The Secret History of Eurovision is a television documentary produced by Brook Lapping Productions and Electric Pictures in association with Screen Australia, charting the history of the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

 and its impact on European political and social structure. The show features archive footage from past Eurovision competitions and archive news features, as well as recent interviews.

The show is distributed by BBC Worldwide either as a stand alone, 90 minute documentary (without breaks) or as two one hour documentaries. The DVD of the show is distributed by Electric Pictures. Various TV networks in Europe will be broadcasting the programme prior to the Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Eurovision Song Contest 2011

The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th annual Eurovision Song Contest and was won by Eldar & Nigar performing "Running Scared" for Azerbaijan. The event took place in the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany, following Germany's win in the previous year...

 in Dusseldorf, Germany on 14 May 2011. In the UK, the show will be broadcast on More4

More4

More4 is a digital television channel, run by British broadcaster Channel 4, that launched on 10 October 2005. It is carried on Freeview, on satellite broadcasters Freesat and Sky, UK IPTV broadcaster TalkTalk TV and on UK cable network Virgin Media and in the Republic of Ireland cable networks...

 on Saturday, 7 May. In Australia the 2 x 1 hour show will be broadcast on SBS

Special Broadcasting Service

The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...

 on Friday 6 May, and 13 May.

Contributors include Bob Geldof

Bob Geldof

Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...

, Svante Stockselius

Svante Stockselius

Stig Svante Stockselius is a Swedish journalist and television executive, former Head of Song Contests at the European Broadcasting Union, executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.Svante Stockselius grew up in Ockelbo, a small town in central...

, Dana

Dana Rosemary Scallon

Dana Rosemary Scallon , known in her singing career simply as Dana, is an Irish singer and former Member of the European Parliament ....

, Dana International

Dana International

Sharon Cohen , professionally known as Dana International is an Israeli pop singer of Yemenite Jewish ancestry. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums, positioning herself as one of Israel's most successful musical acts ever...

, Sir Terry Wogan, Ruslana

Ruslana

Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko is a World Music Award winning and MTV Europe Music Award nominated artist, and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2004....

, Bucks Fizz

Bucks Fizz (band)

Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...

, Lena Meyer-Landrut

Lena Meyer-Landrut

Lena Meyer-Landrut , known professionally as Lena, is a German singer-songwriter. She represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, Norway, and won the contest with the song "Satellite"...

, Johnny Logan

Johnny Logan (singer)

Johnny Logan , is an Australian-born Irish singer and composer. He is regarded as "Mister Eurovision", having participated in the Eurovision Song Contest many times since the 1970s, and, since 1992, has been the most successful artist in Eurovision history.Logan has won the international contest on...

, Paddy O'Connell

Paddy O'Connell

Guy Patrick Bennett O'Connell , known as Paddy O'Connell, is an English television and radio presenter, working mainly for the BBC....

, Lordi

Lordi

Lordi is a Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band, formed in 1996 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume-designer, Mr. Lordi. The band is known for wearing monster masks and using pyrotechnics during concerts...

, Niamh Kavanagh

Niamh Kavanagh

Niamh Kavanagh is an Irish singer and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1993.Kavanagh is perhaps best known for winning Eurovision Song Contest 1993, held in Millstreet, County Cork, Ireland. She sang "In Your Eyes" to clinch a second consecutive win for Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest;...

, Dave Benton

Dave Benton

Dave Benton is a pop musician and 2001 winner of the Eurovision Song Contest.Benton was born on the Caribbean island of Aruba in 1951 and in his 20s moved to the United States...

, John Kennedy O'Connor

John Kennedy O'Connor

John Kennedy O'Connor is an author, entertainment and political commentator, based in the United States. Born in North London, United Kingdom, he has written, reported and broadcast for numerous media organizations, as well as writing, creating and producing media events for a number of...

, Bill Martin

Bill Martin

Bill Martin is a Scottish songwriter, music publisher and impresario.-Biography:...

, Mart Laar

Mart Laar

Mart Laar is an Estonian statesman, historian and a founding member of the Foundation for the Investigation of Communist Crimes. He was the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002, and is the leader of the conservative party Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica...

, Alexis Petridis

Alexis Petridis

Alexis Petridis is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for UK newspaper The Guardian, as well as a regular and contributor to the magazine GQ.Petridis began his career writing for Varsity whilst a student at the University of Cambridge...

, Bill Whelan

Bill Whelan

Bill Whelan, is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The end result, Riverdance, was a seven-minute display of traditional Irish dancing that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze...

 and Nicole.