Intervision 2025 (), officially the Intervision 2025 International Music Contest, was an international song competition that took place at the in Novoivanovskoye near the city of Moscow, Russia, on 20 September 2025. The event primarily featured representatives from BRICS, CIS, Latin American, African, Middle Eastern, South and Southeast Asian countries, each with a single entrant. Although its organiser, format, objectives, and set of participants differed from the original run, it was regarded as a revival of the Intervision Song Contest.
In a decree by Russian president Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko was appointed chairman of the organising committee, while the Russian foreign ministry was in charge of promoting the contest. The winner was Vietnam, represented by ÃÂức Phúc with the song "".
The Intervision Song Contest was originally launched in the 1960s by the International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT) as an alternative to the Eurovision Song Contest for the Eastern Bloc of states, but was eventually discontinued in 1980. After 28 years, in 2008; an unrelated song contest entitled ' took place, this time featuring countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and the former Soviet Republics.
On 25 February 2022, following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) excluded Russia from the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, as "the inclusion of a Russian entry in [the 2022] contest would bring the competition into disrepute", following pressure from several participating broadcasters. On 26 February, the Russian member broadcasters of the EBU (RTR, Channel One, and RDO) announced their intention to withdraw from the union following their exclusion from the contest. On 1 March, the EBU suspended their membership, and on 26 May, the suspension became indefinite, making them ineligible to participate in any EBU events.
On 3 February 2025, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the return of an Intervision Song Contest by decree, inviting "friendly" countries to the contest, with the goal of "developing international cultural and humanitarian cooperation". The new contest is also supposed to, according to Russian senator Lilia Gumerova, "promote real music" and reject "fake values that are alien to any normal person", referring to Eurovision's inclusion of acts such as drag performer Conchita Wurst, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 for Austria. The contestants are encouraged to "emphasise respect for traditional universal, spiritual and family values". Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that Intervision would be free of "perversion and abuse of human nature, as we saw in the Paris Olympics".
On 26 May 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that it viewed the event "as an instrument of hostile propaganda and a means of whitewashing the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation". The ministry instructed its foreign diplomatic missions to take measures of "political and diplomatic response" against countries that intend to take part in Intervision, with the aim of persuading countries with which Ukraine has at least neutral relations to opt out of the event.
On 16 September 2025, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that there were countries whose artists were willing to participate in the contest, but their governments prevented them from participating. He added: "We will not name these countries in order to avoid difficulties [in the future]. Anyone who wants to come will always be welcome."
On 29 October 2023, Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin announced plans for an Intervision Song Contest to be held in 2024 in Saint Petersburg. However, on 21 March 2024, the planned location was changed to Moscow and a budget of was allocated for the event. In June, the contest was postponed to 2025.
The venue had to be able to sustain a capacity of at least 5,000 spectators. The contest was held in , which is located in Novoivanovskoye, an urban-type settlement in the Odintsovsky District of the Moscow region of Russia. Opened in 2022, Live Arena is a multi-purpose entertainment complex located with a seating capacity of up to 11,000 spectators.
On 16 May 2025, the logo and slogan of the contest was revealed by the organisers. The logo is based on a rhombus inspired by Russian suprematism. The graphic design maintains visual continuity with the old contest of 1965âÂÂ1980 but also incorporates modern elements to "emphasise the relevance" of the event. According to the organisers, the chosen slogan "Music in the heart of your country" () is supposed to illustrate the unifying nature of the event as music holds the ability to "make a million hearts beat in unison".
Entries were supposed to be pieces "popular in the [participant's] country as of the date of the Contest Final", and released within the year preceding the contest, performed by no more than six people on stage.
Documents seen by Reuters stated that "artists may not perform songs that call for violence, humiliate the honour and dignity of society, and it is required that political themes in the lyrics are completely excluded". Participants had up to four minutes and could sing in any language they wish. The winner would be awarded a trophy and .
The results were determined by an international jury from the competing countries. Each competing country provides one juror, defined as "a cultural figure from their respective country (such as a producer, pop artist, composer, musician, teacher, etc.) recognized as a professional in the music industry".
The following list includes Russian personalities who were announced as official ambassadors of the contest by the organisers.
The Russian government directly coordinated participation with foreign governments. A list of 20 countries confirmed to participate in the contest was publicly announced on 12 June during a press conference, with Madagascar additionally confirmed as a participant on 25 July. On 19 August, Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates were announced to have withdrawn, while Ethiopia and Kenya were announced to be participating the following day. On 27 August, Brazil was added to the list and the United Arab Emirates was reinstated.
During the contest's final, the hosts announced that the United States' entrant, Vassy, would not be performing. They claimed that this was due to "unprecedented political pressure from the Australian government", as Vassy is a dual citizen of both countries. In a later interview with Australia's ABC, Vassy expressed disappointment and was "reluctant to give further details until she spoke with the Australian government". The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, meanwhile, said it had "no engagement" with the organisers of Intervision. The US continued to participate as a juror.
It is not known whether government officials and/or organisations from China, Kenya, Serbia and United States took part in the selection of their countries' respective entries.
The following countries expressed interest, were invited, or even "confirmed" by the organisers. However, they were all ultimately not in the list of participants announced by Russia.
The event took place on 20 September 2025 and featured 23 competing countries. The running order (R/O) was determined by a random draw on 12 September. Before she was set to go on stage, it was announced that Vassy, representing the United States, was not allowed to perform "due to pressure from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia". Vietnam won the contest with 422 points, with Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Colombia, Tajikistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, China, and Uzbekistan completing the top ten. Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Brazil occupied the bottom five positions.
The table below summarises how the maximum 29 points were awarded from one country to another. The winning country is shown in bold. Vietnam received the maximum score of 29 points from five countries, with Belarus receiving four sets of 29 points. Qatar and Colombia each receive three sets, Kyrgyzstan and Madagascar receive two, and Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan, and India each receive one maximum score.
Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators, are shown in the tables below. An international live stream was also available through YouTube.
Brazil, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia participated in the contest, but according to the official broadcast schedule, the final would not be shown by their local broadcasters for unknown reasons.