När Franco stal Eurovision

Celebrating 50 years since ABBA won Eurovision in 1974 with Waterloo, through the extraordinary and entertaining story of how international stardom almost didn't happen for the group.

Love it or hate it, the Eurovision Song Contest has not only redefined Europe, it has redefined music. Conceived in 1956 as a great televised musical event which would bring peace and harmony to Europe, it has since launched meteoric careers and made hits of songs such as Waterloo, Volare and Boom Bang a Bang. It has also bred an annual hotbed of political intrigue, racial rivalry, allegations of bribery and plain old sour grapes. In this programme Abba, Sandie Shaw, Cliff Richard and many others sing while Katie Boyle, Bucks Fizz, John Peel, Michael Ball and Johnny Logan try to explain that special Eurovision "ring-a-ding-ding".

New girl band Precious are representing the UK in next Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest. This programme follows the five girls' rise to fame, from their first appearance on Top of the Pops to the point where they learnt that they will represent the country with Say It Again.

Earlier this year Andrew Lloyd Webber was a man with a mission - to put the UK back on the Eurovision map. On the BBC's Your Country Needs You he set out to find this year's Eurovision act and wrote the song, It's My Time, with the award-winning Diane Warren. The public chose Jade Ewen, and Eurovision: Jade's Story follows her from the moment she won through to her final preparations and her first rehearsals in the vast Olympiyski Stadium in Moscow.

Adam and Wiktor are obsessed with Eurovision and their hearts beat extra hard for the Swedish double winner Loreen. But the harsh jargon that prevails among the young people in their Polish town risks poisoning both their friendship and dreams of Sweden.

What was the role of women in Spanish cinema from the 1930s to the present explained through fragments of different films, both fiction and non-fiction. (Followed by “Manda huevos,” 2016.)

Nazi propaganda film about the Condor Legion, a unit of German "volunteers" who fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side of eventual dictator Francisco Franco against the elected government of Spain.

Documentary about the Intervision Song Contest in general and the 1980 edition in particular. Focuses on Finland's participation and the shipyard strikes in Gdansk at the time.

What if the Mayans, the scientists or even Jordi Hurtado were wrong? What if the key to the end of the world is in Eurovision? Four friends, beers, pizzas and the Eurovision Song Contest. None of them expect what will happen at the end of the night... for better or for worse. Marga, Miki, Nati and Jorge are about to live a real life.

Behind the scenes documentary of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest

Rylan Clark-Neal narrates a guide to all things Eurovision and takes a sideways look at the greatest singing contest on the planet. The A-Z of Eurovision features all the disasters, the costume changes and memorable musical moments from 65 years of Eurovision.

With less than a month until his Eurovision appearance Tusse must undergo a surgery that puts everything in jeopardy. Here is Tusse’s incredible life story, from Congolese refugee to winner of Swedish Idol and Melodifestivalen.

Documentary about the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Conchita Wurst – on the day before the live transmission of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 from the Wiener Stadthalle.

Nemo looks back at his career and journey so far and then takes us along for the ride all the way to the Eurovision Song Contest.

For many, the Eurovision Song Contest is the chance for a Pan-European party. But it is also highly political, especially for countries in Eastern Europe. When Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra won in 2022, it was a message of European solidarity against Russian aggression.

Biopic of Eurovision legend Johnny Logan who won the contest three times, twice as a singer and once as a song writer. The movie focuses on the years 1980-87, in between his two wins.

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest was a television programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to commemorate the Eurovision Song Contest's fiftieth anniversary and to determine the Contest's most popular entrant of its fifty years. Hosted by Katrina Leskanich and Renārs Kaupers, the event took place at Forum, in Copenhagen on 22 October 2005. The host broadcaster was Danmarks Radio (DR). Fourteen songs from the Contest's first half-century, chosen through an internet poll and by a jury, contested the event.

After ABBA won Eurovision in 1974 Sweden was tasked with hosting it the next year. This documentary tells the story of that production and places it in the social and political context of Sweden in 1975 and a music scene that was anything but supportive of the endeavour.

The pro-Palestinian, anti-capitalist, BDSM-provocative, techno-punk performance art ensemble Hatari unsurprisingly drew attention to themselves with their performance at the Icelandic qualifiers for the Eurovision Song Contest. So much so that they won and therefore were allowed to perform at the main event in Tel Aviv. But what now? Should they boycott the event, swallow their idealism, or use their airtime to criticise the host country for their illegal occupation of Palestine? The Icelandic director Anna Hildur joins the boys in the band all the way to the fateful final.

A television documentary charting the history of the Eurovision Song Contest and its impact on European political and social structure.