On Saturday 14 November, Bangkok hosts the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia: eleven countries compete in a single final, between South Korean pop, beatbox and local traditions. The free live broadcast on YouTube begins at 2.30 pm Italian time and the public from Italy can also vote. From Tóc Tiên to Aina Abdul, here are the artists, the songs and the rules of the competition. National juries and the public will each weigh half of the result. Hosting are Woody Milintachinda and Cindy Bishop, with DARA and Jeff Satur guests of the evening
The twelve point ritual changes time zone. The Eurovision Song Contest Asia debuts in Bangkok on Saturday 14 November 2026, which will bring artists from eleven countries to the same stage. The first edition will take place at the One Bangkok Forum and will award the trophy in a single final. For the Italian public the appointment is in the afternoon: the free live broadcast on the official Eurovision YouTube channel will begin at 2.30pm, when in the Thai capital it will be 8.30pm.
The project was born from the collaboration of the European Broadcasting Union, the body that organizes the European competition, with Voxovation, S2O Productions and the Thai broadcaster Channel 3. The expansion arrives in the year of the seventieth anniversary of Eurovision and aims to build a shared event between musical scenes that have different languages, traditions and audiences.
When Eurovision Asia 2026 takes place and where to watch it
The show will last approximately two and a half hours and will be accessible via streaming from all over the world. In the participating countries the final will also be broadcast by the respective broadcasters. The show is hosted by Woody Milintachinda and Cindy Bishop.
Opening the evening will be Bangkok Sounds and Senses, a performance designed to describe the rhythms and atmospheres of the host city. Also expected are DARA, winner of Eurovision 2026 for Bulgaria, who will perform a new version of Bangaranga, and the Thai singer and actor Jeff Satur.
The 11 participating countries and the songs in order of performance
Vietnam will open the race, while Malaysia will have the last performance. This is the order announced by the organizers:
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
From South Korean pop to Bangladeshi beatbox
The names on the bill suggest a less predictable path than the Asian pop label suggests. Tóc Tiên comes from Vietnam with a career that spans music, cinema and television. For South Korea there is JUNHEE, a singer-songwriter who moves between pop, R&B and dance. Malaysia fields Aina Abdul, singer, author and actress who also became known through talent shows.
Bangladesh instead focuses on Beatmosphere, an a cappella and beatbox collective that recreates rhythms and electronic effects with the voice. From Laos comes Thinla, who mixes the Morlum tradition with contemporary sounds, while Pratik Himal Rai brings from Nepal a repertoire that intertwines folk and pop. An opportunity to listen, side by side, to realities that rarely share the same international showcase
How voting works and how to participate from Italy
The result will be determined half by the public and half by the eleven national juries. The votes sent by the countries not competing will flow into the Rest of the World group, which will assign a series of points equivalent to that of a single country. There will therefore be eleven series of scores from the juries and twelve from the public.
You can also vote from Italy through the official website eurovisionasia.com, when voting opens during the live broadcast. Each user will have eight free votes, to be distributed among at least three songs, with the possibility of purchasing another ten. Those who vote from one of the participating countries will not be able to support their own.
The scoring system familiar to fans of the competition remains: from one to seven points, then eight, ten and twelve. As the Guardian reports, the winning country will not automatically host the next edition. Meanwhile, in Bangkok, eleven delegations are preparing to compete for the first Asian trophy.
