A guide to the BBC’s Eurovision 2020 coverage
Europe’s annual dose of skin-tight fishnets and jiving babushkas has been put firmly on ice this year – but never fear, the BBC has a slate of offerings to fill the void.
There’s a weekend-long schedule of spin-offs and specials, building up to a celebration of the UK’s finest (and direst) Eurovision performances on Saturday night, when the grand final should have taken place.
Here is the Telegraph’s guide to everything Eurovision this year, on television, radio and online.
Available now
Eurovision 2020: The Cancelled Coronavirus Year
BBC iPlayer
For this documentary, which began filming in January before the contest was cancelled, BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat follows James Newman as he prepares to become the UK’s 2020 Eurovision representative. We see him in rehearsals, and backstage at the first public performance of his Eurovision entry, accompanied by his brother, artist John Newman and their mum.
And then coronavirus arrived. James deals with the cancellation and talks to some of the other contestants about their experiences and future plans. There's commentary from artists who worked with Newman on the abortive run, including Olly Murs, Mollie King and Piers from Rudimental.
Friday 15 May
Eurovision at 60
BBC Four, 9.30pm
First shown to celebrate the Eurovision Song Contest’s 60th anniversary in 2015, BBC Four joins the celebrations with an appreciation of the joy, madness, scandal and intrigue that has come to define the contest.
It’s a story of pioneering songs, singers and programme-makers; complex and extraordinary technology, laborious voting, a bit of naughtiness, and above all, tolerance. As Graham Norton says of Conchita Wurst’s 2014 win: “The people had spoken… and they were nicer and more tolerant people than their governments let us think.”
Dana – The Original Derry Girl
BBC Four, 11pm
Fifty years before Marianne left Sligo for Dublin, another 18-year-old schoolgirl left the Bogside in Belfast and headed off to Amsterdam to represent Ireland in the 15th Eurovision Song Contest.
Premiered on BBC One Northern Ireland earlier this week, this documentary is a look back at Dana’s life story, retracing her steps to the stage of the RAI Theatre, where, against the odds, she became Ireland’s first Eurovision winner.
Saturday 16 May
From Abba to Azerbaijan
Radio 2, 3am
You’ll have to be up early for this one. (Or, listen to it belatedly online.) Maria McErlane talks all things Eurovision with Engelbert Humperdinck, the late Sir Terry Wogan, Ken Bruce and Cheryl Baker of Bucks Fizz.
Graham Norton
Radio 2, 10am
Our current Eurovision host, shorn of the full experience for one year only, will be getting his listeners into the Eurovision spirit by playing some of the contest’s finest songs from down the years.
Eurovision: Come Together
BBC One, 6.30pm
Moving from the radio booth to the TV studio, in this one-off special, Norton will give British viewers the opportunity to take part in a live vote to crown their favourite Eurovision performance from an eclectic shortlist compiled by experts and celebrity super-fans. He’ll also chat to James Newman.
Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light
BBC One, 8pm
Here’s the main event. Honouring all 41 songs that would have competed in the 2020 contest, but in a non-competitive format, this live show will be simultaneously broadcast across Europe and beyond. Our hosts are the original Dutch presenters: Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley and Jan Smit.
There will also be a (surely unforgettable) virtual sing-a-long, where fans from across the world will dress up and form a huge Eurovision choir to perform Johnny Logan’s winning song for Ireland in 1980, What’s Another Year. (Get it?) And yes, no need to worry: Graham Norton will provide live commentary.
Douze Points
Radio 2, 9pm
Yet more Norton. This time, he looks back on his first 10 years as the British commentator. From Moscow in 2009, to last year’s show in Tel Aviv, he remembers the big winners and the artists we sent, from Blue to Electro Velvet. Along with firm fan Paddy O’Connell, he also recalls the controversies and triumphs, shocks and surprises… and that infamous stage invasion in Lisbon in 2018.
The A-Z of Eurovision
BBC Two, 10pm
Rylan Clark-Neal narrates a guide to all things Eurovision in this new compilation of highlights. Moving through the alphabet, Rylan will take us from A, which of course stands for Abba and Azerbaijan, but also animals – featuring the Italian gorilla man and Azerbaijan’s backing dancer wearing a horse’s head – all the way down to Z for Zelmerlöw. (Måns Zelmerlöw, to be precise, the only Eurovision performer to have won the contest, hosted the contest and taken part in an interval act.)
Eurovision Kings and Queens of Pop
Radio 2, 10pm
More from Rylan. This time he’ll be presenting his own favourite Eurovision tunes, past and present. Packed with nostalgic tracks, the show features classics including Abba, Sandie Shaw, Bucks Fizz, Mans Zelmerlow, Netta, Celine Dion, Gina G, Dana International, Katrina and the Waves, Conchita Wurst and last year’s winner Duncan Laurence, who triumphed for the Netherlands with his song, Arcade.
TOTP2 Goes Eurovision!
BBC Two, 10.30pm
And to round things off for the night, here’s one that was first shown ahead of the 2007 contest. Steve Wright introduces a special Eurovision-themed edition of TOTP, featuring archive songs by stars of the competition. Artists include Cliff Richard, Lulu, Bucks Fizz, Sandie Shaw, Brotherhood of Man, Johnny Logan and Abba, plus (oh dear) 2007’s UK entrants, Scooch.
Sunday 17 May
Ken Bruce’s Ultimate Eurovision Chart
Radio 2, 2am
For those still awake and partying like it’s 2019, Ken Bruce counts down the top 40 all-time favourite Eurovision winning songs, as chosen by a Radio 2 listeners’ poll.
Let’s Abba Party
Radio 2, 5pm
And to end the whole affair, the morning after: Nicki Chapman presents a two-hour special, themed around 1974 winners Abba, to mark the 20th anniversary of hit stage musical Mamma Mia! It features, as you would imagine, a non-stop mix of classic hits, covers and selections from both the cast recordings and film soundtracks.