Is Eurovision Asia actually going to happen?

Speculation has been rife overnight that the long awaited Eurovision Asia could be back in the works, with several broadcasters across Asia breaking the news.

So let's take a look at what has happened:

What do we know so far?

Speculation was prompted by an announcement by Bhutanese broadcaster, Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS), that a national selection has begun in the country.

In a video, speaking in English, news anchor Kelzang Dolkar revealed the Eurovision Song Contest will be extended into Asia and that Bhutan will take part.

BBS is currently hosting a national selection show, Druk Dra, to select their Eurovision Asia representative.

The first episode of Druk Dra, already took place last week and has been broadcast with the first episode on YouTube. Certain parts of the show are in English - you can check it out here.

Dolkar also revealed that 18 Asian countries will be taking part in Eurovision Asia with the first edition taking place in Mumbai.

It is worth mentioning that back in May 2025 BBS posted an announcement on Facebook that they were in search for a singer to represent Bhutan in "Eurovision Asia 2025" set to be held in Bangkok, Thailand. This doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

In addition to the Bhutan broadcaster's announcement another country has something planned for Eurovision Asia.

ESC Discord on X found that Vietnamese network, Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV; Đài Truyền hình Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) has allocated a time slot on HTV 7 for a show called Eurovision Asia for 31 August 19:30 Vietnam time.

There is currently no confirmation from the EBU regarding this information, nor any announcements about Eurovision Asia taking place.

Wasn't Eurovision Asia meant to take place ages ago?

Yes. Eurovision Asia was first announced by the Australian broadcaster, SBS, in 2016, with the first edition to take place in 2017. The plans were stalled and then delayed.

Back in 2021 SBS Commissioning Editor and the Australian Head of Delegation for the Eurovision Josh Martin announced that those plans were over.

“I think it’s fair to say we’ve rescinded our rights. We spent a number of years trying to figure out how to do it and then the global pandemic came along.”

This isn’t the first time that an Asian or Asia-Pacific version of the Eurovision Song Contest has failed to get off the ground. The EBU first licensed the rights for a version under the name of Asiavision which announced an event to be hosted in Macau in 2009, and then in Mumbai in 2010, which would have featured an Australian entry through broadcaster SBS. These events never came to fruition.

Hope was renewed in 2022 when former Australian Head of Delegation, previously from Blink TV now from Beyond Productions, Paul Clarke, revealed at a award show during his acceptance speech that:

"Our chief goal as a company is to bring Eurovision to Asia so please look out for that! Eurovision is coming people!".

So where could Eurovision Asia take place and who is taking part?

As announced by BBS, the first edition of Eurovision Asia is set to take place in Mumbai, India with 18 Asian countries taking part.

This information has not been confirmed by the EBU.

Other than Bhutan and Vietnam who have made Eurovision Asia announcements, and possibly India who is expected to host the contest no other countries have been named to take part.

There is no word yet from SBS that Australia is taking part.

Is Eurovision Asia actually going to happen?

Given the numerous attempts over the past couple of decades to get Eurovision Asia off the ground, it might be best to wait until announcements from the EBU are made before we all get too excited.

Time will tell if it does happen and who will be involved.

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