The Intervision Song Contest (ISC) was the Eastern Bloc equivalent to the Eurovision Song Contest. Its organiser was the Intervision, the network of Eastern Europe television stations. It took place in the Forest Opera in Sopot, Poland.
The ISC was organised between 1977 and 1980. It replaced the Sopot International Song Festival (Sopot ISF) that had been held in Sopot since 1961. In 1981 martial law was introduced in Poland and the ISC/Sopot ISF was cancelled. From 1984 Polish television TVP resumed the organisation of this festival, but with the old name of the Sopot ISF. The winners of the Sopot ISF receive the Amber Nightingale.
The competition had a interesting way of voting. Because lot of citizens did not have phones, viewers have turned on a light if they liked the song, and turned of if they dont like song. According to voltage of electrical network, each country shared its points[1].
In 2009 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed restart of competition but this time between Russia, China and Central Asian countries which are mostly members of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation[2][3][4].
| Contest | Country | Song | Performer |
|---|---|---|---|
| I ISC 1977 XVII Sopot ISF |
Czechoslovakia | "Malovaný džbánku" | Helena Vondráčková |
| II ISC 1978 XVIII Sopot ISF |
Soviet Union | "Все Могут Короли" -- "Vsio mogut koroli" | Alla Pugacheva |
| III ISC 1979 XIX Sopot ISF |
Poland | "Nim przyjdzie wiosna" | Czesław Niemen |
| IV ISC 1980 XX Sopot ISF [5] |
Finland | "Hyvästi yö" -- "Where Is the Love" | Marion Rung |
| Czechoslovakia | "Vyznanie" (also known as "Declaration") | Marika Gombitová | |
| Soviet Union | "Dance on a Drum" | Nikolai Gnatiuk |