Eurovision makes its leap to Asia for the first time in its 70 years of history. On this Saturday, November 14, 2026, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) premieres a new version of the popular music festival, which will bring together representatives of 11 Asian countries in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. The contest retains much of the European event’s characteristics, such as live performances and the distribution of points between juries and viewers, but introduces important changes to the voting system and allows fans from any country to take part in choosing the winner.
The first edition of Eurovision Song Contest Asia will take place at the One Bangkok Forum, with a gala lasting approximately two and a half hours. The show will begin at the 14:30 hours in peninsular Spain, when it will be 20:30 hours in Thailand. The organizers have confirmed that the broadcast will be available free of charge on the official Eurovisión channel on YouTube, so it can also be followed from Spain without needing to subscribe to a paid platform.
The launch coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Eurovision Festival, which was born in 1956, and means its first major multinational expansion to another continent. The initiative is driven by the EBU and Voxovation, in collaboration with the Thai production company S2O Productions and Channel 3, the channel responsible for the broadcast in the host country.
When does Eurovision Asia 2026 start and where to watch it from Spain
Eurovision Asia will be held this Saturday, November 14, starting at 14:30 hours, in Spanish peninsular time, and at 13:30 hours in the Canary Islands. The organization estimates that the gala will last approximately 150 minutes, so it is expected to end around 17:00 hours.
Unlike what happens with the European festival, RTVE will not broadcast this first edition of Eurovision Asia. According to information published by the specialist media ESCplus, the Spanish public corporation has not acquired the broadcast rights, so the contest will not be available on La 1 or RTVE Play, unless there are last-minute changes.
The main alternative for Spanish viewers will be the https://www.youtube.com/@EurovisionSongContest official Eurovisión channel on YouTube, which will offer the show live and for free for everyone. Access to the broadcast will also be available through the contest’s official website.
In the participating countries, the gala will feature broadcasts on their respective televisions. In addition, Australia, Israel, Poland and Sweden have confirmed their broadcast through different public operators, expanding the international reach of the premiere.
The event will be presented by Woody Milintachinda and Cindy Bishop, two well-known figures from Thai television. It will also include special performances by DARA, winner of Eurovision 2026, and the Thai singer and actor Jeff Satur, who will participate as guests in the show.
The 11 countries participating in the first Eurovisión Asia
The new contest will bring together 11 delegations from different regions of the Asian continent, with songs performed in ten local languages and in English. The organization has bet on a combination of established artists and new figures from the music industry to represent the cultural diversity of the participants.
Vietnam will open the gala with Tóc Tiên and the song "EM TIÊN", while Malaysia will be in charge of closing the performances with Aina Abdul and "Bluest Sky". Between the two proposals, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Bhutan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Korea and Nepal will perform.
One of the countries that attracts the most attention is South Korea, represented by JUNHEE with "DEEP DIVE", a candidacy that will allow incorporating the influence of K-pop into the new format. For its part, Thailand will compete as host with MANG x DAOU and the song "Aroma", while the Philippines will be represented by CARMELLE with "Sobra-Sobra".
The organization has confirmed that the eleven participants will compete directly in a single big final, without knockout semifinals as those that are part of the European contest. This structure responds to the smaller number of participating countries in the inaugural edition, although it does not imply that it will necessarily be maintained in future calls.
How the voting for Eurovisión Asia works: Spain can also take part
One of the main differences with respect to the traditional Eurovision Festival is that viewers from any country in the world will be able to vote free of charge, even if their territory does not participate in the competition. This means that Spanish fans will have the opportunity to support their favorite artists and help shape the final result.
The voting system will be carried out exclusively over the internet, through the official Eurovisión Asia platform. Each user will have eight free votes, which must be obligatorily distributed among at least three different countries. Viewers from participating countries will not be able to vote for their own entry.
The voting will begin during the live broadcast and the results will be combined with those of the professional juries from the eleven competing countries. The public vote will represent 50% of the final ranking and the juries the other 50%, maintaining the balance used in the European contest.
The votes cast from non-participating countries, such as Spain, will be grouped into a category called "Rest of the World" (Rest of the World). This block will award an additional series of points, equivalent to that of one of the participating countries.
The organization will also retain the well-known Eurovision points system, with points from 1 to 7, in addition to 8, 10 and 12 points for the best-rated songs. Thus, Spanish fans will be able to intervene directly in the result, even if Spain does not have its own representative.
What differences are there between Eurovisión Asia and the European festival?
Although both contests share the same brand and the slogan "United by Music", Eurovisión Asia is born as an independent competition. Its winner will not automatically represent the continent at the European festival nor face the winner of the traditional edition. Each contest will have its own ranking and its own winner.
The most visible difference lies in the participating countries and in the scale of the show. Eurovisión Asia begins with eleven entries and a single final, compared with the European format, which usually brings together several dozen delegations and includes semifinals. It also bets on greater digital participation, by allowing free voting by international viewers and eliminating phone calls and SMS as a voting mechanism.
The EBU has been working for years on the possibility of moving the format to Asia. The choice of Bangkok responds to its role as a regional cultural and entertainment hub, as well as the collaboration with Thai television. For the organizers, the initiative aims to broaden Eurovisión’s international reach and offer a common platform to artists from countries with different musical traditions.
The first edition will also make it possible to check the ability of the format to draw an audience outside Europe. At its presentation, the EBU highlighted that the project could reach a potential audience of more than 600 million people in the region, although that figure represents the estimated reach of the market and not a forecast of real viewers.
Where to vote and how to follow the result of Eurovisión Asia
Viewers who want to take part will be able to access the https://eurovisionasia.com/ official Eurovisión Asia website, where voting will be enabled during the gala. From that same page it is possible to consult the participating countries, listen to the songs, and find out the news of the competition.
To follow the show from Spain it will be enough to go to YouTube at 14:30 on this Saturday, 14 November and search for the official broadcast of Eurovision Song Contest Asia. After the performances, the scores from the juries and the international public will be announced until the first winner in the history of the festival is proclaimed.
Eurovisión Asia thus inaugurates a new stage for the music contest, which after seven decades in Europe seeks to expand its international presence without giving up its most recognizable elements: live performances, diversity of languages, and a voting system shared between juries and viewers. The first test will arrive this Saturday in Bangkok, with eleven countries competing for the title and the possibility to follow it and vote from Spain.