Russia to compete with Eurovision: US to send contestants too

The "Intervision" international song contest, prepared as an alternative to the " Eurovision " song contest, will be held in Moscow, the capital of Russia , on October 20.

Singers from 23 countries, including Russia, Belarus, China and the USA , will participate in the competition, which will be held on October 20 at the Live Arena in Moscow.

Russia will be represented in the competition by Yaroslav Dronov, known by the nickname "Shaman".

Competitors will sing in their respective national languages. The rankings will be determined by a jury comprised of representatives from participating countries.

The competition is planned to be held annually.

A press conference was held in Moscow before the Intervision contest.

The meeting was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration and Head of the Competition's Supervisory Board Sergey Kiriyenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Competition's Organizing Committee Dmitry Chernyshenko, and General Director of the Russian state television channel Pervy Konstantin Ernst.

Lavrov, speaking at the event, provided information about the Intervision contest, saying, "The number of participants is 23. That's a good number. If this number increases in the future, the contest concept will be changed. There are no restrictions or criteria. The only criterion is the promotion of national culture and traditions."

Lavrov, noting that the United States will also be represented in the competition, said, "The US administration did not object to this, saying it was leaving it to the artists' initiative. The US administration will not be represented on the jury and will not send an official delegation."

Lavrov shared his hope that the competition would be held annually, adding that several countries had offered to host the next competition.

Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration, Kiriyenko, also stated that singers from some countries wanted to participate in this competition, saying, "However, their wishes did not coincide with the administration of their countries."

Russia was banned from Eurovision 2022

Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko also emphasized that Russia is open to dialogue in the field of culture.

Ernst, General Manager of the Russian state television Pervıy Channel, shared the information that they will broadcast the Intervision contest and that artificial intelligence technologies will be used during the broadcast.

Russia was banned indefinitely from the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022 after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree in February to organize the "Intervision" international song contest, an alternative to the Eurovision song contest.