You can dance, you can jive: Abba Night (BBC2, from 8.35pm)

Yes, it’s 50 years today since the Swedish group scored a historic victory at the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo. It may have been a worthy winner – and incredibly catchy – but there were probably quite a few UK viewers who imagined that would be the first and last they saw of Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Benny and Björn.

Instead, it turned out that Abba had plenty more pop classics where that came from as they went onto become global pop sensations.

So, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision triumph that helped pave the way for world domination, BBC2 is turning the schedules over to much-loved quartet.

The evening begins with More Abba at the BBC, which rounds up their appearances on everything from The Mike Yarwood Christmas Show to the The Late, Late Breakfast Show. The most intriguing clip though is a rare 1974 performance of So Long, which was missing from the archives and believed to be lost forever until a Top of the Pops fan unearthed a home recording. It’s now been restored, and this will be first broadcast in 50 years.

If that wasn’t an exciting enough prospect for fans, the programme is followed by the new documentary When Abba Came to Britain, which explores the group’s special relationship with the UK, one which has been going for longer than you might think.

Mark Robinson of production company Wise Owl Films says: “There can be fewer bands, if any, who have straddled generations of British music fans in a more impressive way than Abba. Their original fans might now be in their fifties and sixties, but their children, and even their grandchildren, will be just as familiar with their biggest hits thanks to the likes of Mamma Mia! and Voyage.

“This film shows the enduring and often emotional impact that Abba have left on British fans and musicians across the decades, but we will also chart the key role that Britain played in the band’s history – from the music of groups like The Beatles to playing host to defining moments in their career”.

As well as exploring Abba’s British influences, the documentary takes in a wealth of archive footage, including what was thought to be their last ever TV appearance, and their decision to stage their virtual comeback, Abba Voyage, in London.

Contributors include musicians who performed with the band, tour manager Thomas Johansson, a superfan who travelled across the country at age 14 to meet them, the British Eurovision judge who scored them nul points, and a now-famous member of the children’s choir which accompanied ABBA at their Wembley Arena concerts in 1979.

The documentary is followed by more Abba programes, including the compilation Abba at the BBC, the 1979 special Abba in Switzerland, which was recorded on location in the Alps and features guest appearance from Kate Bush and Roxy Music, and the documentary The Joy of Abba, which charts their rise to fame.