Azerbaijan refuses to join Intervision Song Contest in Russia

Azerbaijan will not participate in the upcoming “Intervision” song contest in Russia, Caliber.Az reports, citing an announcement from the event’s organisers on social media.

The statement also noted that the UAE would skip the music contest as well, citing internal circumstances and lack of time for preparation.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry published the list of countries that will participate in “Intervision.”

At today’s press conference, Alexander Alimov, Director of the Department for Multilateral Humanitarian Cooperation and Cultural Relations at the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that 21 countries would take part in the event.

“Unfortunately, not all the countries we invited ended up on the list,” he added.

The Intervision Song Contest was originally created during the Cold War as the Eastern Bloc’s answer to Eurovision. It ran in its best-known format from 1977 to 1980 in Poland, though earlier versions date back to the mid-1960s. Like Eurovision, it was designed as a stage for national entries, but it never reached the same level of popularity. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the project faded away, with later attempts in the 2000s and 2010s to revive it failing to gain traction.

After being banned from Eurovision in 2022—due to its invasion of Ukraine—Russia pivoted toward reviving Intervision as a cultural alternative and political tool. On February 3, 2025, President Vladimir Putin officially decreed the revival of Intervision, aiming to promote "real music" and traditional moral values in contrast to Eurovision’s more liberal image. 

The event, scheduled for September 20, 2025, will take place at the Live Arena near Moscow, with 20-plus countries expected to participate.

By Khagan Isayev