Discussions are ongoing regarding further countries competing in the Eurovision Song Contest Asia, with no country outright declining future participation.

Peter Settman, the CEO of Voxovation, has explained that no broadcasters that they have had discussions with about competing in the contest have outright declined to take part. Mr Settman stated:

“We are not, not talking to anyone any longer. There are ongoing conversations, but there are timing issues, as everyone needs to have a national selection show and we need to squeeze that in before the Grand Final in November. And we do come with a couple of rules, meaning as a show, it is all about “the door is open everyones invited”, the core pirnciples are bringing people together a stage, non-political, has to be signed off by anyone participating in the competition.”

Martin Green, Director of the Eurovision Song Contest, was also clear that for the first edition of the competition, the EBU has asked to keep the contest small. Instead, the aim is to grow gradually year on year, “because we want this to be around in 70 years time”.

When asked specifically about whether Russia or North Korea could compete, Mr Settman explained that it was “not likely”. Mr Green added that “Eurovision travels with its values, in order to be in part of Eurovision you have to share our values, so if you don’t meet our values you won’t be in Eurovision.”

Members of some of the competing broadcasters have travelled to Vienna to see the Eurovision Song Contest. Representatives from the Thai, Lao and Nepalese channels are currently in Austria as the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest takes place.

Eurovision Asia Song Contest 2026

The first Eurovision Asia Song Contest 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: ORF