Eurovision is a pan-European television telecommunications network owned and operated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was founded in 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland, and its first official transmission took place on 6 June 1954. However, a year before the official launch, on 2 June 1953 the coronation of Elizabeth II was one of the first events to be broadcast across Europe.
The ABU Song Festivals are non-competitive song concert galas based on the Eurovision Song Contest. The format consists of two shows, a Radio Song Festival and TV Song Festival, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU).
The ABU TV Song Festival is an annual non-competitive gala that showcases songs or instrumentals by musicians across Asia, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). Participating countries which have full or additional full ABU membership are invited to submit a song to be performed in front of a live audience. It is live recorded so that each of the national broadcasters may add subtitles in their respective Asian languages.
The ABU Radio Song Festival is a biennial non-competitive gala that showcases songs or instrumentals by musicians across Asia, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), and is based on the Eurovision Song Contest. The format consists of a non-televised semi-final and grand final which is broadcast.
The ABU Radio Song Festival 2014 was the second edition of the biennial ABU Radio Song Festivals, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). The festival took place on 23 May 2014 in the Sri Lankan city of Colombo. The Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre was originally chosen as the host venue, but was later moved to the Stein Studios. Twelve countries participated the song festival. The festival was to be originally hosted by ABC Australia however for unknown reasons this did not occur.
The ABU TV Song Festival 2013 was the second annual edition of the ABU TV Song Festivals. The festival, which is non-competitive, that took place on 26 October 2013 in the Hanoi Opera House, Hanoi, Vietnam and coinciding with the 50th general assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) which took place between 23 and 29 October 2013. Sixteen songs from fifteen countries participated in the second edition of the event. Brunei, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand made their début at the festival
The participation of Indonesia in the ABU TV Song Festival has occurred eleven times since the inaugural ABU TV Song Festival and began in 2012. Since their début in 2012, the Indonesian entry has been organised by the national broadcaster Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI).
The ABU TV Song Festival 2014 was the third annual edition of the ABU TV Song Festival. The festival, which is non-competitive, took place on the 25 October 2014 at Sands Theatre in Macau and coinciding with the 51st General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) which took place between 22 and 28 October 2014. Twelve countries confirmed their participation. The Maldives, Turkey as well as the host country Macau made their début at the festival. Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka all withdrew from the festival.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the thirteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and took place, for the first time, in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian national broadcaster BNT was the host broadcaster for the event. The final took place on 21 November 2015 and was held at the Arena Armeec in Sofia. Poli Genova, a Bulgarian singer and former representative of Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, hosted the show. A total of seventeen countries participated, with Australia and Ireland making their debuts. Albania and Macedonia returned after being absent since the 2012 and 2013 contests, respectively. Croatia and Cyprus withdrew after returning in the 2014 edition, while Sweden withdrew for the first time since 2008.
The Eurovision Young Dancers 2015 was the fourteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Dancers competition. The final was held in the New Theatre in Plzeň, Czech Republic on 19 June 2015. This was the first time that the Czech national broadcaster, Česká televize (ČT), had organised a Eurovision event. The event is aimed at young dancers aged between 16 and 21, competing in modern dances, be it solo or in couples, as long as they were not professionally engaged. Ten countries participated in the 2015 contest; with Albania and Malta making their début; Slovakia returning after an eighteen-year break; and Armenia, Belarus, and Ukraine deciding not to participate.
The ABU TV Song Festival 2016 was the fifth annual edition of the ABU TV Song Festivals. The event, which is non-competitive, took place in Bali Nusa Dua Convention Centre, Bali, Indonesia, on 22 October 2016. Fourteen countries have confirmed their participation. Tunisia made their debut at the festival, while China and Sri Lanka returned after a one-year absence and a two-year absence respectively. Myanmar and Vanuatu have both stated that they do not intend to make their debut at the festival. India, Malaysia, and Turkey have withdrawn from the contest.
The ABU TV Song Festival 2015 was the fourth annual edition of the ABU TV Song Festivals. The event, which is non-competitive, took place in Istanbul, Turkey and coinciding with the 52nd General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) which was scheduled for 28 October 2015. Twelve countries have confirmed their participation.
The ABU Radio Song Festival 2016 was the fourth edition of the ABU Radio Song Festivals, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). Originally a biennial event, the festival organisers changed its format to an annual festival commencing from 2014. The festival took place on 26 April 2016 in Beijing, China. Thirteen songs from ten countries took part in the festival. The hosts China, along with Macau, Nepal, Romania, and Turkmenistan all made their début in the festival. Brunei had withdrawn from the festival stating that they had not received an invitation to participate from the broadcasting union. Indonesia failed to qualify from the pre-selection stage of the festival.
The ABU Radio Song Festival 2015 was the third edition of the ABU Radio Song Festivals, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). Originally a biennial event, the festival organisers changed its format to an annual festival commencing from 2014. The festival took place on 29 May 2015 in the city of Yangon, Myanmar. Seventeen songs had been submitted to the event organisers, of which only ten songs from nine countries, were selected to perform at the event. The hosts Myanmar made their début in the festival.
The Eurovision Young Dancers 2017 was the fifteenth and final edition of the Eurovision Young Dancers competition. The final took place at the Prague Congress Centre in the Czech capital, Prague on 16 December 2017. This was the second consecutive time that the Czech national broadcaster, Česká televize (ČT), organised the contest. The event is aimed at young dancers aged between 16 and 21, competing in modern dances, be it solo or in couples, as long as they were not professionally engaged.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the fourteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, Malta. This was the second time that Malta have hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, their first being in 2014. Jon Ola Sand was appointed as the Executive Supervisor for the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, following the dismissal of the former supervisor, Vladislav Yakovlev.
The ABU TV Song Festival 2017 was the sixth annual edition of the ABU TV Song Festivals. The event, which is non-competitive, took place in Chengdu, China on 1 November 2017.
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 was the 19th edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians contest. It was hosted by the United Kingdom, for the first time since the inaugural contest in 1982. This edition was a co-production between the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Edinburgh International Festival and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as host broadcaster. Musicians representing eighteen countries with EBU membership participated in the contest, with Albania making their debut alongside seven returning countries, while Austria decided not to participate for the first time.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the seventeenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by Telewizja Polska (TVP) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was held on 24 November 2019, at the Gliwice Arena in Gliwice, Poland, following the country's victory at the 2018 contest in Minsk, Belarus, with the song "Anyone I Want to Be", performed by Roksana Węgiel. It was the first time Poland had hosted the contest, as well as the first Eurovision event to be held in the country since the Eurovision Young Dancers 2013.
The ABU Song Contest 2020 was set to be the inaugural edition of the ABU Song Contest, to be held in Qingdao, China. The contest was due to consist of a semi-final on 16 April 2020 and a final on 18 April 2020. It was expected to become the first ever televised and big-scale music competition across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond since the ABU Golden Kite World Song Festivals which were held between 1989 and 1991. The fate of the contest remains unclear.
