back. In 2006 TVN invited Elton John. The Sopot International Song Festival is usually considered bigger than the Benidorm International Song Festival because of its ability to attract star performers. In 2010 and 2011, the festival did not take place due to renovation of the Forest Opera. Since 2012, it has been called Sopot Top of the Top Festival and is broadcast annually by Polsat. The festival also provided opportunity to listen to international stars. It featured Charles Aznavour, Boney M, Johnny Cash, and more recently: Chuck Berry, Vanessa Mae, Annie Lennox, Vaya Con Dios, Chris Rea, Tanita Tikaram, La Toya Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kajagoogoo, and Goran Bregovic, Anastacia. Revival Eleven countries participated in the fifth edition in 2008, which was won by Tajikistan. In 2009, the then prime minister Vladimir Putin of Russia proposed restarting the competition, this time between Russia, China and the Central Asian member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. In May 2014, it was announced that the contest would return, featuring countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Russian singer and producer Igor Matvienko, announced that the revival of the Intervision Song Contest would take place in October 2014 in the coastal city of Sochi, which played host to the 2014 Winter Olympics. Seven countries had declared their interest to compete prior to the event's cancellation: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China and Uzbekistan. Russia had also selected Alexander Ivanov as its representative. The contest was scheduled to take place in October 2014 ostensibly due to "Russian anger at the moral decay of the West", particularly in response to the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 winner Conchita Wurst. Moreover, the revival was seen as part of "Putin's broader cultural diplomacy agenda". Despite plans to stage the contest in both 2014 and 2015, the revival of the contest has not taken place. Due to the cancellation, Ivanov represented Belarus in Eurovision 2016 with the song Help You Fly but he failed to qualify. Participation The contest is formally open to members of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation and any countries of the former Soviet Union. Table key Former – Former countries that have been dissolved. Winners Winners by country Winners by language See also ABU Song Festivals Bundesvision Song Contest Cân i Gymru Caribbean Song Festival Eurovision Dance Contest Eurovision Song Contest Eurovision Young Dancers Eurovision Young Musicians Junior Eurovision Song Contest OGAE