Filipino singer Carmelle won the first-ever Eurovision Song Contest Asia, held in Bangkok, on Saturday, November 14, with her song “Sobra-Sobra”. The final was broadcast live on TVP2.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed that CARMELLE won the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia with “Sobra-Sobra”. The victory was decided by votes from jurors and viewers from 11 participating countries.
Final at One Bangkok Forum
The concert took place at the One Bangkok Forum arena in the Thai capital. The evening’s hosts were Woody Milintachinda and Cindy Bishop. The contest was organised by the EBU, production company Voxovation, S2O Productions and the Thai broadcaster Channel 3. The date and venue were announced on March 31.
Special guests performed during the evening: Thai star Jeff Satur and DARA, winner of the 70th Eurovision for Bulgaria with “Bangaranga”. DARA presented the trophy to the first winner of the Asian edition. For coverage of the earlier, European contest, see our report from the first semi-final in Vienna.
Who competed
The final featured representatives of Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. There were no semi-finals. The running order of the final:
- 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”
- Nepal: Pratik Himal Rai – “Ananta Maya”
- Malaysia: Aina Abdul – “Bluest Sky”
Broadcast in Poland
Telewizja Polska broadcast the final live on TVP2 and on the TVP VOD service from 2:30 p.m., which was 8:30 p.m. local time in Thailand. The broadcast was commentated by Artur Orzech. The English-language version was available on the contest’s official YouTube channel. Jurors and viewers had a 50:50 share in the result.
