The Eurovision Song Contest heads to Bangkok for its first Asian edition on Saturday, bringing 11 competing countries together for a more compact musical showdown than its European counterpart.
Organizers hope for the fanfare of the seven-decade-old European franchise, though much of the region is still familiarising itself with the competition.
- Eleven nations are participating in Saturday’s inaugural event in Thailand, featuring acts from across the region.
- Woody Milintachinda and Cindy Bishop are hosting the live broadcast from Bangkok.
- Dara, the 2026 European contest winner, is performing during the interval show with “Bangerang.”
Past attempts at a regional Eurovision format in the Asia-Pacific faced hurdles, including the aborted 2009 Our Sound contest and a 2016 deal with Australian broadcaster SBS that lapsed in 2021 before Voxovation licensed the brand. While the European contest features massive fanbases and regular geopolitical friction—such as five country boycotts in 2026—the Asian edition opens without the participation of cultural giants like Japan, China, India, and Indonesia.
Despite regional tensions, including past border disputes between Thailand and Cambodia, geopolitics did not disrupt the lead-up to Saturday’s event. “Politics is why we watch Eurovision,” Dean Vuletic, a historian of the show at the University of Luxembourg, told The New York Times.
| Country | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | Tóc Tiên | “EM TIÊN” |
| Cambodia | Monetrey | “I Let You Go” |
| Laos | Thinla | “BAE” |
| Mongolia | Beck | “Chamguigeer (Without You)” |
| Bhutan | Nyendra | “Lhayi Semo” |
| Philippines | Carmelle | “Sobra-Sobra” |
| Bangladesh | Beatmosphere | “Tumi Ele” |
| Thailand | Mang x Daou | “Aroma” |
| South Korea | Junhee | “DEEP DIVE” |
| Nepal | Pratik Himal Rai | “Ananta Maya” |
| Malaysia | Aina Abdul | “Bluest Sky” |
The lineup features distinct national entries, such as Carmelle representing the Philippines with a feminist pop track, and Mongolia fielding Beck with “Chamguigeer (Without You)” after its original winning entry was disqualified for prior release. The event is broadcast on SBS in Australia and via the Eurovision YouTube channel in Europe on Saturday at 14.30 CET.
