Russia to host Intervision song contest featuring singers from 23 countries

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Tuesday that singers from 23 countries will take part in the upcoming Intervision song contest, the Russian version of Eurovision, after getting banned from participating in Eurovision following its invasion of Ukraine.

"There will be a participant from the USA. The government, the administration of the United States, did not object, but said that it should be a private matter for the performer," Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference Tuesday in Moscow.

"The US administration will not be represented on the jury and will not send an official delegation, but the performer will be there."

The contest is seen as an attempt to resurrect an international performance opportunity for Russian singers following their ban from participating in Eurovision as a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration, noted that anyone who wanted to participate in the contest was given the opportunity. Still, some potential participants were prevented from doing so by political restrictions imposed by their own governments.

"To be honest, we just know that there were several performers who really wanted to come, but their desire did not quite coincide with the opinion of the leadership of the respective countries," Kiriyenko said.

"There is no discrimination at the sites that are connected with Russia's initiatives," Lavrov stressed. "We want Russia and the Russian people to be known. We consider the barriers erected by the collective West to be harmful."

Asked about whether the competition was a tool to boost Russia's soft power, Lavrov answered: "If by soft power you mean the opportunity to let others know about you, then of course, we are interested in this."

The Intervision International Music Contest will take place on September 20, 2025, in Moscow. It will feature performers from over 20 countries, including all BRICS member states, the CIS, as well as nations from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Meanwhile, Russia's aggression in Ukraine churns on. Over the past two weeks, Russia has launched more than 3,500 drones, more than 2,500 powerful glide bombs and almost 200 missiles at targets inside Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

A peace settlement appears to be no closer despite months of US-led peace efforts. US President Donald Trump's ultimatums and deadlines for Putin to engage with proposals to stop the fighting have passed without obvious consequences.