Singers from 23 nations have gathered in Moscow for the Intervision international music festival. The event is aimed at becoming a “universal platform for dialogue between civilizations based on the mutual enrichment of national histories and traditions,” according to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Russia was excluded from Eurovision due to tensions with the EU over the Ukraine conflict. It now seeks to provide an alternative based on “universal values,” President Vladimir Putin has said. “Traditional values are already fading into the background... It is time to bring them back to the international agenda,” he stated earlier this month.
The festival is being held at the Live Arena Moscow – a major concert venue just outside of the Russian capital. The song contest includes performers from Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
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20 September 2025
Saudi Arabia will host the Intervision next year, the organizers have announced. The hosting nation is not determined by the winning performance in this contest, unlike Eurovision.
Duc Phuc from Vietnam has been declared the winner of Intervision 2025 by the jury. The second place was awarded to Nomad Trio from Kyrgyzstan, with Dana Al Meer from Qatar taking the third spot.
Nastya Kravchenko from Belarus is the youngest contestant at the Intervision. Some media still named her as one of the contenders for first place. Back at home, she was recognized as the Best Radio Performer at the national Song of the Year award last year.
Vietnamese contestant Duc Phuc is one of the country’s most recognizable pop singers. He rose to fame after winning the Vietnamese edition of The Voice and has since broken records on YouTube and streaming services, with hundreds of millions of views and songs charting internationally.
The band Mzansi Jikelele, hailing from South Africa, has come to the contest with the song Home, written especially for Intervision.
Serbia is represented by one of the founders of modern traditional Balkan music, Slobodan Trkulja, and his band Balkanopolis with the song Three Little Roses.”
A singer from Venezuela, Omar Acedo, is introducing Moscow to his song ‘La Fiesta de la Paz’ (‘A celebration of peace’). “This is a song about peace! This is a message I want to send to the world,” he said ahead of the contest.
Ethiopian singer Netsanet Sultan brings the song ‘Halaala’ (‘In front of everyone’) to Intervision, written and performed in the Amharic language.
Columbia is represented at the contest by Nidia Gongora – a renowned singer and researcher of traditional music from the Pacific coast of Colombia. She is a six-time winner of the Petronio Alvarez Pacific Music Festival as well as a Latin Grammy nominee in the ‘Best Folk Album’ category.
Saudi singer and songwriter Zena Emad has graced the stage with the song ‘Mojrad Ham’ (‘Just Worrying’). She previously won the Saudi Culture Ministry’s contest for young musicians under 21 and went on to also win one of the most prestigious regional awards – the Riyadh Joy Awards – as the best aspiring artist in 2021.
Another family duo at the contest – Denise & D-Lain – hail from Madagascar. The singers performed the song ‘Tiako Hanjeky’ (‘I want more for us’) in their native Malagasy language.
Singer, composer, and actress Dana Al Meer is representing Qatar at Intervision. Back home, she is a leader in the contemporary music scene, who showcased Qatari culture at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup. The singer, known for blending national traditions with modern sounds, was presented by the festival organizers with a balalaika – a traditional Russian instrument.
A performer from Tajikistan, Farrukh Khasanov, has come to the contest with the song ‘Burn!’, which he wrote himself. During his set, bursts of flame shot up around the stage. The singer performed in Russian.
Family duo Tais Nader & Luciano Calazans, hailing from Brazil, have sung a piece called ‘Pipoca Com Amor’ (‘Popcorn with love’). The performers have four children.
UAE contestant Saif Al Ali has performed the song ‘Dawaa Lilalam’ (‘A call for peace’), written specially for the festival. Back home, he is known as a distinguished musical artist who has already left his mark on the contemporary music landscape.
Kazakh performer Yernar Sadirbaev, also known as Amre, took part in the Russian version of The Voice in 2021, where he made all the coaches turn towards him during a blind audition. The singer, who came to Intervision with the song ‘Light of the Steppe’, is considered one of the contest’s contenders for first place.
Kenyan pop artist Natasha Sanaipei Tande, also known as Sana, has performed a song called ‘Flavour’ both in English and Swahili. Prior to the contest, she shared her impressions of Russia, describing the locals as “very friendly” people.
The Russian contestant, ‘Shaman’, descended into the hall on a glowing platform and then soared through the air on special cables as he performed his song Straight to the Heart.
Shaman asked the Intervision jury not to evaluate his performance at the competition: according to the laws of hospitality, he is not a contender for victory, he explained.
Egyptian contestant Mustafa Saad came to Intervision with a love ballad called ‘Elbanat’ (‘Among all girls’). A singer, educator, and soloist of the Egyptian Opera Theater in Alexandria, Saad wrote the lyrics himself.
Chinese contestant Wang Xi has gone into the audience during his performance. He could be seen surrounded by a cheering crowd consisting of hundreds of people, holding their nations’ flags and turning on their phones’ flashlights.
Wang is known for his unique vocal range allowing the singer to go from bass into the high register.
The US remains a full-fledged participant of Intervision and will be represented on the jury, the organizers have said. Joe Lynn Turner, an American singer best known for his work with Rainbow, Deep Purple, and Yngwie Malmsteen, will serve as one of the judges.
A contestant representing the US, Vassy (Vasiliki Karagiorgos), will not be able to take part “for reasons not attributable” to either the hosting side or the US delegation, the event organizers have announced. The statement blamed the development on “unprecedented pressure from the Australian government.”
Vassy holds both Australian and the US citizenship. She is known as an Australian singer, songwriter, record producer and actress, who was the first woman to win an Icon Award at the 2023 Electronic Dance Music Awards.
Kyrgyzstan is being represented at the contest by the band ‘Nomad’ formed out of three popular solo performers, who came together for this special occasion. The trio performed the romantic ballad ‘Only for you’ in both Kyrgyz and Russian.
Cuban jazz singer Zulema Iglesias Salazar has opened the contest part of the festival with a song in the guaguanco style – a subgenre of rumba.
The winner will be determined by an international jury, and the main prize will amount to 30 million rubles ($359,304).
China is being represented at the contest by prominent pop bass singer Wang Xi, also known as Elvis Wang.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called the revival of the song contest “a great idea.”
He said there was clearly strong demand among various nations for holding the event, and Russia’s partners responded positively to the idea almost immediately.
“Culture and music have no borders,” Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, greeting contest participants with a special address. The festival is designed to “demonstrate the unifying power of art,” he added.
Russia has always been and remains open for dialogue and cooperation while respecting the traditions and values of other nations, according to the president.
The festival has been opened by Russian pop singer and 2008 Eurovision winner Dima Bilan. Together with Eurovision runner-up from Russia, Polina Gagarina, they performed the song ‘Na Zarye’ (‘At the dawn’).