The history of Intervision — how the contest was held in different years
The international music competition "Intervision" will be held in Russia soon. On September 20, artists from Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, the United States, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other countries will perform at the Live Arena in Moscow. Izvestia tells about the history of the contest.
Intervision in the 1960s and 1980s: the beginning and heyday of the international competition
After the end of World War II, the International Organization for Broadcasting and Television (OIRT) was founded in Europe. For several years, it remained one of the main television and radio broadcasting associations in the region. However, in 1950, some of the participating countries, among which were mainly Western European States, withdrew from the OIRT and created the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). After that, the OIRT headquarters was moved from Brussels to Prague, which at that time was located in Czechoslovakia.
In the 1960s, OIRT began developing its own international music competition. In 1965, the first Golden Key Intervision was held as part of the Zlata Prague Festival. Artists from the USSR, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and other countries took part in it. The first winner of the competition was the Czechoslovak singer Karel Gott, who was also called the "king of Czech pop music" or the "Czech nightingale". Subsequently, he won the Intervision more than once.
The competition was held until 1968. Most of the participants represented the countries of the socialist bloc, but artists from capitalist countries also competed for the title of the best performer: Austria, Belgium, Germany and others. However, after the events of the Prague Spring of 1968 and the collapse of Czechoslovakia, Intervision stopped for a long time.
The International Song Festival in Sopot, Poland, contributed to the revival of the contest. It has been held annually since 1961, and was one of the largest musical events of its time. Soviet artists also took part in it — in 1972, Lev Leshchenko won the main prize for singing the song "For that Guy." And in 1976, Irina Ponarovskaya became the brightest star of the festival. The audience liked her song "Supplication" so much that the singer had to go out with her "encore" contrary to the rules of the event.
Since 1977, instead of the Sopot festival, Intervision has been held. The following year, the Grand Prix was won by a Soviet performer - Alla Pugacheva won. Her song "Kings can do Anything" became a hit not only in the USSR, but also in other socialist countries.
Since 1979, representatives of capitalist countries have been participating in the competition. The first "Western" guest of the festival was the band Boney M from Germany. Subsequently, artists from the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and other countries outside the socialist bloc also performed on the stage of Intervision.
In 1981 and 1982, Intervision was not held, and since 1984, the competition has changed its name to the Grand Prix of the Sopot Music Festival. After the collapse of the socialist bloc in 1993, the OIRT ceased to exist, and with it the festival ceased.
The revival of Intervision in 2008
An attempt to revive the international music festival was made in Russia in 2008. At that time, the Five Stars competition was held at the Festivalny Concert Hall in Sochi. Intervision." The event was organized by Channel One.
The contest participants were artists from 11 former Soviet republics: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine, etc. Each of them presented three songs: an original composition, a retro hit and an international hit. The winner was determined by SMS voting. As a result, the main prize went to singer Takhmina Niyazova from Tajikistan.
It was assumed that the next "Intervision" would take place in 2009. However, the competition was later postponed and then canceled altogether.
Intervision in 2025
The idea of creating an alternative to Eurovision has been expressed more than once. In 2009, Vladimir Putin, who was Prime Minister of Russia at the time, proposed holding an international song contest in which not only European countries and former Soviet republics could participate. However, the initiative did not receive adequate support at that time.
In 2022, after the suspension of Russia's membership in the EBU, there was talk of holding such a competition again. In the fall of 2023, the project of a new "Intervision" was presented at the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. It was originally planned that it would be held in 2024 in St. Petersburg, but later the date and venue of the competition were changed.
The new Intervision will be held on September 20, 2025 at the Live Arena in Moscow. Artists from Russia, Belarus, China, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Qatar, Egypt, Colombia, India, the USA, Saudi Arabia and other countries will compete for the main prize of the competition — more than 20 participants are registered in total. The winner will receive the Intervision Cup and 30 million rubles.
The main purpose of Intervision is to familiarize with the culture and traditions of the participating countries, expand cultural dialogue and promote universal values.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted the enthusiasm prevailing in the world on the eve of Intervision, stressing that the competition is actively discussed online.
"It's just really some kind of uplift and enthusiasm. I think it's no coincidence, because everyone is tired of culture becoming a sphere of discord, a sphere of endless squabbles. <...> I'm talking now about the world that is developing in the sphere of "normal normality," primordial normality," she said at a briefing, answering a question from Izvestia.".
Earlier, the organizers of Intervision told about the invitation of participants from Europe.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
