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 Radio Song Festival 2012 was the first edition of the biennial ABU Radio Song Festivals, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). The festival took place in the KBS Hall, which is located in the South Korean capital of Seoul and coincided with the 49th general assembly of the ABU. The ABU Radio Song Festival attracted twenty-six original entries representing eighteen radio broadcasters from fifteen countries, which competed in a preliminary jury round. The juries selected thirteen entries from twelve radio broadcasters in ten countries to qualify for the final show which was held on 11 October 2012. Fifteen entries were originally selected to participate in the grand final. However, Fiji and Sri Lanka withdrew from the radio competition prior to the final show, and thus only thirteen entries participated in the competition on 11 October 2012.
The ABU TV Song Festival 2012 was the first annual edition of the ABU TV Song Festivals. The festival, which was non-competitive, took place in the KBS Concert Hall, located in the South Korean capital of Seoul and coincided with the 49th general assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). Eleven countries confirmed their participation in the first edition of the competition.
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 Malaysia in the ABU TV Song Festival has occurred six times since the inaugural ABU TV Song Festival began in 2012. Since their début in 2012, the Malaysian entry has been organised by the national broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM).
The participation of Hong Kong in the ABU TV Song Festival has occurred eight times since the inaugural ABU TV Song Festival began in 2012. Since their début in 2012, the Hong Kong entry has been organised by the national broadcaster Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB). In 2020, Hong Kong withdrew from the festival and has yet to return.
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 participation of China in the ABU TV Song Festival has occurred eight times since the inaugural ABU TV Song Festival began in 2012. The Chinese entry was organised by the national broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) prior to 2015, when it withdrew from that year's event. China was then represented at the contest by Sichuan Radio and Television (SRT) in 2016, 2017, and 2020 and by Shanghai Media Group (SMG) in 2019 and 2023.
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 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 Turkvision Song Contest 2015 was the third edition of the Turkvision Song Contest, which took place in Istanbul, Turkey; and organised by Turkish Music Box Television (TMB). A total of twenty-one Turkic regions, which have either a large Turkic population or a widely spoken Turkic language, participated in the contest, as well as one Turkic ethnic groups who do not have a defined region. Several regions of the Russian Federation were on the preliminary participation list for the contest, but were later forced to withdraw due to the Ministry of Culture banning Russian regions from the TURKSOY organisation. There was no semi-final this year, whilst the final took place on 19 December 2015.
Indonesia have participated in the ABU Radio Song Festival six times with eight entries. The Indonesian broadcaster, Radio Republik Indonesia, has been the organiser of the Indonesian entry since the country's debut in the contest in 2012.
The participation of Kazakhstan in the ABU TV Song Festival has occurred seven times since the inaugural ABU TV Song Festival began in 2012. Since their début in 2015, the Kazakh entry has been organised by the national broadcaster Kazakhstan Radio and Television Corporation (KRTC). In 2020, Kazakhstan withdrew from the festival, but then came back the following year.
The ABU International Dance Festival 2017 was the inaugural ABU International Dance Festival, which took place in Shilpakala Vedika, in Hyderabad, India on 15 January 2017.
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.
