{"id":154606,"date":"2025-09-19T15:19:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T15:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/154606\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T15:19:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T15:19:06","slug":"china-india-and-belarus-line-up-for-russias-rival-version-of-eurovision-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/154606\/","title":{"rendered":"China, India and Belarus line up for Russia\u2019s rival version of Eurovision | Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russia is gearing up to revive its Soviet-era alternative to Eurovision<\/a> \u2013 the Intervision song contest \u2013 which begins in Moscow on Saturday, with performers from 23, mostly allied, countriesto take the stage.<\/p>\n

But sequinned bodysuits, camp theatrics and Europop bangers will be in short supply. Instead, the Kremlin\u2019s version of the spectacle promises \u201ctraditional values\u201d, patriotic ballads and a Russian entry led by a fiercely pro-war singer, as Moscow attempts to refashion Europe\u2019s glitter-soaked pageant in its own image.<\/p>\n

Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Three years on, the president, Vladimir Putin, has signed a decree to revive Intervision, clearing the way for its first edition since the collapse of the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Shaman (Yaroslav Dronov) enjoys a cuppa at the contest draw. Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov\/EPA<\/p>\n

Participants will include members of the Brics bloc \u2013 China, India, Brazil and South Africa \u2013 as well as post-Soviet allies such as Belarus and several states in central Asia. The show will be hosted by the Chinese showman Lay (real name Meng Lei) and the Indian actor Stefy Patel, billed as the contest\u2019s \u201cinternational pair\u201d of presenters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe quality is high \u2026 The main thing for us is that they bring with them their culture, a sense of life and spiritual traditions. This has succeeded,\u201d said Russia\u2019s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.<\/p>\n

Russia will be represented by Shaman, a peroxide-blond singer who has become one of the most prominent cultural faces of the Kremlin\u2019s war effort. Best known for his booming patriotic songs, among them I Am Russian, which has become an unofficial anthem of Moscow\u2019s pro-war movement, Shaman (real name Yaroslav Dronov) has cultivated a fervent following at home, performing at state rallies and military events draped in the Russian flag.<\/p>\n

Intervision\u2019s organisers were dealt a blow on Wednesday when the American singer Brandon Howard unexpectedly pulled out. His participation had been widely trumpeted by Moscow, though he was never part of any official US delegation.<\/p>\n

The US singer Brandon Howard, who has pulled out. Photograph: Imaginechina Limited\/Alamy<\/p>\n

The show marks an unlikely comeback for Intervision. Launched under the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, the contest ran sporadically from the 1960s to the 1980s as the eastern bloc\u2019s answer to Eurovision. Staged in Poland and the then Czechoslovakia, it also drew entries from Moscow\u2019s communist allies farther afield, including Cuba. At the time, Intervision was widely cast as a gesture of openness after the death of Joseph Stalin and as a showcase of artistic traditions from across the bloc.<\/p>\n

Russia first competed in Eurovision in 1994, just a few years after the fall of the Soviet Union, marking the beginning of a long and complex relationship with the singing competition.<\/p>\n

Throughout the 2000s, Eurovision became one of Russia\u2019s most highly anticipated events, with Moscow frequently sending some of its biggest stars.<\/p>\n

The singer Dima Bilan remains Russia\u2019s only Eurovision winner, claiming victory in 2008 with his song Believe. The following year, Moscow hosted the competition in grand style, spending a reported $42m, making it the most expensive Eurovision to date.<\/p>\n

But as Russia took an increasingly conservative turn under Putin\u2019s rule, there was growing criticism of the famously flamboyant competition, which often celebrates LGBTQ+ themes and performers. Officials in Moscow frequently criticised the contents for undermining \u201ctraditional family values\u201d.<\/p>\n

An installation dedicated to the contest near the Kremlin. Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov\/EPA<\/p>\n

Gennady Zyuganov, the longtime leader of Russia\u2019s Communist party, said this week: \u201cEurovision used to be bright and interesting. But when the west started dragging all sorts of perversions on to television I not only didn\u2019t like it, I no longer wanted to watch it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zyuganov added that he was confident Intervision would outdo its western counterpart in popularity.<\/p>\n

But Russian audiences do not appear to be entirely convinced. Local media reported that organisers, anxious about sparse attendance, sought to pad out the hall with massovka, paid extras, who are instructed to pose and dress as \u201cforeign guests\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russia is gearing up to revive its Soviet-era alternative to Eurovision \u2013 the Intervision song contest \u2013 which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":{"0":"post-154606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}