no. 9 on our board
Pratik Himal Rai — “Ananta Maya”
Where would you put Nepal? Rank all 11
Himalaya Television Network was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Baneshwor, Kathmandu. It's owned by news outlet Online Khabar, following a 2018 acquisition by Dharmaraj Bhusal and Shyam Kandel, and relaunched in HD in January 2019.
It's an established home for music and reality formats — The Voice of Nepal, The Voice Kids, Himalaya Roadies, Himalaya Lok Star, Dancing Stars Nepal and Shark Tank Nepal all air there — which makes a Eurovision Asia selection a natural fit for the channel. Executive Director Shyam Kandel led the effort.
Nepal Decides aired on Wednesday 7 October at 19:30 NPT, on Himalaya TV and the official Eurovision YouTube channel, presented by Roneeshma Shrestha. Eleven acts competed.
Pratik Himal Rai won with "Ananta Maya", a song he wrote himself, sung in Nepali. Allam Aadesh was second with "Byakta" and Bullet Flo x Preeti Kaur third with "Golden Danfe." The other eight acts were not publicly ranked, and no points were published.
The result was decided by 40% professional jury, 40% Nepali public and 20% Rest of the World — a split the contest confirmed the day before the show, and not the 50/50 that earlier reporting suggested. The full field and what was published are in our Nepal Decides results.
The contest describes him as a singer, songwriter and performer with more than ten years in music and a bachelor's degree in the subject, working across ballads, slow rock, Nepali folk and folk-pop. He has two original releases to his name.
Nepali viewers already knew the voice: he competed on the sixth season of The Voice of Nepal in 2025 — a Himalaya TV show, like the selection he has just won.
The show was first scheduled for 19 September. Flash flooding on 26 August struck Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Tanahun, and the selection was moved to 7 October in its aftermath. That leaves Nepal's entry five and a half weeks before the Grand Final in Bangkok on 14 November.
| Place | Entry |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pratik Himal Rai “Ananta Maya” winner! |
| 2 | Allam Aadesh “Byakta” |
| 3 | Bullet Flo x Preeti Kaur “Golden Danfe” |
| — | Beyond “Control” |
| — | Amit Baral “Sundar Sansar” |
| — | Meghna Gewali “Kanchi Nani” |
| — | Amrita Limbu “Madhos Raat” |
| — | Prithvi Khanal “Dhumba Talai Ma” |
| — | Nirmala Ghale “Mero Message Ko Answer Khoi” |
| — | RC Rimal “Maya Bisterai” |
| — | Suraj Tamang “Gorkhali Keto” |
A top three was reported. The other eight acts were not publicly ranked and no points were published. Decided by 40% professional jury / 40% Nepali public / 20% Rest of the World. Source: eurovision.com/asia for the winner; Eurovoix and Wikipedia for second and third, 7 October 2026.
Nepal Decides 2026: full results →
See the full Eurovision Asia 2026 national selections calendar and current Eurovision Asia 2026 odds for all eleven countries. Page last checked 14 October 2026.
