Bangkok (Thailand) (AFP) – K-pop, love songs and even beatboxing: Eurovision is organizing its first Asian edition next Saturday, bringing the unique mix of kitsch and geopolitics specific to the European song contest to the most populous region in the world.
Published on: 08/11/2026 - 15:42
From Laos to Mongolia via the Philippines, 11 countries will compete in Bangkok during the first edition of the Eurovision Asia Song Contest.
India, Japan and China are absent from the event.
Eurovision is the world's largest live televised music event, with 131 million viewers in 2026, and has, over the past 70 years, launched the careers of artists such as Abba and Celine Dion.
An American version has already taken place in 2022, but it has not been renewed.
"Eurovision is very popular in Europe and it's brand new in Asia," acknowledged executive producer Assaf Blecher, adding that three years of preparations had sparked public interest in the show.
“It’s a window open to other countries, to the music, to the people, to the costumes,” he stressed.
love songs
The finalists were selected following national competitions. Some of them are already stars in their country, like the Vietnamese Toc Tien, favorite for victory with her pop-dance title.
South Korea will be represented by K-pop singer Junhee, Bangladesh is sending an all-male a cappella and beatbox collective, Beatmosphere, while Pratik Himal Rai will set the stage for Nepal.
This Asian edition comes as Eurovision celebrates its 70th anniversary in a tense climate, with the 2026 audience having fallen by 35 million compared to the previous year, following the boycott of five countries due to Israel's participation.
Launched in 1956 as an experiment by national public channels, the competition has become a cultural phenomenon, renowned for its extravagant staging, its kitsch side and its eclectic music, and benefiting from a large LGBT+ audience.
It has grown as Europe has become more integrated, although its reach extends beyond the continent's borders, with Canada due to participate next year.
Votes are counted by participating country, half by a jury and half by viewers, and no country can vote for itself, meaning votes are often cast based on relationships between nations.
That could lead Cambodia and Thailand, which clashed over their border last year, to vote against each other, Blecher noted.
But the songs featured at Eurovision Asia, which unlike the original contest is organized by commercial channels, are mostly love songs, lamented Dean Vuletic, author and Eurovision expert.
The show "lacks a certain provocation or a strong message likely to resonate with international audiences," Mr. Vuletic told AFP.
According to him, “this is what distinguishes European Eurovision from other song competitions”.
Some artists will sing in their mother tongue, others in English, a choice made by Malaysian Aina Abdul to reach a wider audience.
For Nyendra, who represents Bhutan and performs his folk-pop love song in traditional costume, the show offers a platform far beyond his small country in the Himalayas.
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© 2026 AFP
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