The Asia-Europe Cultural Festival is a project conceived and organised by the ASEF Culture Department. Initially conceived as the official side-event of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in 2018 for the 12th ASEM Summit (Brussels, Belgium), the concept of the Festival was welcomed by the Heads of State and Governments from Asia and Europe to strengthen inter-cultural dialogue among ASEM partners, including the mobility of artists and culture professionals, through exchanges and peer-to-peer learning. After the success of its first edition, the then ASEM Cultural Festival became an annual event. In 2019 it was presented in Madrid, Spain, alongside the 14th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. In 2020 the Festival took a hiatus due to COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed in a hybrid format in 2021 with events held online, in Brussels (Belgium) and Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

Since 2022, it has become a stand-alone project adopting its current name of Asia-Europe Cultural Festival. Being a travelling festival held alternatively in Asia or Europe, the event is able to impact each city or host country, particularly by protecting local cultural traditions, developing tourism and promoting the economic, social and cultural developments of the destination country.

The 2023 edition took place for the first time in Singapore from 22 October to 1 November. With all events sold out, the audiences in Singapore experienced a variety of events spanning dance to film, photography and music performances.

The year 2024 marked a major milestone in the festival’s history,  for the first time taking place in a ‘festival-in-a-festival’ format in partnership with a renowed dance festival in Italy. With 3 programming partners, the support of 4 government bodies, and the collaboration of several arts organisations, the festival’s 6th edition brought together 26 artists from 11 countries, showcasing video exhibitions, multidisciplinary art installations, contemporary dance, film, artists dialogues and roundtable discussions. Spanning June to September, this artistically diverse programme was delivered to more than 9,000 live audiences in Asia and Europe. ​

The 7th edition of the festival was the most extensive edition of the festival to date, with 11 events delivered across Poland, China, Singapore and Lao PDR. Featuring 52 artists from 13 countries, supported by 3 programming partners and 7 government bodies, the festival reached over 3,000 attendees and strengthened cross-cultural exchange through exhibitions, performances, film screenings and dialogues. The AECFest Residency Programme further advanced artistic collaboration by supporting the development of 3 new works.