When singer-songwriter B Howard takes the stage in Moscow this month, he will be making history. On September 20, the Los Angeles-born artist will become the first to represent the U.S. at Russiaās revived Intervision Song Contestāa cultural event that blends nostalgia with modern geopolitical strategy. While Eurovision has famously expanded to include countries like Australia, Russiaās alternative contest represents a very different kind of international outreach.
Russiaās decision to revive the Intervision brand, which had been largely inactive since 1980 except for a brief return in 2008, follows the countryās exclusion from Eurovision after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That expulsion cut off access to a platform that, despite often being mocked by British audiences, had served as a key tool of cultural diplomacy for decades.
Intervisionās website claims that āthe world-famous music event returns to Russia,ā but the contest was actually created in 1960s Czechoslovakia. And its original purpose was quite different. āThe idea of Intervision was certainly not what the Russians are presenting today,ā explains Dean Vuletic, a historian who has extensively studied the contest.
Rather than being born from exclusion, Vuletic says the first series, which ran from 1965 to 1968, was explicitly designed to bring East and West together. Czechoslovak Television even offered to collaborate with Eurovision organizers, though the proposal was rejected. When the contest finally launched, it featured Western artists alongside Eastern European performers, including Eurovision winners like Sandie Shaw and Udo JĆ¼rgens as interval acts.
Poland took Intervisionās international spirit even further during its second run from 1977 to 1980, including artists from Japan, the U.S., and Canada in a parallel competition for those representing record labels. Both versions were fundamentally commercial ventures, with Czech and Polish organizers using the platform to attract Western record companies and launch careers like that of Karel Gott, who became Czechoslovakiaās biggest pop star after winning the first Intervision. As Vuletic notes, āThey wanted to attract the interest of Western commercial record companies. Itās not like they were communists who wanted nothing to do with capitalism.ā
Meanwhile, the Soviets themselves were not especially invested in these early contests. āHaving been to the archives in Moscow, my conclusion is that the Russians themselves werenāt that interested,ā Vuletic observes. With their vast domestic market, they simply didnāt need Intervision to reach broader audiences.
To understand why Russian President Vladimir Putin is now so engaged with the concept that he revived the contest by presidential decree in February, it helps to examine how Eurovision itself has changed since the Cold War. The European Broadcasting Unionās expansion eastward in the 1990s dramatically altered the contestās character, bringing in broadcasters from former Soviet republics and communist states who used the platform to assert their European identity.
This shift coincided with Eurovisionās growing association with LGBTQ+ causes, beginning with Icelandās PĆ”ll Ćskarāthe contestās first openly gay contestantāin 1997, followed by Dana Internationalās win in 1998 and Conchita Wurstās victory in 2014. The bearded drag queenās win particularly angered Moscow, coming just as Putinās government was promoting ātraditional valuesā and passing laws restricting LGBTQ+ content. For visual culture and identities scholar BĆ”rbara Barreiro LeĆ³n, Intervision serves as a tool for Russia to project its own cultural and political values.Positioned as a “cultural counterweight” to Eurovision, Intervision stems from a desire to challenge Western cultural dominance, especially as Eurovision has come to symbolize liberal Western values.
Beyond the contest’s campy appeal, what may have been even more frustrating for the Kremlin was Eurovision’s role as a stage for former Soviet nations to display their independence and unique cultures. Ukraine’s multiple winsāincluding Jamalaās 2016 song about Stalinās deportation of Crimean Tatarsādirectly contradicted Putinās narrative that Ukraine lacks a legitimate independent culture and history. As Cold War historian Catherine Baker observes, Ukraineās creative entries have made Eurovision “a platform where hundreds of millions of viewers can see that Putinās falsehoods about Ukraine arenāt true.”
While Russian officials pledge to promote “traditional values” and reject what they call Eurovisionās “perversions,” this sanitized approach could backfire. “People watch Eurovision for its diversity, provocations, and politics,” says Stephen Hutchings, a longtime analyst of Russian media.
