THE country was crowned the winner of the Russian-hosted Intervision song contest after the Australian-born US participant dropped out at the last minute after what the Russian organisers said was political pressure.
Banished from Eurovision because of the war in Ukraine, Russia revived the Soviet-era song contest featuring acts meant to promote “traditional family values”.
The competition saw singers hailing from 23 countries accounting for more than half the world’s population, including China, India and Brazil, compete for a cash prize of 30 million roubles (RM1.5mil).
A professional jury made up of representatives from each participating country decided that Vietnam, represented by contestant Duc Phuc (pic), was the strongest act. Kyrgyzstan was awarded second place and Qatar third place early yesterday. Songs were performed in national languages.
Russia’s own entrant – “Shaman”, whose real name is Yaroslav Dronov – asked the jury to disregard his performance due to Moscow being the host.
The organisers said Saudi Arabia had agreed to host the contest next year.
The show was broadcast live on Russian television. The Russian organisers said it was also broadcast over the Internet or on TV in other countries with a combined population of more than four billion people.
“Vassy”, whose real name is Vasiliki Karagiorgos, had dropped out at the last minute after coming under “unprecedented political pressure from the government of Australia,” the organisers said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from Australia.
Aside from a duo of Russian-language presenters, the presenting team included a female Indian presenter speaking in English and a male Chinese presenter speaking in Mandarin.
President Vladimir Putin opened the final with a video statement saying the world is moving fast and wishing the contestants good luck. — Reuters
