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Russia plans “Eurovision alternative revival” after 2022 withdrawal

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Russia is planning to revive the “Intervision Song Contest” as an Eurovision alternative after their public broadcasters withdrew from the EBU.  In practice this means that if Russia would like to participate at the Eurovision Song Contest it would have to reapply to the EBU making a return in the near future less likely to happen.

According to the Director General of Channel One, the Russian broadcaster will organize the return of the music festival

“We propose that in the coming year we hold and hold every year an open music, or rather song, competition under the working title “Intervision”. This competition will not have any political restrictions or influences. This is a free platform on which all countries can present samples of their popular music.”

Intervision Song Contest

The Intervision Song Contest was organized during  the Cold War as an alternative to the Eurovision Song Contest.  The contest reunited countries that were part of the Soviet sphere of influence.  The Intervision Song Contest took place between 1965 to 1968 and 1977 to 1980.  In 2008 Russia attempted to revive the contest.  However, the Intervision Song Contest was once again discontinued after the 2008 edition.

During the Cold war countries within the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence such as Bulgaria, Finland or Poland participated at the Intervision Song Contest.  Moreover, the contest was open to countries outside Europe such as Cuba or Canada.

For the 2023 edition of Intervision, Russia is planning to invite BRIC nations and other countries wishing to participate.

Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Russia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994.  The country participated every year in the contest with the exception of 1998, 1999 and 2017.  In 2008 Dima Bilan won the contest with the song “Believe”.  In 2022 the EBU withdraw their invitation to Russia as a consequence of the ongoing war against Ukraine.  This prompt Russian broadcasters to suspend their membership from the EBU.

Source: TASS

Will you watch the Intervision Song Contest 2024?  Do you think the new edition could become a Eurovision alternative?

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for more news about Intervision and the Eurovision Song Contest 2024!

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Russian pop star Alla Pugacheva condemns war against Ukraine!

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Russian pop star Alla Pugacheva has condemned once again the war her country launched against Ukraine.  The 73 old singer enjoys the status of pop legend in her country since her stage debut in the Soviet Union in the 1970s.

In February 24, Pugacheva condemned the war for the first time on an Instagram post where she wrote:

“I cannot describe what I am feeling right now. How is this all possible? There is no justification for war! No to war!”

Soon after that, Pugacheva and her husband, Maxim Galkin decided to move to Israel with their children.  She returned to Russia in August according to a Russian fashion designer.  It is unclear if she remains in her home country in the present.

However, Pugacheva decided to speak out once more after her husband was designated a foreign agent.  Pugacheva’s husband, a comedian and TV presenter had also condemned the war against Ukraine.  According to the Russian law organizations and individuals that receive funding from abroad can be declared foreign agents. The term carries a strong pejorative sense and implies additional government scrutiny.

In response to this decision from the Russian Ministry of Justice, Pugacheva took social media to respond.  In her message she asked to be named a ‘foreign agent’ like her husband.  She further said her country had “illusory dreams” in Ukraine.  Pugacheva said her husband wished for an end to the death of Russian soldiers, who were “dying for illusory aims that make our country a pariah.”

Alla Pugacheva is also known among Eurovision fans for representing Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 1997.

Source: CNN, Euronews

OGAE Song Contest: UK and Germany withdraw in solidarity with Ukraine!

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Two more OGAE members have decided to withdraw from the annual OGAE Song Contest.  The decisions of OGAE UK and OGAE Germany not to participate in the contest held in Australia comes as an act of solidarity with Ukraine.  Just a couple of weeks ago, OGAE Ukraine withdrew from the contest as a protest against the decision to keep OGAE Russia as a contestant.  OGAE Ukraine had asked OGAE International to kick OGAE Russia out of the contest.  The Ukrainian branch accused their Russian counterparts of supporting the ongoing war against Ukraine.

OGAE UK withdrawal

OGAE UK decided to have a voting on whether to remain or leave the OGAE Song Contest following the decision to keep Russia in the contest.

“While many may believe the context of a fan run song contest is a minor event, I reiterate that in this current climate, the politics and actions of one country against another involved in OGAE and Eurovision cannot be ignored or disregarded”. OGAE UK

An internal vote took place on this subject.  According to the results, 72.34% of OGAE UK members decided to leave the OGAE Song Contest.

OGAE Germany withdrawal

In a similar fashion, OGAE Germany voted if they wanted to continue their participation in the current OGAE Song Contest.  OGAE Germany announced in a communication the results of this voting.  In contrast with their British counterparts however, the final results of the German voting were closer.

The majority of the members decided to withdraw with a final result of 56.62% asking to leave against 43.38% who voted to remain.

