Abba's Waterloo has been named the greatest Eurovision song of all time by BBC viewers.

Eurovision: Come Together saw the public vote for their favourites, on the night this year's song contest was due to take place.

The 2020 competition was cancelled in March amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Swedish foursome won it in 1974 in Brighton. The track, which topped the UK charts and set them on their way to fame, went on to sell nearly 6m copies.

Speaking later on the night, Bjorn Ulvaeus from the band said he found it "hard to believe" that was where it began for them all those years ago.

The shortlist for the programme included Eurovision classics from the likes of Netta, Bucks Fizz, Conchita Wurst and adopted-Brit, Gina G.

But it was Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Benny and Bjorn who ultimately triumphed, with their musical metaphor about the joys of surrendering to love.

The 19-strong song list was compiled by Eurovision experts and broadcasters, including Rylan Clark-Neal, Scott Mills, Ken Bruce, Adele Roberts and Mel Giedroyc, as well as former UK acts SuRie and Nicki French.

Host Graham Norton upheld the tradition of raising a glass to the late Sir Terry Wogan, who hosted the contest for nearly 30 years.

"We couldn't deny you your Eurovision fix," he declared.

The programme also showcased what would have been the UK entry this year - James Newman's My Last Breath - and Norton spoke to the singer via video link.

Newman said he was "pretty gutted" and "had to have a few minutes to myself" when he found out the contest had been cancelled.

He said the staging had already been planned and showed an image of an underwater scene leading down from some steps.

Newman added that his favourite Eurovision entry this year was Iceland's - it was one of the favourites to win had the competition gone ahead, according to recent Spotify streaming figures.

Later on Saturday evening, the BBC also joined with other European broadcasters for Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light, to honour all 41 songs which would have competed this year.

Some of this year's songs would have been eliminated at the semi-finals, where the entrants are normally whittled down to 26 but the semis were also cancelled.

Saturday night's event was hosted from Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where the contest was due to take place, while Norton popped up again as the UK's commentator, and acts appeared from across the continent.

Eight highlights from Rotterdam, and everywhere

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1. Sweden's Måns Zelmerlöw sang an acoustic version of his winning song from 2015, in tribute to health workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

2. Double winner, Ireland's Johnny Logan, was joined by scores of Eurovision fans via videolink for a rendition of his most relevant Eurovision track, What's Another Year..

3. The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra joined forces (via the wonders of modern technology) to perform an instrumental version of the UK's 1997-winning Love Shine a Light, by Katrina and the Waves, as iconic music venues around the world lit up.

This was certainly a high point for another former UK contestant SuRie, who said she had been left "broken" by the performance… in a good way.

The track got another airing for the show's finale, but this time with the words, as performers from all countries sang along in unison.

4. Iceland's Daði Freyr Pétursson urged us all to "stay healthy" and "stay fabulous" with the help of a barbershop quartet, comprised of several different digital versions of himself. All of which adorned in the same sweater, bearing an image of, yep, you guessed it... him again.

TV critic Scott Bryan, for one, enjoyed it.

5. Michael Schulte, Germany's entrant in 2018, and 2014 Dutch act The Common Linnets came together for a socially-distanced church service rendition of Nicole's 1982 winning song Ein Bisschen Frieden.

6. The Austrian singer and drag act Conchita Wurst, who won in 2014, confessed the "most beautiful" part of coronavirus lockdown was the fact, "I hardly wear any underwear and I love it so much".

7. Host Graham Norton admitted, "There's no denying this is a very odd programme," referring to the lack of an actual competition this year for the first time since the contest began in 1956.

It got even odder as he had to take part in a live two-way chat with the hosts in Holland, with a bit of a delay. "That was awkward," he joked, but he also said the show as a whole had "real emotion".

8. Abba were the winners who took it all in the earlier BBC poll, and there was a rare TV appearance from the aforementioned Bjorn in the Shine A Light show.

After recounting a sweet tale about the time his grandson Albert first realised his grandad was a Euro pop star, he described Eurovision as one of the most "genuinely joyous events of the TV year," which "allows you to escape and be happy and even forget about the coronavirus for a little while".