Vietnam’s Duc Phuc wins Intervision, Russia’s Eurovision rival that promotes ‘family values’ | CNN

Russia launched its international song contest at President Vladimir Putin’s behest, with a Soviet-era name and acts intended to promote “traditional family values,” after being banished from Eurovision – and as a spectacle, it didn’t disappoint.

. . . Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who was present at the event, was quoted as insisting: “We are not striving for any political effect. We want the original purpose of a person and his or her identity to be respected and realized in free interaction with others, enriching one another through the exchange of spiritual values.”

. . . “I am confident that the competition will become one of the most recognizable and beloved worldwide, because through dialogue, mutual respect, and the strengthening of trust between cultures, we become spiritually richer,” Putin said in a video statement that was played in the venue at the beginning of the concert.

While a lot of the music had Euro-pop vibes similar to Eurovision, there was a major difference between the competitions: while Eurovision often celebrates LGBTQ+ diversity, there were no rainbow flags or other pride symbols at Intervision as displays of such symbols are forbidden in Russia.

Instead, the event had a clear “anti-woke” agenda. Moscow has insisted that the competition is about showcasing the “traditional values” of the home countries of the contestants.

“Heterosexualism is very important to us,” one fan of the Russian participant “Shaman,” bluntly told CNN outside the concert venue.

. . . As the massive show drew to a close and the jury voted Duc Phuc of Vietnam the winner, there was time for one last announcement: Intervision will return again next year, when it will be hosted by Saudi Arabia.