Eurovision Asia debuts in Bangkok on 14 November with 11 countries

A first Asian edition in Bangkok

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) will stage the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia on 14 November 2026 at the One Bangkok Forum in Thailand's capital. The show is planned to run about two and a half hours and will feature 11 countries: South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Bhutan, Nepal, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Mongolia. Unlike the European contest, there will be no semi-finals, so all 11 entrants go straight to the final. Each will perform an original song in one of ten local languages or in English. The field is far smaller than Europe's, which typically includes over 30 countries, and the Vienna edition in May had 35 acts, with more than 40 at peak.

Voting and points

The scoring system copies the European model, with half of the result set by national juries and half by public votes. The juries from the 11 countries will award 11 sets of points, while the public side will produce 12 sets, including a vote from the rest of the world. Viewers can vote even if they live in a country that is not competing. Each vote must be spread across at least three countries, and viewers in a participating nation may not vote for their own country. The traditional Eurovision points scale will be applied to the combined result. The contest will be live-streamed on YouTube and broadcast by government-owned and commercial television stations in the participating countries.

Why the EBU is expanding

The 11 participating countries have a combined population of over 617 million, compared with 452 million in the EU, according to ORF. Martin Green, the EBU's Song Contest chief, says the event should bring nations together through competition and create a pan-Asian platform that does not yet exist. China, Taiwan and Japan are reportedly aiming to take part in 2027, which would enlarge the potential audience considerably. The EBU sees the Bangkok edition as a test run for larger expansion.

11 Eurovision Asia countries617

European Union452

11 Eurovision Asia countries

617 million people

European Union

452 million people

Data from the article text

Doubts and expectations

The idea of an Asian edition dates back to 2008, and the project went through several obstacles and names, including "Our Sound". The EBU officially confirmed on 31 March 2026 that the contest would go ahead, with Bangkok as host city. The New York Times describes this as the EBU's third attempt to build an Asian spin-off, and frames the contest as either Eurovision's first successful expansion into another region or a one-off flop like NBC's American Song Contest. ORF recalls that the American Song Contest in 2022 ran as an eight-week show that moved far from the original concept. Bloomberg describes entries that combine K-pop with Indian influences, a Vietnamese folk song set to an electronic beat and Khmer percussion.