The first series of Intervision Song Contest, officially called Golden Clef Intervision Contest (Czech: Zlatý klíč Intervize) ran from 1965 to 1968 in Czechoslovakia.
Between 1977 and 1980 Sopot was replaced by the Intervision Song Contest, which was still held in Sopot. Unlike the Eurovision Song Contest, the Sopot International Music Festival often changed its formulas to pick a winner and offered many different contests for its participants. For example, at the 4th Intervision Song Festival (held in Sopot 20–23 August 1980) two competitions were organised: one for artists representing television companies, the other for those representing record companies. In the first competition, the jury considered the artistic merits of the songs entered, while in the second, it judged the performers' interpretation. The festival has always been open to non-European acts, and countries like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mongolia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa and many others have been represented in this event.
The contest lost popularity in Poland and abroad in the 1980s. TVP's unconvincing attempts at organising several of the contests led to the authorities of Sopot giving the organisation of the 2005 Sopot International Song Festival to a private TV channel, TVN. Since 1999, there has been no contest. TVP chose to invite well-known artists instead, featuring the likes of Whitney Houston or The Corrs. In 2005, TVN was expected to bring the competition back. In 2006 TVN invited Elton John. The Sopot International Song Festival is usually considered[by whom?] bigger than the Benidorm International Song Festival because of its ability to attract star performers. In 2010 and 2011, the festival did not take place due to renovation of the Forest Opera. Since 2012, it has been called Sopot Top of the Top Festival and is broadcast annually by Polsat. The festival also provided opportunity to listen to international stars. It featured Charles Aznavour, Boney M, Johnny Cash, and more recently: Chuck Berry, Vanessa Mae, Annie Lennox, Vaya Con Dios, Chris Rea, Tanita Tikaram, La Toya Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kajagoogoo, as well as Goran Bregovic and Anastacia.
In May 2014, it was announced that the contest would return, featuring countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Russian singer and producer Igor Matvienko, announced that the revival of the Intervision Song Contest would take place in October 2014 in the coastal city of Sochi, which played host to the 2014 Winter Olympics. Seven countries had declared their interest to compete prior to the event's cancellation: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China and Uzbekistan. Russia had also selected Alexander Ivanov as its representative. The contest was scheduled to take place in October 2014, ostensibly due to "Russian anger at the moral decay of the West", particularly in response to the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 winner Conchita Wurst. Moreover, the revival was seen as part of "Putin's broader cultural diplomacy agenda". Despite plans to stage the contest in both 2014 and 2015, a revival has not taken place. Ivanov later represented Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Help You Fly", but failed to qualify for the final.
On 3 February 2025, now-president Putin signed a decree formalising the revival of the competition, which is scheduled to be held in the Moscow area later in 2025. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko was appointed as chair of the event's organizing committee, while domestic policy chief Sergey Kiriyenko was installed as chair of its supervisory board. By then, more than 25 countries had shown interest.
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Vuletic, Dean (23 November 2021). "The Intervision Song Contest: Popular Music and Political Liberalization in the Eastern Bloc". Music and Democracy. Vienna, Austria / Bielefeld, Germany: mdwPress / transcript Verlag. pp. 141–156. doi:10.14361/9783839456576-006. ISBN 978-3-8376-5657-2. 978-3-8376-5657-2
Vuletic, Dean (23 November 2021). "The Intervision Song Contest: Popular Music and Political Liberalization in the Eastern Bloc". Music and Democracy. Vienna, Austria / Bielefeld, Germany: mdwPress / transcript Verlag. pp. 141–156. doi:10.14361/9783839456576-006. ISBN 978-3-8376-5657-2. 978-3-8376-5657-2
Vuletic, Dean (23 November 2021). "The Intervision Song Contest: Popular Music and Political Liberalization in the Eastern Bloc". Music and Democracy. Vienna, Austria / Bielefeld, Germany: mdwPress / transcript Verlag. pp. 141–156. doi:10.14361/9783839456576-006. ISBN 978-3-8376-5657-2. 978-3-8376-5657-2
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"Five Stars Intervision to open in Sochi". UzReport. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714163035/http://news.uzreport.uz/news_9_e_49317.html
"Five Stars Intervision to open in Sochi". UzReport. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714163035/http://news.uzreport.uz/news_9_e_49317.html
"Five Stars Intervision to open in Sochi". UzReport. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714163035/http://news.uzreport.uz/news_9_e_49317.html
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Vuletic, Dean (23 November 2021). "The Intervision Song Contest: Popular Music and Political Liberalization in the Eastern Bloc". Music and Democracy. Vienna, Austria / Bielefeld, Germany: mdwPress / transcript Verlag. pp. 141–156. doi:10.14361/9783839456576-006. ISBN 978-3-8376-5657-2. 978-3-8376-5657-2
Rosenberg, Steve (14 May 2012). "The Cold War rival to Eurovision". BBC News. Retrieved 31 May 2014. Intervision winners https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18006446
Vuletic, Dean (23 November 2021). "The Intervision Song Contest: Popular Music and Political Liberalization in the Eastern Bloc". Music and Democracy. Vienna, Austria / Bielefeld, Germany: mdwPress / transcript Verlag. pp. 141–156. doi:10.14361/9783839456576-006. ISBN 978-3-8376-5657-2. 978-3-8376-5657-2
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