Eurovision and the future of broadcast entertainment

Whether your heart goes boom bang-a-bang at the thought of Eurovision season, or it’s your own personal Waterloo, from humble beginnings in 1956 as a competition to bring a post-war Western Europe back together, Eurovision is now a globally viewed show. Since the start, the challenges of coordinating a live broadcast beamed into millions of homes across dozens of countries has never gone away.

Lewis Pollard, Curator of Television and Broadcast at The National Science and Media Museum will take us on a journey to rediscover Eurovision, and how the contest has always been a test bed for new broadcast and communication technology.

This event is recommended for adults and older teens.

Event tickets are £5 for adults / Under 18s free (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult ticket holder.)

This ticket is for the live, in-person event at the Science and Innovation Park. If you wish to join the event online, please

Add a specially curated tour of the Hawking Building collection to your evening, for an exclusive chance to to discover game-changing objects from history in their new home at the Science and Innovation Park.

Led by an expert tour guide through this expansive facility, you’ll encounter amazing of objects each with a story to tell- with a special focus on those linked to this evening's topic of broadcast and communication technology.

Tours will take take place immediately after the event, and will last approximately 45 minutes, finishing around 9.30pm.

• Guided Tours cost £15 per person over the age of 12.
• Guided Tour tickets for children aged 7-12 are free, but must be pre-booked, and accompanied by an adult ticket holder.
• A special discounted bundle price of £17 for the Adult Event Ticket plus Guided Tour is available, saving £3 on the total price.

This event is recommended for adults and teens. Please be aware that children under the age 7s are not permitted to join tours.

This event is part of our exciting new series of hybrid events for those who want to dive deeper into science and technology.

We've teamed up with the Science Museum Group’s Science and Innovation Park at Wroughton for a special series of four evening events in their new Hawking Building (named after Stephen Hawking), who’s entire office contents are housed in the building, along with around 300,000 objects from the Science Museum Group’s collections.

These hybrid events will also include live links to contributors from around the UK, giving you behind the scenes access to working laboratories not usually accessible to the public or after-hours glimpses into the Science Museum in London.

This ticket is for the live, in-person event at the Science and Innovation Park. If you wish to join the event online, please

• The Hawking building has step-free access.
• There are accessible and all-gender toilets in the building.
• The optional Guided Tour route is approximately half a mile long. We can provide collapsible stools at the start of the tour if you'd like to sit while we pause at objects.

Info: Rediscover Eurovision, and how the contest has always been a test bed for new broadcast and communication technology.

Info: Led by an expert tour guide through this expansive facility, you’ll encounter hundreds of objects each with a story to tell. This specially created one-off taster tour will focus on objects related to this evening's theme of broadcast and communication.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Festival of Tomorrow 2021