It is not yet known if other national clubs also voted to leave the contest.  However, according to OGAE Germany “37% of all clubs had voted to comply with OGAE Ukraine’s request outlined above, but OGAE has not made transparent which OGAE International club members voted and how.”

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more updates regarding the OGAE Song Contest!

OGAE Ukraine withdraws from the OGAE Song Contest

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OGAE Ukraine has announced it will not participate in the OGAE Song Contest 2022.  As we informed before, OGAE Ukraine had requested the disqualification of OGAE Russia as a consequence of the ongoing war.

However, OGAE International did not agree with their request.  As a consequence, OGAE Ukraine withdrew their participation citing legal and moral reasons.  Moreover, in their statement OGAE Ukraine says their branch intends not to participate in any event organized by OGAE International in which OGAE Russia is also participating.

We are deeply saddened by the decision of the clubs that supported the continuation of OGAE Russia’s participation in the activities of the international society of Eurovision Song Contest fans, as well as with the fact that the main idea of this event — to prevent war on the European continent — was distorted.

This decision do not come as a surprise.  In their initial request, OGAE Ukraine warned that their club would not compete with a club they accuse of supporting the acts of their government.

OGAE Australia is hosting the OGAE Song Contest 2022 after Tones and I won in 2021 with ‘Fly Away’.

We are saddened by this development and hope we will see Ukraine participating again under normal circumstances.

 

“OGAE Russia allegedly supports actions of their government!”

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OGAE Russia has allegedly published an article that makes reference to the Ukraine-Russia war.  Although the article is from February 26 when the war had started, OGAE Ukraine brought it back into the public eye.

As we previously informed, OGAE Ukraine asked OGAE International to disqualify Russia from its annual OGAE Song Contest.  However, the request from OGAE Ukraine has received mixed responses.  There are people who agree to support this petition to show support to Ukraine.  On the other hand, there are fans that consider such a ban would be a “punishment” against Russian artists and fans.  It must be highlighted that OGAE is a fans only organization with no connections to the government of the country.

OGAE Russia publication

 

OGAE Russia published the message above on their website which is still available in this link.  In the last message OGAE Russia is apparently giving a contradictory message stating they are an apolitical organization but at the same time supporting the war.  The sentence roughly translates:

OGAE Russia considers it necessary to express its apolitical position on what is happening in support of the actions of our country. 

OGAE Ukraine has condemned this message.  In a recent publication on Instagram, OGAE Ukraine points out that “this means NOT the support for broadcasters’ decisions, NOT the support for artists, but the support for the actions of their country specifically.  Additionally, they mention that in their statement, OGAE Russia used the picture of a house in Ukraine hit by a Russan missile.

According to OGAE Ukraine, their condemnation also extends to one of the chosen Russian contestants. Vladimir Presniakov has  supposedly expressed his support for the war and took part in a concert in support of the Russian invasion.

 

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more updates in this and other eurovision related news!

 

Ukraine: OGAE Ukraine demands total ban of Russian OGAE branch!

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In a official statement OGAE Ukraine has requested OGAE International to disqualify Russia from its annual OGAE Song Contest.  OGAE International Network (French: Organisation Générale des Amateurs de l’Eurovision, English: General Organization of Eurovision Fans) is the network of official Eurovision fan clubs across the world.  Among their activities, OGAE organizes a pre-Eurovision poll, the OGAE Second Chance Contest and the OGAE Song Contest.

OGAE Song Contest

Every year OGAE International Network organizes the OGAE Song Contest.  Each national branch of OGAE can submit an original song sung in one of the country’s official languages released in the previous 12 months.

OGAE Russia chose Leonid Agutin and Vladimir Presnjakov with ‘ДНК [DNA]’ to participate at the OGAE Song Contest.

OGAE Ukraine statement

OGAE Ukraine published an official statement on its Instagram stories demanding OGAE International “to ban representatives from Russia, as well as their club, from participating in the OGAE Song Contest.”

While hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians suffer from Russian aggression and genocide (…) we find heartbreaking that OGAE International allows Russia to participate in the competition or any kind of activity related.

The statement ends up stating that if Russia is not disqualified, OGAE Ukraine will be forced to withdraw from the OGAE Song Contest.

OGAE Australia is hosting the OGAE Song Contest 2022 after Tones and I won in 2021 with ‘Fly Away’.

 

Kalush Orchestra auctions pink hat and Eurovision trophy

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Oleh Psyuk, the lead singer of Kalush Orchestra confirmed their intention to auction their Eurovision trophy.  All proceeds from this auction are intended to help the Ukrainian military.  Oleh iconic pink hat which he wore during his Eurovision performance is also a part of the auction.

