In the anniversary year, the ESC will also take place outside of Europe. Hopefully it won’t be such a flop like in the USA…
This year marks the seventieth anniversary of the premiere edition of the ESC (then called the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson européenne) in 1956. This will be celebrated with a big celebration with a certainly nostalgic competition, after which numerous Eurovision participants from the past and present will even go on tour.
But that’s not all: The ESC change continent! The music competition takes place in Asia in November. Ten countries are currently participating: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. According to the website, more are to follow. But China, India and Japan, the largest nations in Asia, do not seem to want to take part. The final is on November 14th in Bangkok.
It is currently unclear whether the same rules apply to the Asian version as to the European edition. The rules stipulate that the songs performed must be original songs and the singing must be done live. It’s also not yet clear whether the show will follow the same fan voting structure as the original ESC. But it’s safe to assume that this is a big part of the show’s appeal.
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The ESC already existed in the USA (but it flopped mercilessly)
Incidentally, it is not the first time that an offshoot of the Eurovision Song Contest has been introduced in another part of the world. There was already a US edition in 2022 in which all 50 states competed against each other. The competition was moderated by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg. But what sounds exciting turned out to be a ratings flop. The first year was also the last.
Plans for an Asian version of the ESC have been around for a long time. The first discussions took place with the Australian broadcaster SBS in 2016. In 2021, the plans were buried for the time being. Apparently everything happened very quickly.
Further details about “Eurovision Asia” and the names of other participating countries are expected to be announced shortly. The event is organized by the EBU together with Los Angeles-based Voxovation and Thai production company S2O Productions.
