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From left: Peter Settman, CEO and Founder of Voxovation, Martin Green, Director of Eurovision Song Contest, and Marcus Tang, CEO Asia, Voxovation.
MANILA, Philippines — The Eurovision Song Contest is coming to Asia for the very first time, with Thai capital Bangkok set to host the inaugural edition later this year.
The European Broadcasting Union, Voxovation and Thailand's S2O Productions and Channel 3 jointly announced the debut of Eurovision Song Contest Asia with ten countries participating so far.
Apart from host Thailand, confirmed to join the inaugural contest are South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Philippines. More nations are expected to join as the competition expands.
A new social media platform, ZOOP, will launch globally on April 9 with a dedicated channel covering the contest.
The original Eurovision Song Contest is the world's longest-running and largest annual live music competition where participating countries submit an original song to be performed, after which winners are voted on by national juries and the public.
Winners include ABBA representing Sweden in 1974 with "Waterloo," Céline Dion representing Switzerland in 1988 with "Ne partez pas sans moi" and Måneskin representing Italy in 2021 after the pandemic with "Zitti e buoni."
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The reigning Eurovision Song Contest winner is Filipino-Austrian singer Johannes "JJ" Pietsch with Austria's entry "Wasted Love" last year.
Ireland and Sweden tie for the most wins by a country with seven while Australian-Irish singer Johnny Logan won the competition twice (1980, 1987) and composed the winning song in 1992 — all for Ireland.
The original contest is commemorating its 70th anniversary this year, as noted by the competition's director Martin Green in a statement, who saw the meaningfulness in opening a new chapter in "a region rich in culture, creativity, and talent" like Asia.
"This is about evolving the show together with Asia, building something that reflects the voices, identities and ambitions of the region, while staying true to what has always made the Contest special," Green also said.
The ten confirmed countries participating will each have local stations broadcasting the station (though South Korea hasn't confirmed a broadcaster yet). The Philippine broadcaster will be the ABS-CBN Corporation.
The Grand Final of Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 will take place in Bangkok on November 14.
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