Swedish producer Peter Settman has resigned as executive director of production company Voxovation ahead of the inaugural Eurovision Asia Song Contest in Bangkok, Thailand.
Settman told Swedish cultural news programme Kulturnyheterna that he was stepping down for personal reasons, though he will remain connected to the project as an owner and consultant.
The executive assured competition organisers that he maintains his commitment to making the new Asian music contest a success and remains available to assist those in charge of the event.
Voxovation, a television production company based in Los Angeles, was established to expand major music contest formats internationally. Settman co-founded the firm with fellow Swedish producer Christer Björkman, who previously managed Sweden's national selection contest for two decades.
Eurovision Asia is being developed as a regional edition of the long-running Eurovision Song Contest, which has been organized annually by the European Broadcasting Union since 1956.
Host city preparations in Bangkok
The first edition of Eurovision Asia is scheduled to take place on November 14 in the Thai capital of Bangkok.
The European Broadcasting Union is producing the event in partnership with Los Angeles-based Voxovation and Thailand-based S2O Productions.
Chuwit Sirivajjakul, a senior official at the Tourism Authority of Thailand, expressed enthusiasm for the choice of host city, describing Bangkok as a location where cultures converge, music fills the air, and celebration forms part of everyday life.
National finals schedule and voting rules
Organisers have also confirmed the official calendar for national selection events across participating countries leading up to the November contest.
All national selection shows for Eurovision Asia will be broadcast live on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.
Each national selection program will also feature a Rest of the World televote, allowing international viewers outside participating nations to vote for their favourite songs.
The selection schedule began in Bhutan on August 11, following the release of competing songs on August 7. Malaysia completed its national selection process on August 15.
The remaining participating countries will select their entries across late August and September. The Philippines will hold its selection on August 30, followed by South Korea on September 4 and Nepal on September 19.
Laos will host its national selection across September 23 and 24, before host nation Thailand selects its entry on September 27 and Bangladesh completes the final stage on September 30.
