Intervision returns in 2025 amid politics ^{CEFR B1}

Song contests that began as cultural events are increasingly read as political acts. Organisers, audiences and performers often interpret entries as political signals. This trend affects many international festivals, including Eurovision, the ABU TV Song Festival and Viña del Mar.

In September 2025 Russia announced the revival of Intervision. Alexander Alimov, a Russia foreign ministry official, told TASS: “Intervision was never intended as a counterweight to Eurovision, although there are certainly differences. Our contest carries no political undertones. We are seeking a unifying language based on such values as mutual respect, cultural sovereignty, and equality.” Observers, however, have pointed to similarities with Eurovision in name, host selection, visual style and design. Russia has been banned from Eurovision since the full-scale war in Ukraine began in 2022, so many view the revival in that context.

Recent broadcasts and archive footage have brought attention to Intervision’s history in the 1970s and to the Sopot contest, which stopped in 1981 after a rise of an independent trade union movement that other governments judged counter-revolutionary. Commentators and social media also noted a translated exchange on the revived show and viewers’ remarks about dress and flags.