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Vivienne Chow

Hong Kong will field entry in 'music Olympics'
Hongkongers  may have a long wait before they can vote for their chief executive but at least, from next year, they will be able to vote for  a singer to represent them in the Asian version of the popular Eurovision Song Contest.
The Asiavision Song Contest, an extension of the Eurovision Song Contest that has run from 1956, will include 10 countries and territories.
Mishal Varma,  supervising executive producer at Asiavision,   which will be organising and marketing the event, said  Hong Kong, the mainland,  Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore were among those committed to participating in the contest next year.
'We are aiming at having established artists. It's like the Olympics for music,' he said.
The grand finale will be held in August at a location to be chosen in the next couple of months.  Contests will be held in each of the participating places in the preceding six months.
Audiences there will vote for the song and singer to represent them in the three-hour grand finale. Audiences will be able to cast their vote by mobile phone and online.
'It is the audience that will decide which artist is to represent their country,' Mr Varma said.
He said Asiavision chief executive Andreas Gerlach  had approached the organisers of Eurovision with the idea.  The organisers will form partnerships with local broadcasters,  but Mr Gerlach declined to name the  Hong Kong broadcaster.
Organisers would ensure the fairness of the contest, he said, and all votes during the final competition would be weighed in proportion to the population size of a country or region.
Although Asiavision will primarily be a song contest, Mr Varma said participants should also think about the visual side of their performances,  and they did not have to limit themselves to pop music.
The local music industry has generally welcomed the idea.
Chan Fai-hung,  general manager of artist management for Gold Typhoon Entertainment,  said the decision whether to encourage the company's artists - ranging from Hong Kong's Leo Ku Kui-kei  to Taiwan's David Tao Zee  - to participate in the contest  would depend on which local broadcaster  was chosen as the partner.
'This is because some of the artists are affiliated with one TV station, and we are still waiting for the organisers' word on this,'  Mr Chan said.
'But this is a great opportunity for younger artists, if not the top ones, to perform on such a platform, especially for those who have real talent and have a pan-Asian market potential.'
Gary Chan Chi-kwong,  director of East Asia Music,  said Asiavision would be a refreshing show for Asian audiences, who would welcome the contest.  'But it's up to the artist to decide whether he or she would want to participate,' he said.
Peter Wong Chi-bun,  manager of Canto-pop singer Fiona Sit Hoi-kei,  said he had only just learned about the contest. 'I will need more information before I talk to Fiona and her record company, Warner Music,' he said.
Hitting the right notes
The Eurovision Song Contest has launched the careers of many millionselling acts, and hopes are high the Asiavision Song Contest will help promote Hong Kong artists on the global stage
Eurovision in numbers
Launched: 1956
Participating countries in first contest: 14
Participating countries in this year's contest: 43
Number of people who watched this year's contest: 600m
Notable past winners
1969: Lulu (UK) Boom Bang-a-Bang
1974: ABBA (Sweden) Waterloo
1988: Celine Dion (Switzerland) Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi
1995: Secret Garden (Norway) Nocturne
1997: Katrina and the Waves (UK) Love Shine A Light



Asia to have its own Eurovision contest