Eurovision Asia stages its first grand final in Bangkok with 11 countries
The European Broadcasting Union is taking Eurovision to Asia for the contest's 70th birthday, with the first final in Bangkok on Saturday. Malaysia's Aina Abdul is the favourite of fans and bookies, the Guardian reports.
Eurovision has made the leap to Asia. Eurovision Asia holds its first grand final at One Bangkok Forum in Thailand on Saturday, starting at 13:30 GMT. The European Broadcasting Union is testing Asian audiences to mark the contest's 70th birthday. The idea had been discussed for two decades and suffered several false starts, the BBC reported. Eleven countries are competing: host Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, South Korea, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. India, China, Japan and Indonesia are absent. The BBC said talks are under way to bring them into next year's contest, if there is one. The organisers have also hit problems. A sudden million-dollar (£760,000) budget cut three weeks before the final kept many experienced Eurovision technicians away from Thailand, the BBC said. Several staff resigned, and fans criticised the audio and lighting in rehearsal videos. Voting works as it does in Europe. Public votes and national juries count 50/50, with a 12th "rest of the world" group. Each registered voter gets eight votes. They cannot vote for their own country and must back at least three other entries. The BBC noted that most of the 11 million Filipinos abroad live in countries that are not competing. Their votes…
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