Vietnam was crowned the winner of the Russian-hosted Intervision song contest in the early hours of Sunday morning after the Australian-born US participant dropped out at the last minute.

Banished from Eurovision because of the war in Ukraine , Russia revived the Soviet-era song contest featuring acts meant to promote “traditional family values.”

Singers hailing from 23 countries competed, accounting for more than half the world’s population, including China, India and Brazil, competing for a cash prize of 30 million roubles (GBP266,000).

The event did have some controversy, however, when “Vassy”, the American entrant, dropped out at the last minute after what the organisers called “unprecedented political pressure” from the government of his native Australia.

A professional jury made

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