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The Eurovision Song Contest Asia is an upcoming international song competition modelled after the Eurovision Song Contest, where broadcasters from the Asia-Pacific region will compete representing their countries. The inaugural edition, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Voxovation, produced by S2O Productions, and staged by host broadcaster Channel 3, will be held on 14 November 2026 at IdeaLive in Bangkok, Thailand.[1]

Plans to adapt the Eurovision Song Contest for the Asia-Pacific region started in earnest in 2008. In 2016, Australia’s Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) took on the project, developing a version of the format with Blink TV and the EBU for a planned debut in 2019. SBS shelved the project in 2021, and it was later handed over to Voxovation, a company created to develop adaptations of the contest format in different territories with licenses from the EBU. No further updates were provided until 2025, when the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) aired a competition called Druk Dra, aimed at selecting its entry for a Eurovision Asia contest before Voxovation asked the broadcaster to stop it. On 31 March 2026, the EBU and Voxovation officially announced the competition, with Thailand as the host country and an initial lineup of 10 participating countries.

Development

In September 2008, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that an Asian-Pacific counterpart to the Eurovision Song Contest would be held in 2009.[2] Dubbed Our Sound – The Asia Pacific Song Contest by 4 March 2009, it was set to be held in the second half of the year,[3] and was to be coordinated by the Singaporean company Asiavision, led by German entrepreneur Andreas Gerlach. Broadcasters from sixteen countries and regions were slated to compete, namely Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.[2] The contest was delayed multiple times and never materialised.[4]

In March 2016, the EBU began development on an adaptation of the Eurovision Song Contest for the region with Special Broadcasting Service (SBS).[5] SBS was working on the project with its production partner Blink TV.[6] The first contest was scheduled to be held in Australia in 2017.[6] The official name of the competition was revealed to be Eurovision Asia Song Contest (or simply Eurovision Asia) in August 2017.[7][8][9] By May, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore had shown interest in hosting the first edition of the contest.[8] The Singaporean government put forward S$4 million to host the event, while the city of Sydney and the state of New South Wales said they would invest in hosting.[10] The city council of Gold Coast claimed in November 2018 that the first contest would take place at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from 30 November to 7 December 2019.[11] In May 2021, it was confirmed that SBS had shelved the project.[12]

SBS’s plans from May 2016 were for one broadcaster from each country in the Asia-Pacific region to be eligible to compete, meaning there would be a maximum of 68 participants.[13] Membership in the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) would not be a requirement for participation.[14][dead link] By March 2019, the broadcasters from ten countries had confirmed their intention to participate: Australia, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Maldives, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, South Korea and Vanuatu.[15] SBS confirmed its participation, while China, Japan and South Korea were named as potential participants.[15]

In May 2025, the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) confirmed its intention to participate in Eurovision Asia, stating that the inaugural contest would be held in Bangkok, Thailand, with 18 countries participating.[16][dead link] On 24 June, the EBU published its Brand Impact Report for the Eurovision Song Contest, listing an adaptation in Asia-Pacific as under “ongoing development”.[17] In August, the location was instead stated by BBS as Mumbai, India, as it began organising a national selection titled Druk Dra that same month to select its entry.[18] Additionally, Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV), which serves Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City area, had initially allocated a timeslot for a programme titled Eurovision Asia on 31 August.[18] On 28 August, Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, stated that “no plans have been confirmed or announced to date” for the contest in Asia-Pacific, further clarifying that Druk Dra was taken off air and deleted from online platforms at the request of the EBU’s partners.[19] In November, Marcus Tang was hired by Voxovation to serve as “Managing Director Asia”.[20] On 15 December, Christer Björkman, Head of Music and Founder at Voxovation, stated in the Eurovision Uncovered podcast that Eurovision Asia was ongoing “intensive preparations”, with hopes of a public reveal “quite soon”.[21] In an interview, Green said that the national broadcasters in Asia-Pacific appreciated the contest as a way of giving a chance to national pop stars, portraying it as a “no-brainer”. The name “Eurovision” was included in the title, despite the event consisting of Asian-Pacific participants, at the request of the prospective participating broadcasters.[22]

2026 contest

Main article: Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026

See also

References

  1. ^ Leong, Adeline (1 April 2026). “‘We Don’t Need It’ Critics Call To Boycott Eurovision Asia”. The Rakyat Post. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  2. ^ a b “Asian ‘Eurovision’ to take place”. ABC News (Australia). 19 September 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  3. ^ “Our Sound™ – The Asia-Pacific Song Contest defies economic slump” (PDF). Asiavision.tv. 4 March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  4. ^ “Our Sound – The Asia-Pacific Song Contest”. Eurovoix. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  5. ^ Granger, Anthony (21 March 2016). “Asia: SBS to create Eurovision Song Contest in Asia”. Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  6. ^ a b Jordan, Paul (21 March 2016). “Eurovision Song Contest concept to be developed in Asia!”. Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  7. ^ Jordan, Paul (18 August 2017). “The Greatest Song Contest in the World is coming to Asia!”. Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  8. ^ a b Granger, Anthony (19 May 2017). “Three cities interested in hosting Eurovision Asia”. Eurovoix World. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  9. ^ Cobb, Ryan (13 July 2018). “Eurovision Asia on hold? Organizers and EBU “still early in the development process”“. ESCXtra. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  10. ^ Spence, Ewan (6 May 2017). “Eurovision Insight Podcast: Insight Asks Australian Head Of Delegation Paul Clarke”. ESC Insight. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  11. ^ Wolf, Brendon (1 November 2018). “Gold Coast to host inaugural Eurovision Asia”. 9News. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  12. ^ Carter, Ford (25 May 2021). “SBS drops plans for Eurovision Asia”. aussievision. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  13. ^ Granger, Anthony (7 May 2016). “Asiavision 12 countries the aim for the first contest”. Eurovoix World. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  14. ^ Adams, William Lee (28 August 2017). “Eurovision Asia: Full membership in the ABU is NOT required to participate in the song contest”. Wiwibloggs. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  15. ^ a b Granger, Anthony (4 March 2019). “Eurovision Asia Song Contest Still in The Works”. Eurovoix World. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  16. ^ “Announcement”. BBS. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  17. ^ “Eurovision Song Contest Brand Impact Report 2025” (PDF). ebu.ch. EBU. 24 June 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025. Ongoing development: Eurovision Song Contest Asia – Promising global expansion shows the brand awareness of the ESC and the attractiveness of the format.
  18. ^ a b Tsinivits, Kyriakos (25 August 2025). “Is Eurovision Asia actually going to happen?”. Aussievision. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  19. ^ “EBU shuts down Eurovision Asia speculation”. The Eurotrip Podcast. 28 August 2025. Archived from the original on 28 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  20. ^ “About Us”. Archived from the original on 29 November 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  21. ^ “Eurovision Uncovered Meets Christer Björkman: “There are Challenges in Almost Every Act”“. Eurovision Uncovered Podcast. 15 December 2025. Archived from the original on 15 December 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  22. ^ Marshall, Alex (31 March 2026). “Eurovision Song Contest to Add Asian Edition This Year”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 April 2026.