Finland celebrated in this race – Now Putin wants to organize it again –

Vladimir Putin plans to reorganize the old singing competition. EPA/AOP

President of Russia Vladimir Putin wants to bring back the Intervision singing contest.

Intervision’s song contests were the socialist countries’ equivalent of Eurovision during the Cold War. Finland participated in both the Eurovision Song Contest and the Intervision Song Contest.

“Interviisut” was filmed in 1980, but now kicked out of the EBU and subsequently from the Eurovision Song Contest, Russia wants to return the interviews.

– The idea is to create a high-level festival like Intervision, Putin said according to news agency Tassi.

According to Tassi, also the president of China Xi Jinping worth the idea.

– We suggested this (interviews) once, our Chinese friends support this. Let’s see what comes of this, Putin said.

The Intervision singing competition was organized for the first time in 1965–1968. The story of the Intervision song contest was interrupted by the Prague spring.

In the years 1974-1976, the competition was known as Grand Prix de disque. In 1974, the competition organized in Sopit was won by Marion Rung with his song I believe in singing.

Interviisut made a comeback in 1977 as part of the Sopot Song Festival, held in the city of Sopot, Poland. The last time the competition was sung was in 1980, when Finland’s Marion Rung was declared the winner. His competition song at the time was Good night.