ST. PETERSBURG, June 3. /TASS/. Saudi Arabia is set to host the Intervision international song contest this year, but the dates of the event are still to be decided, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told TASS on Wednesday.
"The Intervision is planned to be organized, but not in Moscow and not in Russia," Pankin said while speaking on the sidelines of the 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
Asked about the possible dates set for the song contest, the diplomat replied that "our colleagues from Saudi Arabia are working on it, they have taken over the baton."
"Organizational issues are being worked out," he added.
The Intervision Song Contest, originally launched by the International Radio and Television Organization (OIRT), which existed from 1946 to 1993, was held in the 1960s and 1980s as an alternative to the Eurovision contest organized by the European Broadcasting Union, which had split off from the OIRT. Along with socialist countries close to the Soviet Union, Intervision participants included singers from Austria, Belgium, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Finland.
