Eurovision Asia Could Debut In 2026

The Eurovision Song Contest expansion, Eurovision Asia, appears to be moving forward with plans for an event in Bangkok later this year. Here is everything known so far.

The Eurovision Asia Song Contest is reportedly planned for November, nearly ten years after the concept was originally revealed. According to Eurovix World, the contest’s official website seemed to quietly go live recently.

Although EurovisionAsia.com is no longer active, it reportedly shared early information about the event, including a planned date of November 14 in Thailand’s capital city.

A number of participating nations have also reportedly been listed, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

As of now, neither the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) nor Voxovation have released any official statements regarding the recent developments connected to Eurovision Asia.

Eurovision Asia was originally revealed in March 2016 as a regional version of the Eurovision Song Contest. The project was first expected to be developed alongside Australian broadcaster SBS.However, SBS later stepped away from the project in 2021, about five years after the initial announcement.

At the time, TV Tonight reported that the project stalled after organisers were unable to secure a working partnership with China.

“I think it’s fair to say we’ve rescinded our rights,” said Josh Martin, SBS Commissioning Editor and Australian Head of Delegation. “We spent several years exploring how it could work and then the global pandemic changed everything.

“It is very different from how Eurovision originally began after World War Two, which was created to bring countries together. There was a clear motivation behind it.”

Meanwhile, for the main Eurovision Song Contest, the United Kingdom recently confirmed its representative for this year’s competition, with YouTuber, electronic artist, and tech creator Look Mum No Computer set to perform Eins Zwei Drei.

Several countries have withdrawn from this year’s contest following controversy over Israel’s participation. Among those stepping away are Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Iceland. Toward the end of last year, Portugal also faced uncertainty when 11 of the 16 artists competing in their national selection said they would decline to participate if chosen.

Nemo, who won Eurovision 2024, also returned their trophy to the European Broadcasting Union in protest of “Israel’s continued participation”.

Eurovision director Martin Green commented on the situation, saying that “the Eurovision Song Contest continues to be a place where friendships are forged, languages are learned and new genres and artists are discovered”. He added: “In a challenging world we can indeed be United by Music.”

Austrian artist JJ took victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song Wasted Love, finishing ahead of Israel’s Yuval Raphael in second place. The UK act Remember Monday finished in 19th position with What The Hell Just Happened?.