Why is it called Eurovision Asia and not Asiavision?
If Europe has Eurovision, surely Asia should have Asiavision?
It's a reasonable question as the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia prepares to take place in Bangkok on 14 November 2026.
However, there are two important reasons why the competition is called Eurovision Asia, including a previous attempt to use the Asiavision name.
Asiavision already exists
The name Asiavision has actually been in use for more than 40 years, but it has nothing to do with a song contest.
Since 1984, the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) has operated Asiavision, a television news exchange service that allows broadcasters across the region to share news stories and footage.
The service launched on 16 January 1984 as a daily satellite news feed and has since developed into a digital platform serving broadcasters throughout the Asia-Pacific.
Australia's ABC is among the broadcasters involved, having rejoined the service in 2024.
An earlier song contest actually tried the name
Interestingly, Asiavision was once the proposed name for an Asian version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
In September 2008, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced plans for an Asiavision Song Contest, with 15 countries expected to participate.
However, the name ran into opposition from the ABU, which was already using Asiavision for its news exchange service.
By March 2009, organisers had changed the proposed competition's name to Our Sound: The Asia-Pacific Song Contest.
The event was initially planned for 2009 before being postponed, with further attempts to stage the competition ultimately unsuccessful.
Other efforts to establish an Asian version of Eurovision followed, including a project led by Australian broadcaster SBS that was announced in 2016 but never materialised.
Keeping the Eurovision name was a deliberate decision
Beyond the existing use of Asiavision, there is another reason for the name of the new competition: the strength of the Eurovision brand itself.
During Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Eurovision Asia producer Peter Settman discussed lessons learned from the American Song Contest, which aired in the United States in 2022.
"Not using Eurovision in the United States was a mistake," he said.
Settman explained that organisers wanted the Asian competition to retain the elements that make Eurovision successful, particularly the format of countries competing against one another.
The decision to use the Eurovision name was also deliberate, allowing the new competition to build on the existing contest's international recognition and 70-year history.
In a separate interview with Swedish broadcaster SVT, fellow producer Christer Björkman also highlighted the benefits of using an established name rather than building recognition for an entirely new television format.
While the official title is Eurovision Song Contest Asia, organisers have emphasised that the event will be shaped by the cultures, music and audiences of participating Asian countries.
So while Asiavision might sound like the obvious name, it is one that was already in use and had previously caused problems for an attempted song contest.
This time, organisers have chosen to keep Eurovision front and centre, connecting the new Asian competition directly to the world's longest-running international televised music competition.
We will have a much better answer on 14 November.
For continued updates on all Eurovision Song Contest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, BlueSky, Threads and Instagram. All the links can be found at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet
