Putin Launches New Music Competition After Eurovision Ban
According to Kremlin chief, all countries seek free development and maintaining their identity. “It is the respect for traditional values and the diversity of cultures is the basic idea of the competition and inspires participants to perform artistic performance,” Putin said at the beginning of the competition, which takes place about 11,000 spectators in the Moscow concert hall Live Arena.
Shortly before the performance of the Australian singer Vassy (Vasiliki Karagorororgos), who was supposed to represent the United States, the organizers announced that the singer would not eventually perform. According to them, the organizers justified this by “unprecedented political pressure from the Australian government”. The singer was a substitute herself – originally registered by American musician B Howard (Brandon Howard) on Wednesday canceled participation from “unforeseen family reasons”.
About three and a half hours long show of Russian called Intervideenije transmits the Russian state first channel. The winning song is decided by an international jury composed of representatives of the participating countries.
More than 20 countries, including the former Soviet Republics such as Belarus, Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan, but also with Russia of the friendly countries of the BRICS – China, India, Brazil and South Africa.
The intervention is perceived as Putin’s conservative alternative to Eurovision, whose last four years were not allowed to participate in Russia because of its aggression towards Ukraine.
“There will be no perversion and mockery of human nature,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, referring to the more open and lgBT+ community.
The Grand Award of the Intervention originally took place between 1965 and 1968 in the then Czechoslovakia, later between 1977 and 1980 in Polish Sopot. Its time was interrupted by the Prague Spring, later strikes in Poland and the establishment of the anti -communist trade union movement Solidarity. It was attempted to restore it in 2008, when the artists from post -Soviet republics sang and competed in the Russian resort Sochi.
