One of the genuinely new things about Eurovision Asia is that its national finals are not closed shops. Every participating broadcaster is running a Rest of the World vote alongside its domestic one, which means a fan in Dhaka, Dublin or Detroit can help pick Bhutan’s or the Philippines’ entry.
The European contest has nothing quite like this at national final stage. It is also poorly explained almost everywhere, and there is one rule that catches people out.
The basics
Voting happens at eurovisionasia.com during each national selection show. You do not need to be in the country holding the final. You do not need a subscription to the broadcaster.
Each user receives eight free votes.
The rule people miss
You cannot put all eight votes on one song.
Every user must distribute their votes across a minimum of three different songs. This is a hard requirement built into the voting system, not a suggestion. If you were planning to dump your full allocation on a single favourite, the system will not let you.
Beyond the eight free votes, users can purchase ten additional votes. That is an absolute ceiling — eighteen votes total per user, and no more.
Full details were published in the official Eurovision guide to Rhythm of Bhutan, which set the template for the shows that followed.
Why the three-song minimum exists
The design intent is fairly transparent. In a small field — Bhutan’s final had five songs, the Philippines has ten — an organised international fanbase could otherwise land an enormous bloc on one entry and swamp the local audience.
Forcing votes to spread across at least three songs dilutes that. It rewards fans who actually listen to the field rather than arriving with a pre-decided target.
Whether it works is an open question. It is a softer constraint than it looks, since a coordinated group can still concentrate most of its weight on a first choice while parking the remainder elsewhere.
How much the international vote actually counts
This varies by country, and it matters more than the raw vote count.
Bhutan (Rhythm of Bhutan, 11 August) used:
- Professional jury — 40%
- Bhutanese public — 40%
- Rest of the World — 20%
Philippines (Philippine Selection Night, 30 August) uses the same 40/40/20 structure.
Mongolia confirmed its own breakdown on 23 August, following the same broad shape.
So the international share sits around a fifth of the result in the shows announced so far. Not decisive on its own, but comfortably enough to change a podium in a close race.
Don’t confuse this with the Grand Final
The Bangkok final on 14 November uses a different system: a straight 50/50 split between professional juries and public voting. The 40/40/20 structure is a national final mechanism, not the contest-wide one.
What is still unclear
Two things worth watching:
- Whether every broadcaster uses 40/40/20. Several national finals have not published their splits yet. Do not assume the Bhutan template applies universally until each broadcaster confirms.
- How Rest of the World votes are weighted internally. It is not publicly documented whether votes are pooled globally or grouped by region before being converted into a score.
We will update this page as broadcasters publish their rules.
Which shows you can still vote in
Bhutan and Malaysia are done. Everything from the Philippines onward is still open. The remaining calendar runs through to Mongolia on 10 October, with Vietnam still to confirm a date.
See the full national selection calendar for every remaining show, and our FAQ for common questions about the contest format.
Last updated 25 August 2026.