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 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 Afghanistan 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 Afghan entry has been organised by the national broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA). In 2014, Afghanistan withdrew from the festival. Ariana Television Network (ATN) took over from organising the nation's entry since the announcement of their return to the ABU TV Song Festival 2015. In 2019, Afghanistan withdrew from 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 Japan in the ABU TV Song Festival has occurred eleven times since the inaugural ABU TV Song Festival began in 2012. Since their début in 2012, the Japanese entry has been organized by the national broadcaster Japanese Broadcasting Corporation (NHK).
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 Brunei in the ABU TV Song Festival has occurred four times since the inaugural ABU TV Song Festival began in 2012. Since their début in 2013, the Brunei entry has been organised by the national broadcaster Radio Televisyen Brunei (RTB).
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 participation of Macau in the ABU TV Song Festival has occurred eight times since the inaugural ABU TV Song Festival began in 2012. Since their début in 2014, the Macanese entry has been organised by the national broadcaster Teledifusão de Macau (TDM).
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.
Brunei have participated in the ABU Radio Song Festival three times. The Bruneian broadcaster, Radio Television Brunei, has been the organiser of the Bruneian entry since the country's debut in the contest in 2012.
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.
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 participation of India in the ABU TV Song Festival has occurred six times since the inaugural ABU TV Song Festival began in 2012. Since their début in 2015, the Indian has been organised by the national broadcaster Doordarshan (DD).
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.
