Competitors from 23 countries took part in the rebooted Soviet-era event in the Russian capital
Vietnamese artist Duc Phuc triumphed at the Intervision contest in Moscow on Saturday night with his song ‘Phu Dong Thien Vuong’.
The track, which mixes rap with folk music, was inspired by the story of mythical Vietnamese hero Thanh Giong, a boy who defeated invaders riding an iron horse.
Phuc received 422 points, while the runners-up, the Nomad Trio from Kyrgyzstan, earned 373 points. Dana Al Meer of Qatar came in third with 369 points.
Singer Shaman (Yaroslav Dronov), representing Russia, asked the jury not to vote for him, arguing that his country had already won by hosting Intervision.
A total of 23 countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa were represented at the event at Moscow’s Live Arena.
Duc Phuc told Channel One following his victory that he is planning to spend some of the money from his 30 million-ruble prize (around $358,000) on charity in Russia.
The 28-year-old, who has been learning Russian, added that he wants to master the language so that he can collaborate with local musicians.
The Hanoi-born artist won the Vietnamese version of The Voice in 2015 and has since released many hits in his home country.
Russia revived Intervision, a Soviet-era competition which was held from 1965 to 1968 and again from 1977 to 1980, after it was banned from the Eurovision Song Contest due to the Ukraine conflict.
“Culture and music have no borders, and today’s event showcases the unifying power of art,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a message to the participants. The organizers have said that next year’s competition will be hosted by Saudi Arabia.
