Exiles from Europe: Russia announced its own Eurovision analog and called on other countries to join

In the third year of disqualification from the prestigious and world-famous Eurovision Song Contest, Russia has decided to employ the much-touted "import substitution" strategy and create an analog. This initiative was taken by the pro-government Channel One.

The Russians are planning to name the new contest "Intervision," but there are no applicants yet. Moreover, even Russian singers have stated that they would not participate in this event.

"We propose to organize and hold an open music, or rather a song, contest next year under the working title Intervision. There will be no political restrictions or influences in this competition. It is a free platform where all countries can present samples of their popular music," said Konstantin Ernst, the general director of the propaganda channel.

The judges for this event will be Russians. They will allegedly be able to "impartially" evaluate representatives from all countries.

However, there are no volunteers yet. Channel One called on all countries to submit their applications, even ignoring the principle of "friendly" and "unfriendly" states.

The entire initiative was framed as if the Russians themselves did not want to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest because the contest was "influenced by politicians."

The intention of the pro-government channel was commented on by singer Natalia Podolskaya, who represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Kyiv in 2005. She succinctly avoided answering the question of whether she would participate.

"Any contests and creative events are always very cool; they are always things that unite people. But I don't know if it will replace Eurovision. And I don't know if it needs to be replaced. I probably don't want to participate in any more contests," the singer said.

By the way, "Intervision" is a familiar term for listeners who were born in the Soviet Union. In 1977, a contest with this name was already competing with Eurovision and was a platform for propaganda. It did not last long and is hardly remembered.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA reported that the list of finalists for the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Ukraine was announced. You can find out who will compete for the right to represent the country here.

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