Eurovision Asia Song Contest is a proposed international song competition modeled after the Eurovision Song Contest, in which countries of the Asia-Pacific region would compete. The first contest, planned for 2019, was in the hands of the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), which developed it with Blink TV and the European Broadcasting Union. SBS shelved the project in 2021, and no further updates were made until 2025, when a Bhutanese national selection titled Druk Dra prompted Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, to issue a statement clarifying that no plans have been confirmed to date for an adaptation in Asia.
In March 2016, the European Broadcasting Union began development on an adaptation of the Eurovision Song Contest for the Asia-Pacific region with SBS.[1] SBS was working on the project with its production partner Blink TV.[2] The first contest was scheduled to be held in Australia in 2017.[2] The official name of the competition was Eurovision Asia Song Contest (or simply Eurovision Asia) in August 2017.[3] The planned inaugural edition has been postponed multiple times, mainly owing to the political climate in Asia.[4][5][6]
By May 2017, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore had shown interest in hosting the first edition of Eurovision Asia.[4] The Singaporean goverment put forward $4 million to host the contest, while the city of Sydney and the state of New South Wales said they would invest heavily in hosting.[7] The city council of Gold Coast claimed in November 2018 that the first contest would take place at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from 30 November to 7 December 2019.[8] By August of that year, the contest was still in development.[6] In 2021, it was confirmed that SBS had shelved the project.[9]
In May 2025, the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) confirmed its intention to participate in Eurovision Asia, stating that the inaugural contest would be held in Bangkok, Thailand, with 18 countries participating.[13] On 24 June, the EBU published its Brand Impact Report for the Eurovision Song Contest, listing an adaptation in Asia as under "ongoing development".[14] In August, the location was instead stated by BBS as Mumbai, India, as it began organising a national selection titled Druk Dra that same month to select the Bhutanese representative.[15] Additionally, Vietnamese broadcaster Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV) had allocated a timeslot for a programme titled "Eurovision Asia" on 31 August.[15] On 28 August, Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, stated that "no plans have been confirmed or announced to date" for the contest in Asia, further clarifying that Druk Dra was taken off air and deleted from online platforms.[16] HTV's timeslot was subsequently changed to "Eurovision", later revealing that it was for a Vietnamese dub of the 2017 French documentary Eurovisions.[citation needed]
↑ "Eurovision Song Contest Brand Impact Report 2025"(PDF). ebu.ch. EBU. 24 June 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025. Ongoing development: Eurovision Song Contest Asia - Promising global expansion shows the brand awareness of the ESC and the attractiveness of the format.
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