Bhutan is set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 with the song "", written by Lungten Wangchuk and Thukten Nyendra, and performed by Nyendra himself. The Bhutanese participating broadcaster, the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS), selected its entry for the contest through a national final.
Before Eurovision Asia Druk Dra 2025
The Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) organised a televised national competition to select its entry for the Eurovision Asia Song Contest 2025, a contest that had not yet been officially announced. The selection was titled Druk Dra 2025 (; ) and consisted of five episodes. The first three episodes were qualification rounds, the fourth was the semi-final, and the fifth was set to be the final. A total of ten contestants took part in the competition that took place at the BBS Studios in Thimphu.
Third episode The third episode aired on 22 August 2025. The contestants performed covers. 90% of the result was determined by the jury, with 10% decided by an online vote. Seven contestants qualified for the semi-final. + Episode 3 ArtistResult 1 Sangay LhadenQualified 7 Tshering NamgayQualified 3 Pelden WangchukQualified 4 Karma DrupchuQualified - Drukbi TshompapoWithdrew 6 Tashi ChodenQualified 9 Kinga RinchenEliminated 8 NyendraQualified 2 Tandih PhubEliminated 5 Baeyul 301Qualified
Fourth episode The fourth episode aired on 26 August 2025. This episode is considered the semi-final, and the contestants performed covers. 80% of the result was determined by the jury, with 20% decided by an online vote, including the votes from the previous shows. Five contestants qualified for the final. + Episode 4 ArtistJuryOnline voteResult 1 Sangay Lhaden25920.09%Qualified 7 Nyendra25817.38%Qualified 4 Baeyul 30124316.99%Qualified 3 Karma Drupchu17312.10%Qualified 2 Tshering Namgay16611.17%Eliminated 6 Pelden Wangchuk16811.36%Qualified 5 Tashi Choden15810.92%Eliminated
Cancellation of the fifth episode The fifth and final episode was originally scheduled for 29 August 2025, with 70% of the result set to be determined by the jury, and 30% decided by an online vote. The winner was to represent Bhutan at the Eurovision Asia Song Contest 2025, with the runner up representing Bhutan at ABU TV Song Festival 2025.
On 28 August 2025, Martin Green, Director of the Eurovision Song Contest, stated that "no plans have been confirmed or announced to date" for the contest in Asia. He further noted that the Eurovision format rights holders in Asia had been in contact with BBS, and that the show had been taken off air and removed from online platforms. Sangay Lhaden, one of the finalists, claimed on TikTok that the final was only postponed.
Following the cancellation, BBS internally selected Pema Samdrup, a member of the Druk Dra jury, with the song "The Song of Joy" to represent Bhutan at the ABU TV Song Festival 2025.
On 31 March 2026, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) officially announced the Eurovision Song Contest Asia, and stated that the cancellation of Druk Dra 2025 had resulted from a misunderstanding with BBS.
Rhythm of Bhutan
Following the confirmation of the participation of BBS in the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 representing Bhutan, the broadcaster announced the resumption of the national final with the name of Rhythm of Bhutan, though Druk Dra remained the competition's Dzongkha title. The final took place on 11 August 2026, and featured five competing entries.
The result was decided by a combination of the votes from a professional jury (40%)consisting of Choeying Jatsho, Pema Samdrup, Sonam Dorji and UgyenBhutanese public voting (40%), and the Rest of the World voting (20%). Members of the public were given 8 free votes to spread across at least 3 acts, with an option of buying additional 10 votes.
Competing acts On 28 July 2026, BBS announced the five competing artists, selected "after months of auditions and live performances", which consisted of four finalists of Druk Dra 2025 and one semi-finalist. The competing songs were released on 7 August 2026.
+ Rhythm of Bhutan participants Artist Song Songwriter(s) Baeyul 301 " (The Memories)" () Karma Drupchu " (The Homeland)" () Nyendra " (The Angel)" () Pelden Wangchuk " (The Journey)" () The Sangay Lhaden Band " (The Legend)" ()
Contest overview The final was held on 11 August 2026 at 19:00 BTT at the BBS Studios in Thimphu, The winner was decided by a combination of jury voting, Bhutanese public voting and international public voting. The show was presented by Kelzang Dolkar in English and Phub Tshering in Dzongkha. The final was broadcast on BBS 1, streamed online on BBS' platforms, and on the Eurovision Song Contest official YouTube page. The winner was the song " (The Angel)", written by Lungten Wangchuk and Thukten Nyendra, and performed by Nyendra himself.
In addition to the competing acts, the interval featured Bhutanese high schoolers and scouts performing dance routines. The live stream on the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel faced a multitude of technical issues, with viewers being unable to watch almost the entire first song, and audio issues emerging during the second song. However, BBS's own YouTube stream did not face any issues.
+ Rhythm of Bhutan final – 11 August 2026ArtistSongJuryPublic voteTotalPlaceBhutan 1 Karma Drupchu " (The Homeland)" 10 10 12 32 4 2 The Sangay Lhaden Band " (The Legend)" 20 16 5 41 2 3 Nyendra " (The Angel)" 24 20 8 52 1 4 Pelden Wangchuk " (The Journey)" 16 2 1 19 5 5 Baeyul 301 " (The Memories)" 2 24 10 36 3
Participation overview + Table key 1 First place 2 Second place 3 Third place ◁ Last place X Entry selected but did not compete † Upcoming event
+ Participation history Year Artist Song Language Final Points 2026 Nyendra "" () Dzongkha colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"
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