Vietnam Wins Russia’s Intervision Song Contest, Pitched as Conservative Rival to Eurovision

Vietnam has won Russia’s Intervision Song Contest, a state-backed event promoted as the geopolitical and socially conservative counterpart to Eurovision. The victory was announced early Sunday after the contest, revived at the direction of President Vladimir Putin, concluded outside Moscow.

Putin ordered Intervision’s revival in February, framing it around “traditional family values.” The event traces its roots to a Soviet-era regional music competition. Moscow’s expulsion from Eurovision in 2022—after Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine—gave added impetus to its return. Kyiv dismissed the contest as “a tool of hostile propaganda.”

Broadcast live on Russian television and aired across parts of Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe, the competition drew performers from more than 20 nations, collectively home to some 4 billion people, including China, India, and Brazil.

Vietnam’s Duc Phuc took the top honor with a performance based on a folk legend of a king celebrated for repelling invading armies. His powerful vocals, accompanied by fireworks, earned him the jury’s highest marks along with a prize of 30 million rubles (about $360,000) and a trophy. Kyrgyzstan placed second and Qatar third.

Russia’s entrant, nationalist singer Shaman (real name Yaroslav Dronov), requested that his performance be excluded from the scoring since Moscow was hosting. Organizers announced that Saudi Arabia would host next year’s competition.

Saturday’s contest featured artists from Belarus, Cuba, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela—countries aligned with Russia diplomatically. Putin himself opened the final with a video address declaring that the world is “changing rapidly.”

One controversy centered on U.S. representation. The organizers said Australian-born singer Wasi, who also holds an American passport, withdrew at the last moment under “political pressure from the Australian government.” No comment was issued from Canberra. Wasi had only recently replaced U.S.-born R&B artist Brandon Howard, who pulled out days earlier citing family reasons.

Ahead of the contest, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed the importance of preserving “traditions, national cultures, and religious, spiritual, and moral principles.” He took a swipe at Eurovision, recalling how it was once won by “a bearded man in a dress”—a pointed reference to Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst, the 2014 Eurovision champion.

Russia has tightened laws prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality and designated the “international LGBT public movement” as an extremist organization, underscoring the ideological gulf between Intervision and Eurovision.