Intervision Song Contest facts for kids

The Intervision Song Contest (ISC) was an exciting international music competition. It was organized by a group called the International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT) from 1965 to 1980. The contest was broadcast live to many countries through the Intervision network, which was like a TV network for countries in Eastern Europe. It was similar to the Eurovision Song Contest but for a different group of nations.

The contest took place in different cities in Czechoslovakia, and also in the Forest Opera in Sopot, Poland. It ran from 1965 to 1968, and then again from 1977 to 1980. After 1977, it took the place of the Sopot International Song Festival. The contest was eventually stopped in 1981 due to political changes in the region.

Years later, there were attempts to bring the contest back. In 2008, a different competition with the same name was held. More recently, in 2023, the Russian Ministry of Culture announced plans for another revival. This happened after Russian broadcasters were no longer part of the European Broadcasting Union due to international events. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree for a new Intervision contest, Intervision 2025, which took place in the Moscow area in September 2025.

The History of the Intervision Song Contest

The Intervision Song Contest has an interesting past, with different periods and locations.

Early Years: The Czechoslovak Era (1965–1968)

The very first Intervision Song Contest was held in Czechoslovakia. It was officially called the Golden Clef Intervision Contest (Czech: Zlatý klíč Intervize). This first series of contests ran from 1965 to 1968.

The first event took place in Prague at the Musical Theatre Karlín. Later contests in this era were held in other Czechoslovakian cities like Bratislava and Karlovy Vary.

The Polish Sopot Era (1977–1980)

Before Intervision, the Sopot International Song Festival started in 1961 in Poland. It was created by Władysław Szpilman. The festival first took place in Gdańsk before moving to the Forest Opera in Sopot. The main award for winners was often called the Amber Nightingale.

From 1977 to 1980, the Intervision Song Contest took over from the Sopot International Song Festival. It was still held at the same venue in Sopot. Unlike the Eurovision Song Contest, the Sopot festival often changed its rules for picking a winner. It had many different types of competitions for the singers. For example, in 1980, there were two separate contests. One was for artists representing TV companies, and the other for those representing record companies.

The festival was also special because it welcomed performers from all over the world, not just Europe. Countries like Cuba, Mongolia, New Zealand, and South Africa sent their artists to compete.

After 1980, the festival lost some of its popularity. The Polish TV company, Telewizja Polska (TVP), had trouble organizing the events. In 2005, a private TV channel, TVN, took over the organization. The festival changed its name in 2012 to Sopot Top of the Top Festival and is now broadcast by Polsat. Over the years, many famous international stars performed there, including Whitney Houston, Elton John, and Johnny Cash.

Countries That Participated

Many countries took part in the Intervision Song Contest over the years. Here is a list of them:

Country	Broadcaster(s)	Debut year	Latest entry	Years	Entries	Wins
Belgium	BRT (Flemish) RTBF (Wallon)	1968	1979	2	2	0
Bulgaria	BNT	1968	1980	5	6	1
Canada	CBC	1978		1		0
Cuba	ICRT	1977	1980	3	4	0
Czechoslovakia	CST	1965	1980	8	10	6
East Germany	DFF	1965	1980	8	11	0
Finland	YLE	1966	1980	7	7	1
Hungary	MTV	1965	1980	7	8	0
Morocco	SNRT	1979		1		0
Netherlands	NOS	1980		1		0
Poland	TVP	1965	1980	8	10	1
Portugal	RTP	1979		1		0
Romania	TVR	1968	1980	5	6	0
Soviet Union	CT USSR	1965	1980	8	10	2
Spain	TVE	1968	1980	5	6	0
Switzerland	SRG SSR	1968	1980	2	2	0
Yugoslavia	JRT	1965	1980	6	7	0

Contest Winners

Here are the winners of the Intervision Song Contest:

Year	Date	Host City	Winner
			Country	Song	Artist	Language
1965	12 June	Prague	Czechoslovakia	"Tam, kam chodí vítr spát"	Karel Gott	Czech
1966	25 June	Bratislava	Bulgaria	"Adagio" (Адажио)	Lili Ivanova	Bulgarian
1967	17 June	Bratislava	Czechoslovakia	"Rekviem"	Eva Pilarová	Czech
1968	22 June	Karlovy Vary	Czechoslovakia	"Proč ptáci zpívají?"	Karel Gott	Czech
No Intervision Song Contest held from 1969 to 1976
1977	24–27 August	Sopot	Czechoslovakia	"Malovaný džbánku"	Helena Vondráčková	Czech
1978	23–26 August		Czechoslovakia	"Patrik"	Václav Neckář	Czech
			Soviet Union	"Vsyo mogut koroli" (Всё могут короли)	Alla Pugacheva	Russian
1979	22–25 August		Poland	"Nim przyjdzie wiosna"	Czesław Niemen	Polish
1980	20–23 August		Czechoslovakia	"Chcem sa s tebou deliť"	Marika Gombitová	Slovak
			Finland	"Hyvästi yö"	Marion Rung	Finnish
			Soviet Union	"Na vstrechu oseni" (На встреchu oseni)	Mykola Hnatyuk	Russian

Winners by Country

Wins	Country	Years
6	Czechoslovakia	1965, 1967, 1968, 1977, 1978, 1980
2	Soviet Union	1978, 1980
1	Finland	1980
	Poland	1979
	Bulgaria	1966

Winners by Language

Attempts to Bring Back the Contest

Over the years, there have been several efforts to revive the Intervision Song Contest.

In 2008, a different contest called Five Stars: Intervision was held. Eleven countries took part, and Tajikistan won. In 2009, Vladimir Putin, who was then the Prime Minister of Russia, suggested bringing the competition back. He proposed it for countries like Russia, China, and other nations in a group called the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

In 2014, there were plans for the contest to return with countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Russian singer and producer Igor Matvienko announced it would happen in Sochi. Seven countries showed interest, including Kazakhstan, Russia, and China. Russia had even chosen its singer, Alexander Ivanov. However, the contest did not take place as planned in 2014 or 2015 due to various reasons. Ivanov later represented Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

In November 2023, Russian officials announced new plans to bring back the Intervision Song Contest. This time, it would feature countries that are part of BRICS. This announcement came after Russian broadcasters were no longer members of the European Broadcasting Union due to international events. By June 2024, more than 16 countries, including Azerbaijan, Brazil, China, and Cuba, had shown interest.

On 3 February 2025, President Putin signed a decree to officially restart the competition. Intervision 2025 took place in the Moscow area in September 2025. More than 25 countries had expressed interest in participating.

See also

In Spanish: Festival de la Canción de Intervisión para niños