The auction

Starting in May 28th at 7 pm people who want to participate can donate 200 Grivna (around 5 euros) through this link.  Each participant will get one lottery ticket for every 200 grivna donation.  The winner of the lottery will get Oleh’s pink hat.  Moreover, the person who donates the most amount of money or in cryptocurrency will get the Eurovision 2022 trophy.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by KALUSH (@kalush.official)

“We are doing our best to help Ukraine. This is my panama hat, still with the sweat of my performance at Eurovision 2022. We want to sell this hat and all the proceeds will go to the Ukrainian military”  Oleh Psyuk

 

Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 held in Turin with their song Stefania.  The band received 631 points in the Grand Final, 439 coming from the televote making them the winners with the highest number of televote points in Eurovision history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fl60ypdLs&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Source

Stay tuned for more Eurovision related news and updates!

Latvia: Polina Gagarina and Natalya Podolskaya banned from entering the country over their support of Russia’s war in Ukraine!

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Latvia’s message is clear: Polina Gagarina and Natalya Podolskaya are not welcome in the country.

On Thursday, Latvia’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs included the two Russian representatives in Eurovision, on a list of 25 Russian entertainers and artists deemed “undesirable people” for “expressing active support for the long-running aggression of the Russian authorities against Ukraine”.

As Latvian public media LSV reports, the list includes 20 people who took part in a highly criticized event in Moscow on 18 March. Artists, including Polina Gagarina, performed at the Luzhniki Stadium to mark the eighth anniversary of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and to support the country’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

President Putin appeared, stating that Russians “have not had such unity for a long time”.

But, as the BBC reports, not everyone in the audience actually wanted to be there. Many told the BBC they worked in the public sector, and that they had been pressured into attending by their employers. Students told that they had been given the option of a day off from lectures if they attended ‘a concert’. Some of the students we spoke to didn’t even know that the event was dedicated, in part, to support the war in Ukraine.

The list of undesirable persons in Latvia includes: Maria Sitela, Dmitry Guberniev, Vladimir Mashkov, Artyom Fence, Tina Candelaki, Viktor Polakov, Polina Gagarina, Nikolai Rastorgujev, Vitaly Loktev, Alexander Jerohin, Sergei Pereguda, Vasily Peguda, Vasily Denis Macujev, Nikita Mikhalkov, Valery Gergiev, Dmitry Streltsov, Alexei Tarasov, Pavel Suchkov, Alexei Kantur, Sergei Polunin, Victoria Ciganova, Stanislav Mikhailov.

Polina’s public support of the war created a negative impression Eurovision fans. Her 2015 entry — the peace anthem “A Million Voices” — is completely at odds with the brutal war Russia started in the name of Putin.

Latvia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that “those included in the list of undesirable persons for Latvia clearly justify and propagate the unprovoked and unjustifiable Russian invasion and war in Ukraine. Latvia strongly condemns Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war in Ukraine, which has lasted for almost a month and where Ukrainian civilians and soldiers are losing their lives every day as a result of the brutal actions of the Russian armed forces. Entry into Latvia is not allowed.”

Source: wiwibloggs.com

Russia: Polina Gagarina sang at Putin’s fiesta!

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In addition to the letter “Z” and a banner with slogans in favor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Polina Gagarina, took part in the pro-war fiesta organized by Vladimir Putin in Moscow on the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.

Just behind the point where Vl. Putin at Moscow’s Luzinski Stadium for Crimea, there were two banners reading “ZA ROSSIA” and “ZA MIR WITHOUT NATIONALISM” in Russian, while on the giant screens it read “SVOIH NE BROSAEM”, “KOSB” and “ZA ПРЕЗИДЕНТА”.

The “Z” is the symbol of the Russians for the invasion of Ukraine. It is written on the tanks, armor and all motor vehicles used by the Russians in the invasion operations in Ukraine. However, the letter “Z” does not exist in the Cyrillic alphabet! The rest, that is, “ZA ROSSIA” translates (ZA) “Russia”, while “ZA MIR WITHOUT NAZISM” translates (ZA) “world without Nazism”. Essentially, the second is the main argument of Putin and the Russians for the invasion of the territory of Ukraine – the de-Nazification of the country.

Of course, the participation of Polina Gagarina in this fiesta of the Russian president caused a negative impression. Despite the fact that the Russian singer won second place at Eurovision 2015 with a song that praises peace and the solidarity of peoples, her subsequent behavior proves that she was not at all influenced by the message of her song.

You can see the appearance of Polina Gagarina in the concert, at 08.50:

We remind you that due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EBU decided to exclude Russia from the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. In response, Russia announced its withdrawal from the EBU.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments of our favorite competition!