Simon Robinson, one of the fans who traveled to Bangkok for the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, said that his history with the competition is nearly as long as its seven-decade run.
He was eight years old when he first watched it with his family in Yorkshire, England, when Britain’s Mary Hopkin finished in second place behind Ireland’s Dana.
“I really liked the concept of bringing Europe together after the war,” said Mr. Robinson, 63, who now lives in Melbourne, Australia. He described the contest’s annual broadcast as a social activity for his family and neighbors.
“Eurovision helped to create the European identity,” he added.
Other fans had their own motivations for traveling to see the contest’s first Asian edition.
Some are Europeans living in Asia, on the hunt for nostalgia, while others are Americans who were eager to experience their first Eurovision.
Lee Hudson, an American television executive based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said that he gets emotional when he talks about Eurovision, which he has watched since 2012.
“The only reason I know any music from European countries is because I heard them on Eurovision,” he said. “Eurovision Asia makes sense because the musical cultures are distinct.”
Mr. Hudson said he still listens to Loreen’s “Euphoria,” which won the competition for Sweden in 2012.
It was also the first Eurovision that Drew Andrea watched from his home in Sydney. A year later, he got a passport to fly to Sweden for the 2013 edition, and has attended every final since. Coming to Bangkok for Eurovision Asia was much more affordable, he said.
“Asia understands the brief — the kitschy costumes, the dance music,” he said.
His top picks among the Asian performers were the Philippines’ Carmelle and Vietnam’s Toc Tien. “I think they hit the nail on the head with the song, staging, costume and traditional elements,” he said.
Luca Cian, a professor of marketing at the University of Virginia who grew up in Italy, said that Eurovision built a global fan base by offering a shared cultural experience.
“Millions of people across Europe watch it at the same moment,” he said. “Families have watch parties with food and drinks. There are public discussions. Rituals create community.”
Carmen Chung, a British accountant, said she hijacked her family’s holiday in Bangkok to attend Eurovision Asia with her brother Garry Chung, a banker who lives in Hong Kong. “We were raised on Eurovision,” she said of their childhood in Yorkshire.
European acts, she said, tend to copy whatever style of music won the previous year. “This year, because there are no expectations, everyone has just done their own thing,” she said. She and her brother said they were rooting for Bangladesh’s Beatmosphere, a beatboxing group that will perform an a cappella love song.
Martin Green, the director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said that about half of the tickets for Saturday’s final were purchased by “super fans” from outside Asia. Organizers have kept the inaugural show modest, with 11 participating countries and a 5,000-seat venue.
Mr. Andrea said he didn’t mind the small scale.
“I’m O.K. with humble beginnings as long as it keeps growing every year,” he said.
