner and offered many different contests for its participants. For example, at the 1980 contest two competitions were organised: one for artists representing television companies, the other for those representing record companies. In the first competition, the jury considered the artistic merits of the songs entered, while in the second, it judged the performers' interpretation.<ref name="ISC1980">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The festival has always been open to non-European acts, and countries like Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mongolia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa, and many others have been represented in the event.
The festival lost popularity in Poland and abroad in the 1980s. Template:Lang (TVP)'s unconvincing attempts at organising several of the contests led to the authorities of Sopot giving the organisation of the 2005 festival to a private broadcaster, TVN. Since 1999, there had been no competition. TVP chose to invite well-known artists instead, featuring the likes of Whitney Houston or The Corrs. In 2005, TVN was expected to bring the competition back. In 2006 TVN invited Elton John. In 2010 and 2011, the festival did not take place due to renovation of the Forest Opera. Since 2012, it has been called Sopot Top of the Top Festival and is broadcast annually by Polsat. The festival also provided opportunity to listen to international stars. It featured Charles Aznavour, Boney M, Johnny Cash, and more recently: Chuck Berry, Vanessa Mae, Annie Lennox, Vaya Con Dios, Chris Rea, Tanita Tikaram, La Toya Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kajagoogoo, as well as Goran Bregovic and Anastacia.
2008: Five Stars - Intervision
Template:Main In 2008, Five Stars: Intervision was organised where eleven countries participated and was won by Tajikistan.<ref name="Intervision 2008">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2009, the then Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, proposed restarting the competition, this time between Russia, China and the Central Asian member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.<ref>Intervision: The Russian proposed song contest with China, Central Asia (Shanghaiist: Shanghai News, Food, Arts & Events)</ref><ref>Putin mulls Intervision Song Contest (BBC World Service)</ref>
In May 2014, it was announced that the contest would return, featuring countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.<ref name="HostCity"/> Russian singer and producer Igor Matvienko, announced that the contest would take place in October 2014 in the coastal city of Sochi, which played host to the 2014 Winter Olympics.<ref name="HostCity">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Seven countries had declared their interest to compete prior to the event's cancellation: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Uzbekistan.<ref name="ISCRevival">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Participation">Template:Cite web</ref> Russia had also selected Alexander Ivanov as its representative.<ref name="RussiaParticipant">Template:Cite web</ref> The contest was scheduled to take place in October 2014, ostensibly due to "Russian anger at the moral decay of the West", particularly in response to the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 winner Conchita Wurst. Moreover, the revival was seen as part of "Putin's broader cultural diplomacy agenda".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite plans to stage the contest in both 2014 and 2015, a revival has not taken place.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ivanov later Template:Esccnty in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Help You Fly", but failed to qualify for the final.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2025–present
In November 2023, Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova and Channel One Russia's Director General Konstantin Ernst revealed at St. Petersburg's International Cultural Forum that the broadcaster planned to produce a revival of the Intervision Song Contest featuring the member countries of BRICS.<ref name="2023revival" /> This occurred after the broadcaster's membership in the European Broadcasting Union was suspended, upon the exclusion of Russia from the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 due to its invasion of Ukraine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 8 June 2024, Russian government official Mikhail Shvydkoy told RIA Novosti that "more than 16 countries" would take part in the competition, naming Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brazil, China, Cuba, and Kazakhstan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 3 February 2025, president Putin signed a decree formalising the revival of the competition. Intervision 2025 was held in the Moscow area on 20 September 2025. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko was appointed as chair of the event's organizing committee, while domestic policy chief Sergey Kiriyenko was installed as chair of its supervisory board.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 23 countries competed in the event, which was won by Vietnam.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2026 edition is planned to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, organised by the country's culture ministry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Winners
| Year | Date | Host City | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country<ref name="Vuletic 2021 pp. 141–156" /><ref name="Winners">Template:Cite web</ref> | Song<ref name="Vuletic 2021 pp. 141–156" /><ref name="Winners" /> | Artist<ref name="Vuletic 2021 pp. 141–156" /><ref name="Winners" /> | Language | |||
| 1965–1968: Golden Clef Intervision Contest | ||||||
| 1965 | 12 June<ref name="expats.cz_article" /> | Template:Flagicon Prague | Template:Flagu | "Tam, kam chodí vítr spát" | Karel Gott | Czech |
| 1966 | 25 June<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Flagicon Bratislava | Template:Flagu | "Adagio" (Template:Lang) | Lili Ivanova | Bulgarian |
| 1967 | 17 June<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Template:Flagu | "Rekviem" | Eva Pilarová | Czech | |
| 1968 | 22 June<ref name="expats.cz_article" /> | Template:Flagicon Karlovy Vary | "Proč ptáci zpívají?" | Karel Gott | ||
| 1977–1980: Sopot | ||||||
