Why Australia may be Bhutan’s largest international Eurovision Asia audience
- Dale Roberts
- 8 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Bhutan will make Eurovision history on Tuesday night when it becomes the first country to hold a national final for the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia.
Five acts will compete in Rhythm of Bhutan, with the winner representing the Himalayan nation when Eurovision Asia takes place in Bangkok in November.
But while Bhutan will choose its entry at home, one of the country's most important audiences could be more than 7,000 kilometres away in Australia.
Australia is now home to the world's largest Bhutanese diaspora, with almost 40,000 Bhutan-born residents estimated to live here.
That's a remarkable figure for a country of only around 750,000 people. The number of Bhutan-born people living in Australia alone is equivalent to around five per cent of Bhutan's population.
And it offers an early glimpse of why Australia's multicultural population could be important to Eurovision Asia.
Bhutan's Australian connection
The growth of Australia's Bhutanese community has been extraordinarily rapid.
Between 2020 and 2024, the annual number of Bhutanese migrating to Australia reportedly doubled from 12,424 to 25,363, with young and highly educated Bhutanese particularly likely to make the move.
Perth has become the centre of that diaspora.
The scale of the community was demonstrated in October 2024 when Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck visited Australia.
Around 20,000 Bhutanese gathered in Perth to see the King, an extraordinary turnout for a country with such a small population.
Brain drain in Bhutan
But the migration boom has also created a serious challenge back home.
More than half of recent Bhutanese arrivals to Australia hold university degrees, compared with just seven per cent of Bhutan's working-age population.
Teachers, health workers and civil servants have been among those leaving. At one school in the capital Thimphu, 28 of its 73 teachers reportedly left for Australia in a single year.
Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay has acknowledged the dilemma: overseas employment brings greater opportunities and higher incomes for Bhutanese people, as well as remittances for families at home, but the departure of so many skilled workers poses a risk to the country's development.
It was part of the backdrop to the King's Australian visit, as Bhutan looks at ways of maintaining connections with its rapidly growing diaspora and eventually attracting some of those skills back home.
From Perth to Eurovision Asia
Now that relationship has another dimension: Eurovision Asia.
Five artists will compete in Rhythm of Bhutan: The Sangay Lhaden Band, Baeyul 301, Karma Drupchu, Thukten Nyendra and Pelden Wangchuk.
And Australia is already part of Bhutan's contemporary music story. Baeyul 301, one of the five finalists, has previously toured Australia, tapping into the growing Bhutanese community here.
Most importantly, Bhutanese Australians won't simply be watching from afar.
International audiences can participate in the Rhythm of Bhutan vote alongside audiences at home, giving Bhutan's enormous Australian diaspora an opportunity to help choose the country's first Eurovision Asia representative.
That is where Bhutan gives a glimpse of Eurovision Asia's potential in Australia.
Australia isn't simply located in the region, we are a migrant nation where millions of people have family, cultural and emotional connections to countries across the region.
The same dynamic could play out among Australia's Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, Indonesian, Nepalese, Sri Lankan and Pacific communities as Eurovision Asia develops.
The Rhythm of Bhutan takes place tonight at 11:00pm AEST (9:00pm in Perth). You can watch the show live on YouTube and vote at https://eurovisionasia.com./
