While Eurovision attracts many fans from throughout Europe and the world, Intervision is a footnote in international music history. It’s time this obscure competition got a chapter!
Because of the European schism between the USSR and every other nation within the continent, as Eurovision commenced, the Soviet nations could not readily participate in the contest. While some would assume the leaders of the Soviet Union would start a counter-contest, it was not they who organized and maintained the contest.
The first era of Intervision, the Intervision Golden Clef or Zlatý klíč Intervize, began in 1965 as a part of the second annual Golden Prague International Television Festival, produced by the International Radio and Television Organization. It was during this era that Eurovision stars such as Udo Jurgens and Sandie Shaw performed as interval acts, likely to give the Golden Clef legitimacy among critics. It is not known exactly when they performed, but Jurgens and Shaw likely performed a few months after their respective Eurovision 1966 and 1967 wins, considering the Eurovision contests would take place months before the same year’s Intervision contests. All of the contests were held in Czechoslovakia during this era, though they moved cities twice, beginning with Prague, then Bratislava, staying an additional year, and lastly Karlovy Vary.
The very first Golden Clef took place in the Karlin Music Theatre on June 12, 1965. That year, Czech singer and future Eurovision competitor Karel Gott won his first Golden Clef with his song “Tam, kam chodí vítr spát (Where the Wind Goes to Sleep).”
The second annual Golden Clef moves to the Slovak city of Bratislava, now part of the Bratislavská lyra music festival. That year, the non-Soviet nation of Finland joined the contest, a foreshadowing of the international, bridge-crossing aspects of future Intervision contests. This time, Lili Ivanova, representing Bulgaria, wins her Golden Clef with the song “Adagio.” The 1967 Golden Clef went to Eva Pilarová, another Czech singer, with her song “Rekviem (Requiem).”
In 1968, the competition moved one more time, to Karlovy Vary, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia. That same year the Prague Spring took place, which allowed Intervision to expand, including new competitors from outside the Iron Curtain, such as Austria, Belgium, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, West Germany, and Yugoslavia! All of these nations have competed in prior Eurovision contests. But did the new competition matter to Czechoslovakia? Considering Karel Gott’s second Golden Clef, won with his song “Proč ptáci zpívají? (Why do birds sing?),” not really. In fact, it’s Gott’s second Golden Clef, but he actually won three Clefs, earning his Silver Clef in 1966, while also earning second place in the Golden Lyre award in a different competition at the same Bratislava festival.
Due to the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet forces in August 1968, Intervision would no longer take place, never to be produced by Czechoslovak Television again.
One humorously incorrect assumption about the first contest has to do with the voting process, where rumor had it that voting was done by the electrical currents running through the viewers homes, determining if the TV or lights were on or off during a competitor’s performance. The truth is that, just as in Eurovision, juries determined who the winner was.
For a brief moment, hidden in history, the Golden Clef temporarily returns. As a part of the 1971 Děčín Anker Festival, the Golden Clef acted as a non-competitive gala featuring many great singers of the Iron Curtain. Representing Czechoslovakia was 1967 Golden Clef winner, Eva Pilarová. It’s unknown whether the event was associated with Intervision or even televised, and current information is quite sparce.
In 1977, the Golden Clef came back in full swing, though it was not hosted in Czechoslovakia. Rather, it was Poland who brought the competition back to the airwaves, with Polish Television wanting to make Intervision part of their Sopot International Song Festival, which takes place in Sopot, Poland. One major change between the Czechoslovak era and the Polish era was the addition of record companies, including Western companies, in their own competitive category.
Interestingly, the first year’s winner of the Sopot Intervision competition was a Czech, singer Helena Vondráčková, with her winning song being “Malovaný džbánku (Painted mug).” The next year, Russian singer Alla Pugacheva won with her song “Vsyo mogut koroli (Kings can do anything).” The year after, Polish singer Czesław Niemen won with his song “Nim przyjdzie wiosna (Before comes Spring)." And in the final year of the Intervision Song Contest edition of the Sopot International Song Festival, Finnish singer Marion Rung won with her song “Hyvästi yö (Good night).”
Unfortunately, due to martial law, the song festival was canceled for the next four years, only to return with the Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix, taking Intervision’s place.
Surprisingly, this is not the end for Intervision. Its second revival happened very briefly, lasting just one year, 2008, when the Russian state, in an effort for a Soviet Re-Union, invited former Soviet nations to participate. Some did, but some could not, such as Uzbekistan due to making a late pick for a singer and Georgia due to the War in South Ossetia. Lithuania refused their invitation. Neither former Czechoslovak nation, the Czech Republic nor Slovakia, were invited. This 2008 edition took place in Sochi, future venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The format the competition utilized was three nights of competitive singing, the first for an “Original Song” written for the competition, the second for a “Retro Hit” from the 20th century, and the third for a “World Hit,” where the audience would telecast their votes. The winner of the 2008 Intervision contest was Tahmina Niyazova from Tajikistan with her song “Zangi Telefon (Telephone Ring)” and her renditions of “Tsvety Pod Snegom (Flowers in the snow)” and “Hero.” Due to Tahmina’s win, Tajikistan won the right to host the next year, but this was not to occur.
After the 2008 contest, there have been two revival attempts, the current one seemingly more successful than the first. The first attempt began after Conchita Wurst’s 2014 Eurovision win, due to Russian officials taking umbrage with Conchita’s LGBT identity and activism. This contest would’ve returned to Sochi and taken place in October, but the Annexation of Crimea delayed and ceased the return of Intervision. Beginning in 2023, due to Russia’s exclusion from Eurovision as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the nation’s officials restarted efforts to revive Intervision. Now, the supposed 2025 edition of Intervision will take place later in the year.
Despite the winding road of decisions made down the line for the Intervision song contest, it’s best to remember its lofty beginnings as a bridge over the Iron Curtain, built in Czechoslovakia.
Written by Emanuel Linton
Sources:
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