Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia will be among the participating countries as the Eurovision Song Contest expands to Asia for the first time, with Bangkok named as the inaugural host city.
The grand final is scheduled to take place in Thailand’s capital on Nov 14.
Malaysia’s Media Prima (TV3) is among ten confirmed participants, alongside Thailand’s Channel 3, South Korea’s PK Inc., the Philippines’ ABS-CBN, Vietnam’s Vietnam Television (VTV3), Cambodia’s TV5 Cambodia, Laos’ Vientiane Capital Television (VTE9), Bangladesh’s NTV, Bhutan’s Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) and Nepal’s Himalaya TV.
More countries are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which owns and manages Eurovision, is organising the contest with Voxovation, S2O Productions and Thailand’s Channel 3.
The contest marks its 70th anniversary this year, with the European edition due to take place in Vienna, Austria, in May.
Eurovision director Martin Green said marking the anniversary by launching in Asia was meaningful given the region’s culture, creativity and talent.
He said the expansion aimed to reflect the voices, identities and ambitions of the region while maintaining the contest’s core values, adding that Eurovision Song Contest Asia would be shaped by artists, broadcasters and audiences.
Voxovation CEO and co-founder Peter Settman said the aim from the outset was to build the contest with leading creative talent in Asia to reflect the region’s identity and creative energy.
He said the collaboration with S2O Productions would connect artists and fans across borders through participation, community and engagement beyond the stage, while describing the expansion to a new continent as special.
