Further information was later released in May 2016 regarding the eligibility for the contest, which could see up to sixty-eight countries compete in the contest.[3] In July 2016 it was announced that four countries had either confirmed or expressed their interest in the inaugural contest, which has been given a preliminary name of Eurovision Asia Song Contest, including then host nation Australia, China, Japan, and South Korea.[4] In May 2017, it was announced that three countries (Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia) had placed bids with the interest in hosting the inaugural contest which has been rescheduled to take place sometime in 2018 due to difficulties in organisation and political issues.[5] The competition was officially confirmed on 18 August 2017 by the EBU.[6] This is the latest event to be launched by the EBU since the Eurovision Choir of the Year in 2017.[7]