So, who is joining Putinās alternative? Participating countries seem to be mainly those neutral or supportive of Russiaās stance on Ukraine, though the list is still evolving. Early reports suggested 20ā21 nations, while the current official website lists 17āfar fewer than the 37 that competed in this yearās Eurovision in Basel. Participants include Belarus, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, Cuba, and Qatar, along with Serbia, which is an EU candidate country. The U.S. involvement, represented by an artist best known for speculation about being Michael Jacksonās son, is perhaps the strangest. Unsurprisingly, Ukraine will not take part. Its foreign ministry has condemned the event as “an instrument of hostile propaganda and a means of whitewashing Russiaās aggressive policies.”
Beyond politics, Intervision faces practical challenges. Unlike Eurovision, where most participants share similar time zones (Australia being a notable exception), Intervision spans multiple continents, complicating live broadcasts and voting. For example, 8 p.m. in Moscow is 1 p.m. in Cuba and Venezuelaāhardly prime time. Many performances will have to be recorded and shown later, weakening the shared viewing experience that makes Eurovision engaging. Eurovision grew alongside European integration and shared cultural touchstones, while Intervision lacks the underlying political and geographic cohesion needed to build lasting viewer interest.
According to Hutchings, the mix of distant participating countries reflects Russiaās strategic shift away from the West toward the Global South and BRICS nations. Similar to the rebranding of RT after Western bans, the contest represents an effort to create alternative cultural spaces outside Western influence. Yet despite the geopolitical messaging, the initiative may serve more as domestic theater than international outreachāpart of Putinās broader strategy to foster patriotic Russian culture and show that the country can prosper apart from European institutions.
If thatās the aim, early signs suggest the audience isnāt exactly captivated. As Barreiro LeĆ³n points out…As noted, the contest’s social media presence remains modest. At the time of writing, it has just over 4,000 Instagram followersāthough Instagram is blocked in Russia, requiring users to access it via VPNāabout 14,000 on the Russian platform VKontakte, and roughly 45,000 on a Telegram channel. By comparison, Eurovision has 2.2 million Instagram followers. Vuletic suggests that even Russian audiences may be skeptical, as educated young Russians seeking cutting-edge music are unlikely to embrace a contest that explicitly promotes conservative values.
Whether this latest effort to revive Intervision will succeed where past attempts have failed remains uncertain. While Moscow may present it as a cultural alternative, practical challenges suggest the contest faces an uphill battle. Most European audiences wonāt be able to watch it themselvesāunlike Eurovision, which is broadcast widely across the continent, Intervision will not be shown in the EU or the UK. As for whether Russiaās alternative will resonate with global viewers, the jury is still out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the comeback of the Intervision Song Contest designed to be clear and conversational
General Beginner Questions
Q What is the Intervision Song Contest
A Its a song competition similar to Eurovision that was originally held among Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War Its now being revived by Russia as a cultural alternative
Q Why is it making a comeback now
A Its revival is widely seen as Russias effort to create a cultural counterweight to Eurovision especially after Russian artists were banned from Eurovision following the invasion of Ukraine
Q Who can participate in the new Intervision
A While originally for socialist states the new version is expected to include friendly nations and allies of Russia potentially including countries from Asia Africa and the Middle East
Q Is this just a copy of Eurovision
A It follows a similar format of countries submitting acts and a voting process but its stated goal is to promote traditional values and create a platform separate from Western cultural influence
Advanced Strategic Questions
Q What are the main political goals behind reviving Intervision
A The primary goal is to build a multipolar world in the cultural sphere challenging the dominance of Western institutions like the EBU and creating a bloc of nations aligned with Russian geopolitical interests
Q How does Russia benefit from hosting this
A It projects soft power strengthens cultural and political ties with participating nations and controls the narrative by creating a major international event that operates outside of Westernled organizations
Q What are the biggest challenges this new contest will face
A Key challenges include achieving the same production value and global viewership as Eurovision avoiding being seen as purely a political project and attracting toptier musical talent from outside of Russias immediate sphere of influence
Q Could this contest actually compete with Eurovision
A In the short term no Eurovision has decades of history a massive global fanbase and professional organization Intervisions success will depend on longterm investment and its ability to be seen as a legitimate cultural event rather than just a political reaction
Practical Specific Questions
Q When and where will the next contest be held
A Details are often announced yeartoyear
