With the weeks counting down to the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia, contest Producers Christer Björkman and Peter Settman have done their latest interview discussing the contest.
In the interview with the Swedish public broadcaster SVT, the two Producers at Voxovation discussed the concept of Eurovision Asia and how they have learnt from their first version of the Eurovision Song Contest outside of Europe. Christer Björkman explained that he hopes that the Eurovision Song Contest Asia can build on the ‘Eurovision’ name, reflecting that
If you hear “American Song Contest” and google what it is – nothing, nothing. If you google Eurovision, you suddenly get 70 years of music history. In my opinion, that was perhaps the biggest mistake not to lean on.
Highlighting one of the key differences to the Eurovision Song Contest, Mr Settman confirmed that the revenue backing the Eurovision Song Contest Asia is not public service broadcasting; instead, funding will be provided by commercial television channels, ticket sales, sponsors and advertising.
When asked about comments made by the contest’s executive producer, Assaf Blecher, that he didn’t think Asia was quite ready for “full campy, gay, over-the-top” performances, Mr Settman commented:
“Everyone should be involved. There’s not talk about that matter, what we want to do, however, is to show respect for local traditions…Because we want not in anyway to be perceived like we come and know (everything) or this is how you do it, because this is how we do it in Europe…So back to his statement, it doesn’t really stand for the competition, but we just want to be aware that what we can do in Eurovision in Europe maybe it can’t be done the same way in another competition”
Of note is when the two were asked about the idea of a Eurovision Africa, Mr Settman said that he was “think(ing) about things like that”, while Mr Björkamn reacted “I’m thinking more about South America”, but concluded that “we do one thing at a time”. The comments about South America are the first public comments regarding the Eurovision Song Contest Latin America since February 2025.
Eurovision Song Contest Asia
The first Eurovision Song Contest Asia will be held on November 14 in Bangkok, Thailand. Like the Eurovision Song Contest, each country’s participation is organised by a participating broadcaster. Each participating broadcaster is expected to select its entry through holding a national final in their country.
The format of the national selections will be revealed in the coming months, with some countries opting to hold multi-week selections.
The rules of the contest will match those of the Eurovision Song Contest, meaning that a song must not exceed 3 minutes in length and no more than 6 people can be on stage. The winner will be determined by 50% televoting and 50% jury voting.
The countries and broadcasters confirmed to date as taking to the stage in Bangkok are:
🇧🇩 Bangladesh – NTV
🇧🇹 Bhutan – Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS)
🇰🇭 Cambodia – TV5 Cambodia
🇱🇦 Laos – Vientiane Capital Television (VTE9)
🇲🇾 Malaysia – Media Prima (TV3)
🇳🇵 Nepal – Himalaya TV
🇵🇭 Philippines – ABS-CBN
🇰🇷 South Korea – ENA (SK Telecom / KT Group)
🇹🇭 Thailand – Channel 3
🇻🇳 Vietnam – Vietnam Television (VTV 3)
Source: SVT
