Questions on Asia-Pacific Song Contest

While there are concerns over whether venues in Delhi will be ready for the Commonwealth Games, now similar questions are being asked about plans for Our Sound: The Asia-Pacific Song Contest.

The contest, to be held in Mumbai in late November, is modelled on Eurovision and was licensed from the European Broadcasting Union to media content management company Asiavision Pte. Ltd in 2007. It plans to broadcast live to 44 countries.

The contest was initially set to launch in mid-2009 with up to 15 Asia-Pacific countries competing, including Australia. Both the launch date and the host city, originally Macau, have since changed.

As with Eurovision, countries are due to internally select their own entry in the quest to win the song contest.

The official website announced Australian Song Selection had opened in late June and would close at the end of August.

As late as last week it said SBS was conducting the Song Selection with an Australian Jury comprising “representatives from Asiavision, the Music Industry and the Australian Public.”  This week the website said submissions, accepted in the form of a video, could be uploaded via the Our Sound site until August 28th. But links to Contest Rules are inactive.

A spokesperson from Our Sound told TV Tonight that Australian song entries were currently on hold, pending a meeting by organisers in Shanghai next week.

SBS, which has broadcast Eurovision for two decades, told TV Tonight, “SBS has optioned the rights to broadcast Our Sound: The Asia-Pacific Song Contest when the event goes ahead.”

In June Jiesen Ké, the Manager for Communications and New Media, told ESC.com, “We had previously intended to launch in 2009, then in time for Chinese New Year this year.

“We came to the realisation pretty early on that establishing Our Sound for the first time would be a massive challenge – and it was better to do it right, if a bit late, than to do a shoddy job. It’s DEFINITELY happening this November though.”

Disclaimer: David Knox has previously blogged Eurovision for SBS.