| 1977 | 24–27 August | Template:Flagicon Sopot | Template:Flagu | "Malovaný džbánku" | Helena Vondráčková | Czech |
| 1978 | 23–26 August | "Patrik" | Václav Neckář | |||
| Template:Flagu | "Vsyo mogut koroli" (Template:Lang) | Alla Pugacheva | Russian | |||
| 1979 | 22–25 August | Template:Flagu | "Nim przyjdzie wiosna" | Czesław Niemen | Polish | |
| 1980 | 20–23 August | Template:Flagu | "Chcem sa s tebou deliť" | Marika Gombitová | Slovak | |
| Template:Flagu | "Hyvästi yö" | Marion Rung | Finnish | |||
| Template:Flagu | "Na vstrechu oseni" (Template:Lang) | Mykola Hnatyuk | Russian | |||
| 2008: Five Stars - Intervision | ||||||
| 2008 | 28–31 August | Template:Flagicon Sochi | Template:Flagu | ''Zangi Telefon''
"Tsvety Pod Snegom" "Hero" |
Tahmina Niyazova | English |
| 2025–present | ||||||
| 2025 | 20 September | Template:Flagicon Moscow | Template:Flagu | "Template:Lang" | Đức Phúc | Vietnamese, English, Russian |
Winners by country
| Wins | Country | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Template:Flagu | 1965, 1967, 1968, 1977, 1978, 1980 |
| 2 | Template:Flagu | 1978, 1980 |
| 1 | Template:Flagu | 1966 |
| Template:Flagu | 1979 | |
| Template:Flagu | 1980 | |
| Template:Flagu | 2008 | |
| Template:Flagu | 2025 |
Winners by language
| Wins | Language | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Czech | 1965, 1967, 1968, 1977, 1978 |
| 4 | Russian | 1978, 1980, 2008, 2025 |
| 2 | English | 2008, 2025 |
| 1 | Bulgarian | 1966 |
| Polish | 1979 | |
| Finnish | 1980 | |
| Slovak | ||
| Vietnamese | 2025 |
Participation
Active
Countries that have participated in the latest edition of the contest:
| Country | Template:Abbr | Debut year | Latest entry | Years | Entries | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagu | Belteleradio | 2008 | 2025 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu | MinC | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | — | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | RTVC | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | ICRT | 1977 | 2025 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu | TEN TV | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | Balageru TV | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | ITV Network | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | ATV | 2008 | 2025 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu | — | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | KTRK | 2008 | 2025 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu | Real TV Madagasikara | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | QMC | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | Pervy Kanal | 2008 | 2025 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu | MOCSA | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | — | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | SABC | 2025 | 1 | 6 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | TV Safina | 2008 | 2025 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Template:Flagu | ADMN | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | — | — | — | — | ||
| Template:Flagu | Zo'r TV | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | TVes | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | Vietnam Television | 2025 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Inactive
Countries that participated in the past, but not in the latest edition of the contest:
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Debut year<ref name="Vuletic 2021 pp. 141–156"/> | Latest entry | Years | Entries<ref name="Vuletic 2021 pp. 141–156"/> | Wins<ref name="Vuletic 2021 pp. 141–156"/> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagu | AMPTV | 2008 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | İTV | 2008 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Template:FlaguTemplate:Ref label | BRT (Flemish) RTBF (Wallon) |
1968 | 1979 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu | BNT | 1968 | 1980 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| Template:Flagu | CBC | 1978 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | YLE | 1966 | 1980 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Template:Flagu | MTV | 1965 | 1980 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu | LTV | 2008 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | TRM | 2008 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | SNRT | 1979 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | NOS | 1980 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | TVP | 1965 | 1980 | 8 | 10 | 1 |
| Template:Flagu | RTP | 1979 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | TVR | 1968 | 1980 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu | TVE | 1968 | 1980 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu | SRG SSR | 1968 | 1980 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu | TTV | 2008 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu | NTSU | 2008 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Template:Flagu ‡ | CST | 1965 | 1980 | 8 | 10 | 6 |
| Template:Flagu ‡ | DFF | 1965 | 1980 | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| Template:Flagu ‡ | CT USSR | 1965 | 1980 | 8 | 10 | 2 |
| Template:Flagu ‡ | JRT | 1965 | 1980 | 6 | 7 | 0 |
| ‡ | FormerTemplate:Sndcountries which previously participated but no longer exist |
Invited
Countries that expressed interest, were invited, or even "confirmed" by the organisers, but ended up not participating:
- Template:Flagu<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagu<ref name=":53">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":144">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":733">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":923">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":623">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagu<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagu<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagu<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagu<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagu<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1123">Template:Cite web</ref>
References
- Notes
Template:Reflist Template:Refbegin Template:Ordered list Template:Refend
- References
External links
Template:Commons category-inline
- BBC Magazine: The Cold War rival to Eurovision, Steve Rosenberg, 13 May 2012
Template:Intervision Song Contest Template:Song Contests Template:Authority control