Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026
Date and venue
Final	14 November 2026
Venue	IdeaLive Arena (ไอเดียไลฟ์), Bangkok, Thailand
ORGANIsation – Production
Organiser – Host broadcaster	European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Voxovation – Channel 3
Producers	S2O Productions
Participants (provisional; as of March 2026)
Intend on participating	11
Debuting countries	🇧🇩 Bangladesh, 🇧🇹 Bhutan, 🇰🇭 Cambodia, 🇮🇳 India, 🇱🇦 Laos, 🇲🇾 Malaysia, 🇳🇵 Nepal, 🇵🇭 Philippines, 🇰🇷 South Korea, 🇹🇭 Thailand, 🇻🇳 Vietnam
Participation map V. – Countries which have provisionally confirmed their participation in 2026; G. – Countries which have participated in past editions
Eurovision Song Contest Asia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knYLQZvsE3U

The Eurovision Song Contest Asia (ESCA) / การประกวดเพลงยูโรวิชันเอเชีย (อีเอสซีเอ) 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.

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 11 participating countries.

(it) La European Broadcasting Union e Voxovation, insieme a S2O Productions e all’emittente thailandese Channel 3, hanno annunciato lo sbarco dell’Eurovision Song Contest in Asia: la popolare manifestazione canora debutterà in Oriente con una prima edizione a Bangkok, in Thailandia, che culminerà in una finale prevista per il prossimo 14 novembre. Le emittenti di Corea del Sud, Thailandia, Filippine, Vietnam, Malesia, Cambogia, Laos, Bangladesh, Nepal e Bhutan hanno già confermato la propria partecipazione: secondo gli organizzatori, altre adesioni sono attese nelle prossime settimane.

L’operazione è stata varata in concomitanza con il settantesimo anniversario della manifestazione originale.

“E’ significativo aprire questo capitolo con l’Asia proprio per il nostro 70° anniversario”, ha commentato il direttore di EBU Martin Green: “Vogliamo far evolvere l’Eurovision insieme all’Asia, riflettendo le voci e le ambizioni della regione pur rimanendo fedeli a ciò che rende speciale il concorso”.

“Fin dal primo giorno, la nostra ambizione è stata costruire uno show che rifletta l’identità e l’energia creativa dell’Asia”, ha aggiunto Peter Settman, CEO di Voxovation: “Portare questo spettacolo incredibile in un nuovo continente è qualcosa di molto speciale”.

La scelta di Bangkok come città ospitante – ha spiegato EBU – “punta a generare visibilità internazionale per la metropoli, sostenendo il turismo e le industrie creative locali”. Social partner ufficiale della versione asiatica del format è ZOOP, che “metterà il pubblico al centro dell’azione tramite una piattaforma di partecipazione dei fan, che permetterà di interagire con gli artisti, unirsi a community e ricevere premi per il coinvolgimento attivo”.

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. 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, and was to be coordinated by the Singaporean company Asiavision, led by German entrepreneur Andreas Gerlach. Broadcasters from fifteen 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. The contest was delayed multiple times and never materialised.

In March 2016, the EBU began development on an adaptation of the Eurovision Song Contest for the region with SBS. SBS was working on the project with its production partner Blink TV. The first contest was scheduled to be held in Australia in 2017. The official name of the competition was revealed to be Eurovision Asia Song Contest (or simply Eurovision Asia) in August 2017. By May, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore had shown interest in hosting the first edition of the contest. The Singaporean government put forward $4 million to host the event, while the city of Sydney and the state of New South Wales said they would invest in hosting. 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. In May 2021, it was confirmed that SBS had shelved the project.

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. Membership in the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) would not be a requirement for participation. 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. SBS confirmed its participation, while China, Japan and South Korea were named as potential participants.

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. 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”. In August, the location was instead stated by BBS as Mumbai, India, as it began organising a national selection titled Druk Dra (འབྲུག་སྒྲ།, Brug Sgra, Voice of Bhutan, Road to Eurovision Asia) that same month to select its entry. 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. 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. In November, Marcus Tang was hired by Voxovation to serve as “Managing Director Asia”. 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”. In an interview, Eurovision Director Martin 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.

2026 contest. On 29 March 2026, a website was launched, claiming that the contest would take place on 14 November in Bangkok, provisionally featuring nine countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The website was temporarily taken offline a few hours later. The contest was formally announced on 31 March under the name Eurovision Song Contest Asia, to be organised by the EBU and Voxovation with S2O Productions serving as partners, and Thailand’s Channel 3 serving as the host broadcaster. The initial announcement listed ten countries (the aforementioned plus South Korea) alongside their respective participating broadcasters.

Format. On 31 March 2026, the EBU, Voxovation, and S2O Productions announced that the inaugural edition of the contest will be held on 14 November 2026 at IdeaLive in Bangkok, Thailand. Consisting of a single show, the results will be decided by a 50/50 split of professional jury voting and public voting. Each competing entry must be under three minutes and performed by no more than six people. All participating broadcasters are expected to organise national finals to select their entry. The winner will be invited to perform as a guest in the following edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Provisional list of participants. As of April 2026, 11 countries have been provisionally confirmed to participate: