Countries: Uzbekistan, an ABU member country

Uzbekistan is a country located in Central Asia, Bordering, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. This is the most populous contry in all Central Asia, with more than 30 million of citicens. The capital city of the country is Tashkent, which is also the biggest city, with a population of two million people.

National Broadcaster

The national broadcaster of Uzbekistan is the National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan, which started its broadcasts in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union. The company is the owner of four television and radio channels. The company is specialised in news and entertainment programs.

The company as the other central asian state broadcasters, is member of the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union and cooperates with the rest of the asian TV companies.

Entertainment Industry

The uzbek pop music started its rise before the fall of the Soviet Union, when the Uzbek language started appearing in the popular musical culture. 

The Uzbek pop music is highly influenced by russian pop music, but the uzbek traditional rythms, and the persian traditional folk rithms, have also influenced the uzbek music. As a result, the pop music made in Uzbekistan is the result of a fussion of persian, arab, russian, western and traditional music which makes the Uz-pop, a different subgenere from the other regional varieties of pop music.

The rise of the uzbek pop music has been accompanied with the appearance of national record labels such as the mega label, "Tarona Records", which have contributed to create famous superstars, bands and recognised artists.

from left to right: Shahzoda, Rayhon, Lola Yuldasheva and Yulduz Usmonova.

ABU Song Festival future

As a turkic speaking country, Uzbekistan is known by the music fans, by its participation in the Turkvision Song Contest, in which the turkic speaking regions and states, send their competing artists to the festival.

In spite of being a member of the ABU, Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, Uzbekistan has never intended to participate in the ABU TV Song Festival or the ABU Radio Song Festival, but the musical quality of some of the singers and the international success of some uzbek singers, make this country a potential participant in those events.

Venues

The Tashkent Congress hall is one of the biggest venues of Uzbekistan, which has been the host place of the Tarona Taqdimoti (Tarona Awards), wihich prized the talent of the most recognised musical artists in Uzbekistan.

This hall could be a suitable place to host the ABU TV Song Festival, if the uzbek national broadcaster was interested to organise it.